Having a favorite Disney princess growing up was like a rite of passage. Mine was “Sleeping Beauty.” I had the VHS tape, a sleeping bag with Aurora’s face and a full dress, with an added Aurora crown, of course. 

But here’s the thing — I didn’t like the actual princess in that movie. 

Let’s be completely honest here. Aurora was lame. She had a grand total of 17 minutes and 52 seconds of screen time and only 18 lines during that. She met a prince for, like, two minutes and fell in love. She spent most of her own story just waiting for others to make decisions for her. She was not a great hero. She was barely a three-dimensional character. 

I didn’t like the movie because of the princess. My favorite parts of the film were not of Aurora singing to the animals or her dancing in the clouds with the prince. No, I have very vivid memories of watching my favorite scenes, and they all had one thing in common. They were all scenes Maleficent was in. 

From her sudden fiery appearance at the christening party to her turning into a badass dragon, Maleficent commanded the screen every second she was in it. She was resourceful, powerful and unapologetic. And she even had a raven sidekick called Diablo. All in all, she was awesome. But back then, I didn’t know liking the villains was allowed.

Now, I do, and everyone who knows me can definitely tell. I walk around with black Maleficent boots, I quote Disney villains on the daily and I have so many villain decorations in my room that it looks like a perpetual Halloween. 

It makes me wonder: what is it about villains that I find so appealing? Sure, they look cool with their dark clothes and green fire, but it’s more than that. Disney villains have a certain freedom to them that the heroes of their movies are sorely lacking.

Most of the classic Disney movies have a pretty standard happy ending for their heroes, as well as a very specific set of standards of behavior. The princess is kind and loving to every living creature, and she smiles all the time and sings sweetly to animals. The prince is strong and dreamy and ready to come to the rescue at a second's notice. The princess and the prince fall in love at first sight and ride off into the sunset together.

This never fit into what I pictured when I thought of a happy ending. Or with the way I related to life. 

The villains, on the other hand, were different. Inspiring, even. They were resourceful and used their brilliant minds to get what they wanted. And they were allowed to express emotions beyond positive smiles. They were also really funny. While the princesses were nice and passive, the villains were cracking jokes and being sarcastic.

Beyond that, they were allowed to have ambitions. Ursula wanted to rule the ocean. Scar wanted Pride Rock. Jafar wanted to be the sultan of Agrabah. Hades aspired to conquer Olympus. 

The villains showed me that there were other options for what life could look like that didn’t include a handsome prince, true love's kiss or a bunch of birds singing you off into the sunset. And personally, that was always more appealing. 

Disney villains never fit the mold. They pushed the boundaries of propriety in more ways than one, from the way they dressed to how they acted, they personified everything that was other. 

So here’s to being more like the villains: uniquely, loudly and proudly themselves.