It is very important to be careful with the kinds of movies we let our children consume. Many family movies are written by people whose basic morals are reduced to empty maxims like "be yourself" or "believe in something greater".
Many parents pat themselves in the back for not letting their kids watch movies with "woke indoctrination". Some of them sign petitions on Life Sites News or akin sites whenever Disney makes an attempt to include LGBT people. Many obsess over the skin colour of remake Disney princesses and the personality of their actresses. Others will try to decode hidden occult messages, often assuming that one of the characters is the antichrist.
However, I am yet to see "conservative" influencers actually attempting to dismantle the real problem with some of this films. Instead of focusing on fake moral panics and anti-woke slop you tubers, they should give to this movies a serious analysis.
This would allow them to find whatever might be erroneous on this films, assess the extent of the damage and permit the viewers to find this questionable messages for themselves. So today, in the Turnout of Thinking, we will discuss a common family movie trope that should be questioned and held accountable.
What is a Good Villain?
Often a movie will tell it's story from the perspective of a protagonist we are to consider good, good willed, or mostly virtuous. Their personal defects are either problems they must solve or aren't significantly troublesome for the viewer.
Other films, however, do the opposite; they tell the story from the perspective of an evil person. Most of this movies used to be for adults; Films like Casino and The Godfather tell the story of evil people but at least the audience is mature enough to understand that the protagonist is breaking the rules.
For decades, family movies used to focus on a mostly good character and their problems with an evil antagonist. This started to change in the early 2000's. The film Shrek told the story of a fairly antisocial Ogre with poor manners in a sympathetic way. While Shrek wasn't a particularly malicious figure, ogres were never portrayed positively, as they were figures used to represent traits like gluttony and cruelty.
As the decades progressed, many more characters like this started to appear. From misunderstood monsters to criminals with a redemption arc, the screens were full of characters we can only describe as good villains.
What is Wrong with the Good Villain Trope?
While there is nothing wrong with writing a redemption story, one should be very careful when introducing children to a morally questionable character. The risk of accidentally glorifying their behavior is very real.
I believe the problem with good villain movies are the following:
+ Using the trope for the introduction of a self acceptance message. Many films like this would suggest that the protagonist was discriminated against, which led them to engage in evil. As soon as the society starts to accept their differences, they leave their evil ways.
+ A weak presentation of criminals. Just because a criminal has a tragic backstory doesn't mean they don't need punishment.
Here in Mexico, many criminals think they get to steal and murder because they are poor. Their perspective is then shifted to privileged liberals who seethe whenever someone suggests they need punishment.
Many good villain movies give to their protagonist a sad backstory. As the story progresses, they redeem themselves with relative ease. However, many real-life villains aren't actually willing to redeem themselves and the writers of this films would do good keep this mind.
+ Nihilism / Relativism. The viewer isn't going to engage in the behaviors seen on screen. Few turn into serial killers after watching slashers, and so your children will not become cartoon villains for watching Despicable Me once.
Rather, the viewer often has their moral background shattered and start to question whether it is possible to find a distinction of good and evil. Horror movies might not turn you into a killer, but you are very likely to become a nihilist if they are part of your cultural upbringing.
We need to keep in mind this conclusion doesn't come from the movies alone; it is part of the Contemporary Western belief system which is expressed through this films.
Case Studies
The following case studies present three different ways in which the good villain trope has appeared in Family Movies. Some of them are to be outright condemned, while others introduce the message with more nuance and subtlety.
How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon (2010) was loosely inspired by the novels of Cressida Cowell. It has spawned a massive franchise and a live-action remake in 2025.
How to Train Your Dragon doesn't present to us a character that is villainous as protagonist. Instead, it uses a fantasy creature who represents evil and turns it into a cool and lovable pet.
Dragon are often worshipped by pagan religions; but even among the pagans their role can be negative. In Chinese Mythology, the hero Ne Zha kills a family of dragons responsible for causing natural disasters.
In the Christian world, dragons represent Satan himself. This is because in the Bible, the book of Apocalypse describes a dragon who represents Satan. Being reptiles, dragons can be considered the fantasy equivalent to serpents.
In European fairy tales, dragons are evil monsters. They are often the representation of greed and pride, harass princesses and destroy villages. This is something that we can see in The Hobbit, which took inspiration from a mythical European hero named Beowulf.
In How to Train Your Dragon, the story is quite different. We are introduced to Hiccup, a scrawny viking kid who struggles to prove himself before his father Stoic. Despite his mechanical abilities Hiccup is too weak to competently fight the dragons that harass the viking town of Berk.
One night, Hiccup brings down a legendary dragon with one of his artifacts. He is however attacked by a fierce drake who destroys the village and he is chastised by his father Stoic.
The kid throws a temper tantrum in the forest and finds the legendary dragon he took down. He attempts to kill it but he gets touchy-feely and spares the beast, freeing it. The dragon is injured and can't fly, so it is trapped by the terrain around it.
As the movie progresses, Hiccup becomes friendly with the dragon, and uses his mechanical skills to help him to fly again. They bond together very strongly, and show to the Vikings that dragons can be friendly.
This movie shows us a symbol subversion. Something that represents evil is now used to represent something that has been misunderstood and can be useful to society. The dragons in HTTYD are not much different from animals.
Now, to be fair, even if something is used to represent evil, that doesn't meant it can't also be used to represent something else. For example, the dragon is also a symbol of Wales.
This means that even if a movie has a symbol subversion, it is never going to be as harmful as those movies were the protagonist is specifically portrayed as a villain. Nevertheless, we should treat them with skepticism, specially if the symbol they are subverting is barely ever used for something positive.
Other Movies with Symbol Subversion:
Shrek
Monsters vs Aliens
Where the Monsters Live
Megamind
Megamind was released in 2010, and it tells what I would call a Standard Good Villain movie. Our protagonist is given a redemption arc and a sympathetic backstory, as well as a character whose motivations aren't entirely black and white.
We are presented with a blue alien named Megamind and his rival Metroman. When their planets were destroyed his parents sent him to earth. But while Metroman found a loving family, Megamind was raised in prison and given poor morals by the inmates.
Envious of Metroman's popularity at school, Megamind decides to embrace evil and get, let's say, a different kind of attention.
One day, Megamind finally kills Metroman, and gets to rule the entire city. This triggers an existential crisis on him, because he loses his purpose of defeating Metroman.
A bored Megamind proceeds to give super-powers to a creepy camera guy, in hopes that he will be able to have a purpose again. He names him Tighten and pretends to be his "space-dad".
However, when Tighten decides to be a super-villain instead, Megamind discovers that he too can be a hero and finally receives the attention he craved. His acceptance arc has been accomplished.
While Megamind has multiple traits that make it unique, I decided to qualify him as a standard-good-villain because of the following elements:
+ Our main character is a villain who happens to be a protagonist. We are given a choice to sympathize with him without (necessarily) endorsing his actions.
+ Our protagonist has a redemption arc and gains the love of others.
+ The movie centers between the lines of good and evil.
Other Standard Good Villain films:
The Bad Guys
Despicable Me
Nimona
The Minions
Now we are into pure-bred discordian territory. Despicable Me 1 told an unrealistic but strangely moving redemption arc for it's main character, an arc that was respected for Despicable Me 2.
This however shifted in 2016 when the spin-off movie Minions was released. Minions isn't a standard story about a criminal who was discriminated but learned that he could be good too. Minions isn't about a symbol for evil behaving in a wholesome manner.
Minions is evil. Straight up.
The movie starts by telling us that the Minions are not just the annoying sidekicks to Gru. Now they are cosmic horror entities who explore the world seeking for a villain to serve. However, their clumsiness often lead to the death of their masters. If it doesn't sound like something demons would do, you have been living in Candy Land.
On the first movie, Minions serve a woman named Scarlet Overkill. They attempt to steal the jewels of the British crown but are betrayed by her. The movie focuses on them trying to, let's say, show her who is a better super-villain.
In the second film (2022), the Minions help child Gru to find a mentor in a washed up villain and fight their enemies, one of which, by the way, wears the habit of a nun.
I don't really have to explain why this films are discordian. They portray evil as "fun" and "quirky", don't attempt to give their characters a redemption arc, and fail to show some of the consequences of being evil. It's a nihilist world were the only thing that matters is the LOL's.
Conclusion
In order to prevent the good villain trope from spreading it's erroneous beliefs systems, the following could help:
+ Good theological formation, coming from a stable family were everyone is respected, will prevent kids from becoming nihilistic.
+ Provide your children with plenty of wholesome entertainment.
+ Teach children that a sad backstory doesn't justify engaging in criminal behavior, abusing others, or loving violence. Some people might do this because they think they have no choice, but those of true character will always try to stay above the circumstances.
+ Stay away from the Minions.
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