I've noticed recently that there have been a lot of people complaining about Disney's recent use of so many 'surprise villains', so I'm curious what you guys think.

For me personally, I'm pretty neutral about them, like with any character type there are well done ones and poorly done ones. I mean, some of them like Hans, just turn evil out nowhere. Then you've got Losto and Bellwether, both whom have a lot more depth then your average cartoon villain. So I understand wanting some more variety, since Disney is using a ton of them lately but I don't think people should hate them just because they're different from the classics like Cruella and Ursula.

^Couldn't of said it better myself.

What Cruella and Disnerdtobe said.

I generally think it's a great concept, as it gives the character designers more to think about in terms of depth and layers. I expect it also helps them to think outside the box when it comes to visual design; most Disney villains (or just animated villains, for that matter) are very same-y when it comes to their aesthetics, and when you don't want the audience to know who the bad guy is from their first entrance, you're under a bit more pressure to defy the stereotypes and come up with something more original.

They have done it a lot though. That said, it doesn't take the charm away from each individual. And what probably helps me to enjoy them is the fact that I've hardly seen any Disney movies from this century! But I would like to think that, if I do watch more of them, I could rise above this whole "it's overdone" thing and enjoy them as individual movies. After all, that's what I had to do to enjoy the old style villains - of whom there must be hundreds more of than those of the "surprise villain" variety!

^Exactly!

I like most of them. Some I'm only neutral about.