Not every story makes for a great basis of Role-Playing Game. Some stories are surprisingly good. A Bug’s Life might not have as much combat as your average D&D campaign, but not closer: A plucky hero journeys through unknown lands to gain the aid of a bunch of performers to help save a group of farmers from the Big Bad Evil Guy and his army.
As soon as you imagine the circus troop as a bunch of bards – persuading and performing and sleight-of-handing their way around the villains, it suddenly makes a lot of sense. Hopper, the main villain in question, is superbly suited for the BBEG role.
Presence – 4 out of 5
Hopper is an excellent example of a TTRPG villain. The monologuing, the intense intimidation tactics, the megalomania, it’s all fantastic to behold.
He strides around every scene, gnashing his words with a passion. There’s a real sense of danger, a rage bubbling just below the surface that he doesn’t seem entirely in control of. When he is showing his temper, he gives off an aura of danger. He’s only holding back because he needs the harvest, otherwise you’d all be doomed.
Not to mention, the entrance. He quite literally appears by busting through a ceiling like it’s not made of compacted earth.
He’s only missing that last point because he’s missing a little, showmanship. Arcane or otherwise, you want your villain to have a little otherworldly flair or a larger-than-life panache. In that sense, Hopper operates on one very grump and intense (though very effective) level.
He also chastises his idiot henchmen in front of the good guys. A detail of his character, but one that would be exploited by a charismatic adventuring party.
Atmosphere – 3 out of 5
I may be a little off with this score, or at the very least allowing some overlap. When he arrives on the scene, the atmosphere dramatically changes, but that’s due in part to his ‘Henchmen’. The sky goes dark as he approaches, because his gigantic entourage is encircling him. However, they are all their because of him. It’s his show, and they’ve clearly all been clued in on the demand for an intimidating show.
The air is so full of dread around him too. The workers are scurrying about at an unhealthy pace as the time for his inspection approaches. They daily lives are ingrained by the stress he has created over who knows how long. He has, in short, manufactured a fearful atmosphere.
Though of course, this does not permeate the world at large. The realms beyond the ant colony seem very unaware of Hopper, or at least aren’t noticeably under his domain. It’s not a very happy or safe looking world, but Hopper’s presence seems to orbit the ants.
Omniscience – 3 out of 5
On the one hand, he is unaware of the construction of a large model bird designed to spook him, and is immediately fooled by it’s appearance. He also has not idea about the clowns or Flik’s efforts to save the day.
On the other hand, this is a villain that knows how most of the ants think, and is supremely good at manipulating the entire colony. He is a very good motivational speaker. Flik’s plan only works temporarily too – despite the initial fear, he quickly sees through the deceptive (and appears to be the only grasshopper to do so).
Having said that, he does fail not notice when the attacking bird is a real bird… so 3 out of 5 is the best he gets.
Henchmen – 3 out of 5
He’s got the numbers, that’s for sure. When Hopper travels, he travels with an army. Not only are they clearly, fiercely loyal to their commander, but they’re also well trained. They all burst out that threatening wing-beat move in perfect synchronicity.
Penalising the score here, is the usual Disney henchman incompetency. In all fairness, it seems to be his second-in-command mainly letting the side down, but Hopper has clipped his own wings by keeping him around. The rest seems reasonably competent, but they never show much might, and they all panic when the fake bird arrives.
He goes gain a bonus half point for whatever is going on with that feral grasshopper…
Threat Level – 3 out of 5
We have another BBEG who is melee only. No spells out ranged attacks, no auras or effects. What we do have is flight, which in many TTRPGs immediately ups the difficulty. In D&D, a creature that can fly automatically has a higher Challenge Rating, at least for characters in their early levels.
Overlapping the factors again, one thing we have to consider is that Hopper is rarely without his goons. It takes a major theatrical production to shatter his army, otherwise Hopper is going to be bodyguarded any time the heroes try to take him down.
Finale – 3 out of 5
This is another case of a finale made around the villain, for the villain, not by the villain. It’s a great spectacle that exists because he’s such a threat, but he’s only adding fleeting henchman and his own frustrated might to proceedings.
He’s also taken out by a big bird, which renders our adventuring party a little pointless (though they may enjoy the poignancy of his demise. Remove this avian deus ex machina from the scene, and your heroes have a real fight on their hands.
Final Score = 3.16
Hopper only drops a few hints as to his combat prowess, and why he is the dominant grasshopper. He strikes me as a grappler, a bully on the battlefield. He favours cheap shots, knocking opponents around, disorienting and humiliating.
With the moveset I’ve given him, he can be mean in the finale, including dropping enemies from one high or kicking them whilst they’re down.
| Disney Villain | Score |
| Jafar | 3.83 👑 |
| Lyle Tiberius Rourke | 3.66 |
| Hopper | 3.16 |
| Robert Callaghan | 3.00 |
| The Horned King | 3.00 |
| Gaston LeGume | 2.66 |
| Cruella de Vil | 2.00 |
| Mor’du | 1.83 |
| Queen of Hearts | 1.33 |
| Edgar Balthazar | 0.75 |
A commendable score. I think this might be as good as it gets without magical powers or otherworldly abilities. A well rounded, evil brute of a BBEG.
Thank You For Reading
The other Disney BBEG contenders are right here.
Gamer Peak 