Jafar Vs. Yzma

Hello & welcome back.   Today, we return to Vs. in it's regular format as I take two characters and pit them up against each other.  Today coming in from Agrabah,  Jafar and from The Emperor's New Groove,  Yzma.  I'm sure that this may seem like an odd comparison but they do share certain similarities in that they both want power.  Now per usual,  I'll be looking at Personality (1),   Desire  (2) , Action  & Outcome (3), Song (4)  & The Film Factor (5).   Now usually when I do a villains Vs., I like to use death but seeing as neither one of these characters die in their films, I'll instead be looking at outcome.   Also you may have noticed that I grouped that in with action. Well, that is because I wanted to keep Song in here.  Now I know that some of you may be thinking but Yzma didn't have a song.   Technically true  but there is a deleted Yzma song and I feel that works.  Also I feel that it would just be criminal to not feature Eartha Kitt's singing.  With that out of the way, let's go.

Personality

Jafar

Jafar is a unique case in that to the others, he comes across as a normal guy as he is able to hide his ruthless tendencies.  Of course,  part that comes from the use of his snake staff that can hypnotize people but once he  gains the power, his evil side is shown and he is shown to be ruthless and will stop at nothing to get what he wants.    It feels as though there is a slow build up to reveal what Jafar is really like.  

Yzma

Yzma on the other end is a complete and utter nutcase and I love her for it.  She is so over the top and eccentric.   This is honestly seen when she is coming up with her plan to kill Kuzco.It is just so funny  and it shows how absurd, she is.  It's makes me laugh watching that scene.  This is tough to judge because I love both of these characters' personalities but in the end, I have to with...  

Yzma

I know this may be seem like an unpopular choice but there is just something about her personality that I really liked as she is very humorous.  

Desire

Jafar

Jafar's desire includes becoming all powerful and that includes getting the lamp but in order to do so,  he needs the one that is the diamond in the rough. He believes getting the lamp will make him the most powerful being and he becomes a powerful sorcerer and eventually this comes to escalate when he gets the lamps and uses his final wish to become a genie.   I have to say that I think Jafar thinks big and on a large scale.

Yzma

Yzma's desire on the other hand seems to be a bit smaller as it can just be boiled down to revenge.  After being fired by Kuzco, she wants to kill him.   A simple plan and that works for her.   Of course as we see, plans go awry. Revenge and murder aren't bad and while they do feel smaller, they as I said work for this character but in this round I have to give it to...

Jafar

Action & Outcome

Now just as a quick reminder, here I'll be taking a look at how the villains put their plans into action and the repercussions of said plans.  

Jafar

When it's comes to Jafar's actions, he relies on trickery  to get what he wants.  As I mentioned prior, he uses his snake staff to hypnotize people but that isn't the only thing as he uses disguises as well. Mainly disguising himself as an old beggar.

 I like this touch as I think that it shows that Jafar is willing to get his hands dirty to get the job done.  Now this also plays into his outcome as when he gets power.  Mainly Genie,  it goes to his head when he is tricked into wishing that he was a genie as he was tricked into believing that he would be powerful.  

I love how his own lust for power tricked him into this because he forgot to factor in that even though, he would have power.   He'd be someone's servant.  

Yzma  

Yzma on the other hand relies on Kronk almost way too much.  I don't know if Yzma was supposed to be a behind the scenes type villain in that she had her henchman do the job.  Because unlike Jafar, it doesn't seem like she doesn't want to get down and dirty.  Don't get me wrong, she is the one that creates the potion but afterwards, she relies on Kronk to execute the plan.  I'm torn here because I can see what Yzma was trying to do but at the same time, I think that Jafar did the better job at executing his plan and also while I'll admit that Yzma's transformation into a cat is a great homage to Eartha Kitt's days as Catwoman,   it feels a little random.

Also I know that a death is implied when she can't get the vial open but alas that was not the case.   Still, it was cute and fun but I have to give this round once again to Jafar.

Song

Now onto what is easily my favorite part of Vs., the song.   

Prince Ali (reprise) (Jafar)

 

Man, I love this.  There is just something so twisted about the idea of taking a song that was a celebration and using it against the hero.   The way he berates Aladdin is deliciously evil.  Also,  you gotta love that evil laugh.  It is just so cool. 

Snuff Out The Light (Yzma)

 

Disney, why didn't you use this? THIS IS AWESOME!   Okay, I really like this song and Eartha delivers well but I have to say that I feel as though that this song was meant for a different film and yes that is probably the case as this was more then like written back when this film was The Kingdom of the Sun and a different tone. Don't get me wrong.  I still love it. All the same and perhaps, I should give this round to Jafar seeing as this song was cut but I think that this is the better song. So,   in a surprise to even myself.  I have to give this round to...

Yzma

(Why do I feel like I'll be called for this?)    

The Film Factor

In a twist that I didn't see coming, we are now tied with Yzma taking Personality and Song while Jafar has taken Desire along with Action & Outcome.   This is the round that decides it all.   As a reminder, The Film Factor looks at which villain worked better in their respective films.  

Jafar

Jafar when on screen felt a little subtle but his presence was known and that works in his favor as he is that type of villain.   In some scenes, he comes across as quiet but once he gets the power, he makes his presence known and there is no denying that he commands the screen at that point.    It is a fun ride all around with Jafar.   

Yzma

From the very moment that you see Yzma, she commands every scene that she is in.  Honestly, her scenes with Kronk are some of the best in this film.  Such as my favorite, "Pull the lever"   There is no denying that Yzma is a comedic villain and I think that is why, she has such a strong presence. At the end of the day, I have to give this round to...

Yzma 

The End Result

I gotta be honest here folks. Before going into this Vs., I thought that Jafar had the win all wrapped up but as you can see, that isn't the case as Yzma won by 3 - 2.  Now I already have a feeling that there may be some disagreement over Yzma winning because of the song but at the end of the day, I chose to include it and I do think that it is the better song. Don't get me wrong I still love the reprise of  Prince Ali and I do like Jafar but at the end of the day, Yzma is the winner.  Peace!