There’s nothing quite like an evil villain. For films revolving around a character who saves the day, a villain is essential to cause turbulence in the hero’s story. Illumination Entertainment (now known as Illumination) is the animated studio behind hits like Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets. Similar to other animation studios, Illumination has a distinct flair to its films that connects them to the studio.

With 10 big-time projects to the studio’s name thus far (along with almost 30 shorts), fans have met some incredible characters, including villains. Keep scrolling to see 10 of Illumination’s villains and how they stack up against each other!

10 Carlos: Hop

Hop released in 2011 and was the least successful movie (box office-wise) to its name. The animated film was about the original Easter Bunny getting ready to pass the reigns to his son. Sadly for him, his son didn’t want to be the Easter Bunny, he wanted to be a musician. Those helping the Easter Bunny produce candy for Easter morning were Carlos and his chicks.

Carlos is the head chick (voiced by Hank Azaria) who’s tired of bunnies getting all the fame and glory when he’s doing all the work. He seeks to take control of the industry while also having a healthy amount of respect for the OG bunny. Carlos is twisted, but he’s not eviler than those below.

9 The Flushed Pets: The Secret Life Of Pets

Truth be told, the Flushed Pets didn’t want to be evil but they went through upsetting circumstances that led them to the same dark path. They felt like they had no other choice.

As the antagonists in The Secret Life of Pets, the Flushed Pets were abandoned and on a track to demolish humans and the pets the humans chose to keep. However, unlike some of the other villains on this list, the Flushed Pets didn’t have an exact plan of attack. They were simply spiteful and wanted to hurt those who hurt them.

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8 Snowball: Secret Life Of Pets

Snowball was the leading member of the Flushed Pets in The Secret Life of Pets, but he was so diabolical, he deserves his own entry. In fact, had it not been for Snowball, who knows if the Flushed Pets would ever become a gang. After being deserted by his owner, Snowball sets off for a life of crime, but that all melts away when he meets Molly.

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If Snowball was as bad as he claims, he would have never adapted so well to life with a human. Plus, he may have hated a lot of people and pets, but he was dedicated to his gang, proving he was all talk and no action.

7 Gru: Despicable Me

Before becoming the world’s most adorable dad and bestie to his Minions, Gru was both the antagonist and protagonist of his own story. He was once a villain raised by a cold and distant mother and wanted to steal the moon.

He didn’t care who he hurt along the way as long as he was still known as one of the greatest villains to ever live. His dreams changed drastically after he adopts his three daughters for an evil scheme and becomes attached to them. In later Despicable Me movies, Gru has changed his tune and is not as evil as he once was.

6 Aloysius O’Hare: The Lorax

Illumination’s The Lorax was based on a Dr. Seuss tale. When 12-year-old Ted goes on a mission to find a real tree to show his crush, he enters an unbelievable journey that involves the mayor of Thneedville chasing after him. Aloysius O’Hare is the Mayor of Thneedville and is a controlling, little man.

They live in an artificial world where Mr. O’Hare produces canned air and encourages the town’s people to stay where they are, making him rich and profitable. However, considering he’s a grown man chasing a 12-year-old boy out of fear for losing his business, Aloysius O’Hare is a sad, bad man.

5 Grinch: The Grinch

In 2018, Illumination released its version of The Grinch. Like many other tales of The Grinch, we saw him living high above Whoville, annoyed at the town’s excitement for Christmas. With his trusty companion, Max, by his side, he tries to steal the spirit of Christmas from the town.

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Just as he always has been, Grinch is rude to his adorable dog Max and is sassy to everyone he meets. He’s negative, cruel, and has no problem trying to destroy an entire city for the sake of peace and quiet. The Grinch’s heart may have grown by the end of the movie, but he’s still one of those characters who are bad to the bone.

4 Vector: Despicable Me

We meet Vector in Despicable Me as Gru’s greatest competition. He’s seen as a goofy dude in a matching orange tracksuit, but he’s actually quite devious and connected. As the son of the Bank of Evil’s owner, Vector is under pressure from his dad and tries to steal the moon after stealing the Great Pyramid of Giza.

What makes Vector, so evil is how cocky and confident he is. He had no issues with kidnapping Gru’s girls and had an entire fortress guarded with weapons to take down anyone who tried to destroy him.

3 Big Daddy: Sing

In 2016, Illumination came out with the musical comedy, Sing. The adorable animated film was a huge success, with the movie’s villain casting a dark cloud over the character Johnny. Johnny’s dad, Big Daddy, is the leader of a mob who wanted his son to have the same criminal lifestyle he did. But when Johnny wanted a different life than his father’s, Big Daddy practically disowns him.

Big Daddy eventually came around to support his son’s musical endeavors, but that doesn’t change the fact that he wanted his son to be a mobster or that he robbed banks for a living.

2 Scarlet Overkill: Minions

After the success of the Despicable Me movies, Illumination came out with the movie Minions, giving fans what they wanted: more Minions! In the film, Scarlet Overkill is on a mission to become a queen with the Minions as her team.

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Scarlet orders the Minions to steal a prized ruby for her so she could become queen, but if they failed her, she would kill them. She becomes agitated by the Minions when they act childish or betray her and has no qualms torturing them in private if it benefits her. Anyone who could torture a sweet Minion is an absolute villain.

1 Sergei: The Secret Life Of Pets 2

In The Secret Life of Pets 2, Max, Duke, Snowball, and Daisy come head-to-head with an evil circus owner named Sergei. Sergei is crude and abuses the animals and workers who help him.

He threatens to kill his wolves if they don’t find the tiger for him, and let’s not forget that he treats the tiger (Hu) terribly and tries to kill it at the end of the film. Luckily, Hu is saved, and Sergei gets run over, but he’s by far one of the worst villains in Illumination history thus far.

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Lynn Gibbs
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Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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