History DracoInLeatherPants / AnimatedFilms

* Randall Boggs from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' has an enormous Scaly Fandom, especially after pictures of him from the prequel film came out, which showed him as a shy, nervous nerd. But it subsided after he ended up being a minor character with not that much of a backstory. It also helped that in the movie proper, it was made clear that although he wasn't an ''asshole'' from the beginning (more of an earnest, awkward kid who desperately wanted to be popular), his StartOfDarkness was very clearly on his own terms.

* Chelsea Van Der Zee from ''WesternAnimation/RubyGillmanTeenageKraken'' quickly gained this kind of following as soon as she was introduced as a villain in the trailers. When the trailers presented the "Kraken vs Mermaid" as case of BlackAndWhiteMorality, it was popularly theorized that the trailers were misleading; that the conflict would be more nuanced; or that Chelsea may genuinely befriend Ruby despite starting out as the antagonist. [[spoiler:When the movie showed that, yes, Chelsea was really evil and manipulating Ruby the whole time, a portion of the fandom still prefers the theories to the final product. [=DreamWorks=] even seems to parody this trope by having Chelsea deliver the textbook defense of most [=DILPs=] when caught:]]

** ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'': Many fans of the movie do not remember the fact that Denahi was trying to kill both Kenai and Koda for most of the movie's events, thinking that the former was [[MistakenForOwnMurderer "killed" by a bear]] when he was in fact [[KarmicTransformation turned into one]] by Sitka.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Wish|2023}}'': Even before the film's release, King Magnifico gained a subset of fans who claimed he was actually a DesignatedVillain since his decision to limit the wishes he grants [[VillainHasAPoint didn't seem completely unreasonable or baseless]], a view bolstered by both his [[EvilIsCool natural charm]] and the fact that it took a bit for the full depths of his malevolence to be shown in previews. These same fans usually downplay or outright ignore his narcissistic, unsavory character and his selfish reasoning for hoarding the wishes in the first place. [[spoiler:Some even go so far as to make him out to be an innocent victim possessed by the book of forbidden magic who didn't deserve his fate in the end. This is dispite there little indication that he ''was'' being possessed by the book and thus not in full control of the terrible things he did afterward, and that he only resorted to using the book in the first place because of something he perceived as a threat to him (and ''only'' him) and his authority as well as to forcefully make the people of Rosas stop asking questions and fall back into line once they began questioning what he was doing with their wishes, hardly heroic or noble reasons, making him already a terrible person from the start.]]

* Pitch Black from ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians''. EvilIsSexy, and many [[CryForTheDevil feel sympathy]] for his despair at [[GodNeedsPrayerBadly not being believed in]] and [[IJustWantToBeLoved longing for a family]]. Then, some take this too far and say, without a trace of sarcasm, that he's a complete woobie who should be forgiven for all his misdeeds (which include his attempts to murder the Guardians and [[WouldHurtAChild a child]] who was standing in the way of his plans), is justified in his actions, or has done nothing wrong in the first place.

* ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'': Lord Shen, BigBad of the sequel, seems to be well on the way to his pair of leather pants as well, even though he, albeit not a flat villain, is a genocidal murderer, with a fraying grip on sanity and a FreudianExcuse that the creators deliberately made very weak in the final version of the script. Originally, his ParentalAbandonment issues were going to extend much further, with his albino coloring and sickly stature causing his parents to neglect him and leave him solely in the care of the Soothsayer. Shen gets the leather pants treatment because a lot of fans still treat this as canon, despite it not being mentioned in the final film.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': Lord Shen, BigBad of the sequel, seems to be well on the way to his pair of leather pants as well, even though he, albeit not a flat villain, is a genocidal murderer, with a fraying grip on sanity and a FreudianExcuse that the creators deliberately made very weak in the final version of the script.
*** Originally, his ParentalAbandonment issues were going to extend much further, with his albino coloring and sickly stature causing his parents to neglect him and leave him solely in the care of the Soothsayer. Shen gets the leather pants treatment because a lot of fans still treat this as canon, despite it not being mentioned in the final film.

* There are genuinely a minority of people who romanticize Hal Stewart from ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' as a {{Woobie}} who just needed a chance, and likewise interpret Roxanne [[RonTheDeathEater as a superficial and shallow bitch.]] Granted, the moment when he invites her to his "party" is awkward to watch, but this is more Hal's fault than Roxanne's. It was bad enough that he hired a DJ and a bouncy house for a party that was just meant for the two of them, in the vague hope that she would attend, but the wedding photographer took it to a whole other level. Not to mention his unsubtly rude behavior around Bernard/[[spoiler:Megamind]], and of course his actions later on speak for themselves. It's also noteworthy that Roxanne, while clearly (and rightly) creeped out by Hal's actions and attentions, nevertheless consistently makes a clear effort to be nice to him (or at least let him down gently), and that Hal's rant that she never took the time to get to know to him is yet another example of how deluded and entitled he is.

** Jafar in ''{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}}'' has fans who see him this way. They say that he just wants to save his home from ruin that's caused by an idiot sultan, [[ConMan a con artist]], and an irresponsible princess. Remember that he commits treason, tries to murder Aladdin, twice, enslaves the ruler and his daughter, and turns into an evil giant snake and an evil genie. Also that he was pretty much already in charge by hypnotising the Sultan and tried to openly assume power out of egotism more than anything and irrationally hated the Sultan despite him trusting him and respecting him.

* The Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon is known for having charismatic villains that steal the show, and who the audience often sympathizes with. Here are some examples:
** Jafar in ''{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}}'' has fans that see him this way. They say that he just wants to save his home from ruin that's caused by an idiot sultan, [[ConMan a con artist]], and an irresponsible princess. Remember that he commits treason, tries to murder Aladdin, twice, enslaves the ruler and his daughter, and turns into an evil giant snake and an evil genie. Also that he was pretty much already in charge by hypnotising the Sultan and tried to openly assume power out of egotism more than anything and irrationally hated the Sultan despite him trusting him and respecting him.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' is on its way to setting a record with both of its genuinely complex big bads sporting leather pants:
** First is Tai Lung with the vast majority of FanFics based on redeeming him. Fans apparently ignore that he's an [[EntitledBastard entitled]], [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]] [[SpoiledBrat brat]] who was willing to [[MoralEventHorizon take his frustration out on a valley of innocent people]] just because he didn't get his way. Fans [[RonTheDeathEater try to pin blame on Shifu]] for making Tai Lung want the Dragon Scroll, despite the fact that Shifu ''never'' said Tai Lung was destined to be the Dragon Warrior. All Shifu said was that he was destined for greatness. Fans also overlook his repulsive mannerisms (his ArrogantKungFuGuy attitude, his taking pleasure in scaring an innocent bird, his '''[[FauxAffablyEvil mock]]'''-friendly small talk with his enemies when they all know he's planning to either hurt people or steal things, etc.).
*** In the director's commentary, it was pointed out that, in trying to make sure Tai Lung would not be a flat, one-note villain, they went too far in humanizing him and making him sympathetic, to the point that many viewers felt so sorry for him they forgot he was the villain. End result: the flashback sequence of his rampage was added in expressly to remind people why he was in prison in the first place. Unfortunately, some still glossed over the fact that Tai Lung has long since stopped being the WellDoneSonGuy who won't take "no" for an answer and is now entirely willing to, at the very least, beat up the rest of China, including his foster parent, if they stand between him and his goal. Worse, some people ''vilify'' Oogway and Shifu because of the Dragon Scroll incident, despite the fact that Tai Lung's reaction to it indicates that Oogway's belief there was darkness in his heart was ''completely right''.
** Lord Shen, BigBad of the sequel, seems to be well on the way to his pair of leather pants as well, even though he, albeit not a flat villain, is a genocidal murderer, with a fraying grip on sanity and a FreudianExcuse that the creators deliberately made very weak in the final version of the script.

*** Rourke has a similar fanbase to [[Film/{{Avatar}} Colonel Quaritch]]: people who insist he's [[MightyWhitey the paragon of civilization]] beating back the savages and traitors of the Atlanteans and the other expeditioners. However, whatever positive traits you can name about Quaritch, Rourke lacks all of them. His motivation is unapologetically mercenary - he plans to sell a superpowered weapon to the highest bidder (on the brink of a World War, no less) while killing off the last survivors of an ancient culture in the process. He's not impersonally evil, either, having no qualms about [[KickTheDog mortally wounding the nearly-infirm Atlantean king with his own hands while holding him hostage]]. The one positive trait suggested in the film is regret at the deaths of his men... but even that goes out the window when he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness jauntily tosses his loyal second-in-command to her death strictly to lighten the load]] and uses his surviving soldiers as cannon fodder in the final battle.

%% ZCE * Then there's Hopper from ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'', Scroop from ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', and the ultimate head scratcher of Chick Hicks from ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}''; all of them have been given the Leather Pants treatment at least once.