In Defense of the Big Bad Wolf: A Parent’s Cartoon Survival Guide

I’ve always thought that if a villain actually had a good point, they wouldn’t be a proper villain—or at least, the protagonist wouldn’t be much of a hero. The best villains are the ones you love to hate. They aren’t always big, hairy, ugly, or creepy monsters. The monster might be the henchman, but the mastermind rarely looks the part. In fact, the most compelling villains often seem attractive, educated, logical, and smart. They might even appear hospitable and inviting, masterfully hiding their true character until their deception has trapped their victim. Personally, I can’t think of a single villain whose core motivation I can genuinely support.
Parents, you know the drill. Once upon a time, it was that six-hour VHS tape that needed to be rewound and rewatched endlessly. For younger parents, it’s the 24-hour cartoon marathons on loop. When my kids were young and we were stuck watching their favorite cartoon adventures for the hundredth time, I developed a little mental exercise to keep my sanity. As they cheered for the heroes, I began doing some character analysis: What was the villain’s motivation in chasing after the hero? What would he actually do to the good guys if he caught them? Were the heroes doing something that deserved the villain’s aggravation in the first place?
Take 101 Dalmatians, for instance. What made Cruella de Vil want to kidnap and kill those cute little puppies? (Okay, anyone who hurts puppies fully deserves to be the villain!) But can you really blame her? All she wanted was a luxurious fur coat, and those mean old puppies kept denying her! How dare they!
My kids thought I was crazy and weren’t shy about telling me so. For me, though, it was just a fun distraction—a way to cope with the mind-numbing experience of watching the same show on repeat.
Then there are the stereotypical villains, like the Big Bad Wolf. He gets a terrible rap. He gets killed for attacking Little Red Riding Hood, and he gets outsmarted by the Three Little Pigs. Granted, those stories are really about caution and self-defense against predators. But is the wolf really such a bad guy? He’s just hungry! Doesn’t he deserve to eat like anyone else?
You know his appetite must be huge if it takes three pigs to satisfy it. It’s so big that even after eating Grandma, he still had room for dessert (Little Red Riding Hood). How would you like it if a giant feast were set before you, only for a nosy Woodsman to come along, snatch it away, and chop you into pieces? I bet you wouldn’t like that one bit. Would that make you the villain?
Poor Big Bad Wolf—he was just acting according to his nature.
Well, look at that! I think I just talked myself into believing that some villains might have a point after all.

Here’s some music to prove my point: