Villains we’d love to meet at Oogie Boogie Bash

The special separately-ticketed after hours Halloween event features villains who are rarely (or never) seen in Disney theme parks, like Sid from “Toy Story” and Ernesto de la Cruz from “Coco.” You never know who might show up, but here’s a few villains we’d love to see.

Captain Hook and Mr. Smee

Sure, you’ve met Captain Hook and Mr. Smee plenty of times — but they’re always, shall we say, a bit stiff. Face character versions of the dubious pirate and his bumbling first mate from 1953’s “Peter Pan” would make excellent additions to Oogie Boogie Bash.

Their likenesses already exist, dating back as far as the original version of “Fantasmic!” at Disneyland. Both also appeared in the defunct “Dream Along with Mickey” show at Magic Kingdom, and Hook makes his annual face-character appearance in “Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular” at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. To my knowledge, though, guests have never actually been able to meet these versions of the characters. Their banter back and forth would be hilarious to overhear on a treat trail during the event.

Hades

Though rarer than Captain Hook, Hades has still held occasional meet & greets in the parks since his debut in 1997’s “Hercules.” Also like Hook, when he personally mingles with park guests, Hades, for lack of better phrasing, is a bit shy and lacks facial expressions. On stage, though — such as during a short-lived villains event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the aforementioned “Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular” — Hades is frequently a face character. Again, like Hook, guests have never been able to meet this more charismatic version of Hades. He’d have a blast recruiting Oogie Boogie Bash trick-or-treaters to join his cause of destroying Herc and Meg. Woe to the guest, though, who comes dressed like their favorite Greek hero. “You are wearing his merchandise?!?!” Whoops.

Clayton

The beauty of Oogie Boogie Bash villains is that they needn’t be the most popular on the studio’s deep bench of bad guys to merit an invitation. Sure, the likes of Maleficent or Dr. Facilier show up from time to time, but so do deep cuts like Madam Mim from 1977’s “The Rescuers,” whose 2022 Oogie Boogie Bash appearance might have been her first-ever visit to a Disney park, despite her movie being over four decades old. This precedent provides justification for pondering which other lesser-known evildoers have yet to make an appearance in a Disney theme park.

Presenting, Clayton. Yes, the villain from 1999’s “Tarzan” is just about the only character from his movie who hasn’t frequented a park. Tarzan, Jane, Terk, Kala, and Kerchak have all greeted guests over the years, but never Clayton. Perhaps he’d set up a lookout above guests’ heads in an Oogie Boogie Bash treat trail, on the hunt for gorillas.

Yzma and Kronk

Yzma and Kronk from 2000’s “The Emperor’s New Groove” are quite the elusive pair. Their Disney parks likenesses exist, but they’re rarely out and about (and when they are, it’s usually at special events).

Face character counterparts of Yzma and Kronk starred in a former show onboard Disney Cruise Line, and Oogie Boogie Bash would be the perfect occasion for their return. Yzma would have a field day describing in intricate detail her step-by-step plans for foiling Kuzco’s Halloween. Kronk would try to teach trick-or-treaters how to speak squirrel.

Dr. Drakken and Shego

No, Dr. Drakken and Shego — villains from the 2000s Disney Channel animated series “Kim Possible” — haven’t ever appeared in a Disney park. But here’s the sitch: Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable have, and at Oogie Boogie Bash to boot! We all love a good heroic duo, but this being a Halloween party, it’s only fitting to let the bad guys have the spotlight.

Captain Gantu and Dr. Hamsterviel

You may not know their names, but if you grew up in the 2000s, you might recognize Captain Gantu and Dr. Jacque von Hamsterviel. They’re from Disney’s mega franchise of that decade, “Lilo & Stitch.” Gantu debuted in the original 2002 film, while Hamsterviel entered the story with 2003’s “Stitch! The Movie” before they both became the primary villains of “Lilo & Stitch: The Series.”

Against all odds, Gantu and Hamsterviel have actually appeared in Disney theme parks. Here they are at a villains event at Hollywood Studios in 2014. (It seems that one of Jumba’s science projects may have caused Hamsterviel to become scarily huge.)

Due to the nature of their characters, Gantu and Hamsterviel would probably would better as a traditional meet and greet at Oogie Boogie Bash. Remaining silent and awkwardly moving around, they couldn’t properly host a treat trail like other villains could. If we’re really dreaming, though, Disney could go the route of robotic Groot and create a true-to-scale animatronic or puppet version of Hamsterviel. Equip him with the ability to tantrum with rage before guests’ eyes, especially when someone dares to call him “Dr. Hamster Wheel.”

Syndrome

He used to be Incredi-Boy, Mr. Incredible’s biggest fan and aspiring sidekick. Now he’s Syndrome, a self-made supervillain and the antagonist of 2004’s “The Incredibles.”

Syndrome has never appeared in the parks, but Disney Cruise Line debuting face character versions of other “Incredibles” characters earlier this year means the idea of a Syndrome sighting isn’t as much of a wildcard as it might seem. As trick-or-treaters make their way through Syndrome’s treat trail, he’d likely get caught up in describing some elaborate scheme. You caught him monologuing!

Skinner

The rise in popularity of 2007’s “Ratatouille” over the past few years (what with the Epcot ride, the TikTok musical trend, the Remy memes, etc.) means Skinner’s presence at Oogie Boogie Bash is a viral moment just begging to happen.

He was left in charge of Gusteau’s restaurant when the namesake chef passed away, and now he’s paranoid that the culinary empire is slipping through his fingers. In his treat trail, Skinner would be delirious as he manically asks trick-or-treaters if they’ve seen “the rat.”

Dr. Doofenshmirtz

“Behold, the Oogie Boogie Bash-inator!” One can only imagine the crazy plan Dr. Heinz Doofensmirtz from Disney Channel’s “Phineas and Ferb” would concoct for a Halloween party at California Adventure.

Though the namesake brothers from the show, along with Perry the Platypus (Doof’s nemesis), have appeared in Disney parks, Doofenshmirtz never has. He’d be a hoot commenting on guests’ Halloween costumes, maybe even performing a live demonstration of one of his contraptions that inevitably goes wrong. “Curse you, Perry the Platypus!”

King Candy

“Turbo-tastic!” “Have some candy!” “Milk my duds!” King Candy from 2012’s “Wreck-It Ralph” is the villain with a thousand catchphrases. At first appearing jovial and carefree, he later reveals his true identity as Turbo, a rule-breaking psychopath. King Candy in a Disney park would be so cool. He’s probably my top pick on this entire list.

King Candy’s voice (performed by Alan Tudyk) and mannerisms recall Ed Wynn, the actor who played Uncle Albert in “Mary Poppins” and voiced the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland.” King Candy’s personality, though, is the evil opposite of both of those kindly chums. This combination creates a character that is the living embodiment of the word “unhinged,” and who would be a homerun as a live character.

Hela

Ever since Avengers Campus opened at Disney California Adventure in 2021, a who’s-who of Marvel heroes and villains have made the land their home. A few prominent Marvel villains, though, have yet to arrive.

Hela from 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok,” portrayed onscreen by Cate Blanchett, would be a welcome addition to Oogie Boogie Bash. She could command her treat trail from atop the Asgard throne, wryly insulting guests with dry humor as she goes on and on about how hypocritical her brother, Odin, was.

Killmonger

Killmonger’s plans for Wakanda’s future aren’t exactly what his predecessors on the throne had in mind. Portrayed in 2018’s “Black Panther” by Michael B. Jordan, Erik Killmonger is focused, vigilant, and chilling as he overthrows T’Challa to become the new king of Wakanda. He’s one of Marvel’s best villains, hands-down.

While most baddies at Oogie Boogie Bash — and most Disney villain character greetings in general, really — are played for humor more than scares, a Killmonger character encounter would feel off-putting if channeled for comedy. Here would be an opportunity to present a truly menacing presence at the event, different from the slapstick of other treat trails but equally brilliant.

Thanos

No, Thanos from the “Avengers” movies isn’t exactly the most practical choice for a character greeting, but neither was Ernesto de la Cruz.

Like the Disney makeup artists’ exquisite presentation of the undead skeleton musician from “Coco,” Thanos would require some creative thinking in terms of costume and prosthetics to be believable. That being said, Ernesto is absolutely amazing, and a similar approach could perhaps be applied to Thanos. This route would be preferable to, say, trying to create a mascot-like Thanos walk-around.

Thanos should be able to interact verbally with guests, but as with the Killmonger idea, trying to be funny would miss the mark. Thanos is gravely serious about his quest to perfectly balance the universe. Perhaps in a would-be Thanos treat trail, the mad titan could sit pensively in his garden. Regardless of if a Thanos character ever comes to pass, Thanos will still be part of California Adventure eventually. At D23 Expo 2022, Disney shared plans to build a new multiverse attraction for Avengers Campus in which “King Thanos” will be the villain.

Moff Gideon

This would be gold. Obsession drives Moff Gideon, portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito in “The Mandalorian.” Placed into a Disney Halloween party — where it’s nearly impossible to look in any direction and not see at least one person wearing a “Star Wars” Halloween costume — Moff Gideon would be driven to his breaking point.

On a platform atop his treat trail, he’d strut about, saying how much he despises the Mandalorian and the child, and completely losing his cool if a trick-or-treater happens to be dressed like either of them.

Ursula (live-action)

The animated version of Ursula has appeared over the years in the Frightfully Fun Parade, presented during Oogie Boogie Bash. That being said, the event has also included live-action versions of Disney characters, even when their animated counterparts exist elsewhere throughout Disneyland Resort. Johnny Depp’s version of the Mad Hatter and Emma Stone’s version of Cruella have both held court at an Oogie Boogie Bash treat trail, giving perfect reason for Melissa McCarthy’s version of Ursula from the 2023 live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” to do the same.

Can’t wait for Oogie Boogie Bash? Learn the backstory behind the event with Disney Live Entertainment.