Villains Tonight! was a Disney live stage show that ran on the Disney Cruise Line from 2010-2017 on the Magic and Dream ships.
Starring the Lord of the Underworld himself, Hades from Hercules, the story focuses on how, post-movie, Hades has lost his villainous fire after his humiliating defeat. With the Fates threatening that he'll lose his title if he can't generate enough evil in one night, Hades turns to other dastardly Disney villains in an attempt to keep his crown—and discovers the real evil may have been inside him all along.
Besides Hades, villains included are Ursula, Scar, Yzma and Kronk, The Evil Queen, Maleficent, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, Cruella De Vil, and Jafar and Iago. Dr. Facilier and Chernabog also appeared in early versions of the show but their roles were cut over time.
This show contains examples of:
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: One of Hades' predictions for his potential future is a Disney sequel that's not direct-to-DVD, as was a common practice for Disney at the time the show was written.
- Call-Back: Hades mentions Maleficent is a villain who must be invited properly, since as her debut movie shows, he knows what she'd do if she wasn't.
- Description Cut: After gloating that not even Pain and Panic can screw up delivering the villains' invitations, it cuts to them lounging around at Ursula's Under the Sea Lounge, complete with fizzy drinks.
- Determinator: After briefly considering giving up, Hades remembers Captain Hook and his relentless pursuit of Peter Pan and vows never to throw in the towel.
- Eviler than Thou: Hades claims to have invented evil, and ad-libs jokes about being more evil than other villains, including "making Lord Voldemort look like Hello Kitty" and "making the IRS look like Goodwill."
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Hades completely loses it whenever Hercules is mentioned. This is the final push needed to max the Evil-O-Meter.
- I'm Going to Disney World!: After Hades goes all out to retain his title, the Fates decide to go on a Disney cruise...specifically, the one the show is playing on.
- In the Style of: "Be Prepared" is done with electric guitars and rocking bass, changing the feel of the song to electric.
- It Was with You All Along: Even with all the other villains' help Hades can't generate enough evil...until the Hercules incident is mentioned and sets him into a rage, proving that what he needed was with him to begin with.
- Mood Whiplash: The opening is rather spooky, with Toccata and Fugue in D Minor playing, projections of the Underworld from Hercules, and Pain and Panic taunting the guests that the doors are locked...and then it segues into an upbeat and happy dance number where shades cheerfully welcome you to the Underworld, which is now called the Funderworld.
- Playing with Fire: Since having Hades' hair and back on fire as in the film would be both dangerous and expensive, here he has a staff that shoots fireballs at anyone unfortunate enough to suffer his wrath.
- Poke the Poodle: In one show Hades threatened the moms and dads in the audience to start laughing or else he'd shut down the Oceaneers Club.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Gender-flipped when the Evil Queen furiously denies that Hades is her boyfriend, though she admits to having a good time on Castaway Key together.
- Ship Tease: Pain and Panic wonder if Hades and Queen Grimhilde are dating, but she denies it. They later wonder the same about Hades and Maleficent.
- Take That!: In one live show, when going through his Rolodex of villains, Hades stumbled on Gaston and turned him down, saying "If I wanted an egomaniac pseudo-ladies' man I'd just call Charlie Sheen."
- Toilet Humor: The Evil Queen's poison apple gives Pain gas instead of killing him.
- Villain-Based Franchise: This is Disney's first full-scale musical production to solely focus on their villains, with nary a hero in sight.
- Villain Song: Several villains get the chance to show off their singing prowess.
- Hades, Pain, and Panic sing "Villains Tonight!" to open the show, as well as its reprise in the finale.
- Ursula sings "Poor Unfortunate Souls."
- Scar sings "Be Prepared."
- Yzma sings "Yzmopolis" from The Emperor's New School.
- Captain Hook and his pirates sing "A Pirate's Life" from their film and "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" from Pirates of the Caribbean.
- Cruella de Vil sings her namesake song.
- Villainous Breakdown: Hades has been in one since his defeat in the original film, with the Underworld having lost almost all of its menace as a result.
- Villains Act, Heroes React: Lampshaded by the crowd of villains at the end. "Without a villain in the story, what does the hero have to do?"
- Villains Out Shopping: When not forming contracts or scheming to rule the seas, Ursula has a lounge act that she performs for Pain and Panic.
