LogFAQs > #979756082

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/d9c1f050.jpg

20. Twisted
Source: Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier
Villain: Jafar and Scheherazade's Disney Villains
Nominator: jcgamer108 (eliminated)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDIRtNVwGDk

Villainy: 2
Characterization: 10
Melody: 10
Total: 22/30

"The question then is whether 'tis nobler in the mind / To be well-liked but ineffectual, or moral but maligned?"

We've officially hit the point of the contest where the remaining villains have to be actual villains, misguided is no longer going to cut it after this. All it took was this motherfucker getting a perfect score in both other categories to make it this far! In fact, this feels weirdly familiar? Oh, remember that time in the last contest where Defying Gravity was nominated from Wicked, and even though it placed high off of the characterization and just being a great song, LITERALLY THE ENTIRE POINT OF WICKED IS ABOUT HOW ELPHABA ISN'T THE VILLAIN. And that brings us to Twisted, a parody of Wicked and Aladdin, where LITERALLY THE ENTIRE POINT IS ABOUT HOW JAFAR ISN'T THE VILLAIN! Look, I'm not complaining, because if I'm completely honest this might be my favorite song in the whole contest, and probably my favorite Starkid song as well, and I've got a lot to say about it. But I'm really surprised it got nominated! Especially given that there are two other much more clear cut villain songs in this same musical, "I Steal Everything" (a song about Aladdin being a dirtbag and overall terrible person) and "No One Remembers Achmed" (a song about the rival prince threatening genocide on Agrabah so people will stop mocking him).

Ok, so I'll just start with Jafar's parts specifically because on their own, they'd be enough to place this song probably at the same ranking or very close. I mean the song is a lyrical masterpiece. It's a rapidly sung philosophical debate of inner turmoil that never misses a fucking beat. I mean, come on:

"What remains of a man when that man is dead and gone? / Only memories and stories of his deeds will linger on / But if a man's accomplishments aren't in the tale they tell / Are the deeds that go unheralded his legacy as well?"

"I'll never be a hero who all the citizens adore / But if I hide to save my life, what has my life been for?"

Just as a reminder, this is coming from an amateur theater company's expletive-laden parody of a Disney movie, whose opening song features the line "May the rats ejaculate upon you." This song is essentially the definition of misguided, although it's really more in seek of guidance than anything else. And ultimately, he makes what is the right choice, choosing to become the villain in the eyes of the people in order to save their lives! I was half tempted to nominate it for paulg235's Hero Songs Ranking. And I mean goddamn, Dylan Saunders can sing. Probably the most vocally talented of all the Starkid regulars, though he's not without competition. (Fun fact: for those unfamiliar with Starkid, this is the same guy that was Scarecrow in the Batman Rogues Gallery song ranked a few dozen spots back).

And then we get to the section that really made the song a hit with fans, the Disney villain monologues. I didn't list out all those previous rankings two spots back just for Oogie's benefit; three of the previous nominees are in this song! Ursula, Scar and Gaston each get their chance to display why they weren't actually the villains of their own stories, but were simply making the difficult choices to do what they thought was right for the people they swore to protect. And the tempo and style of the song changes for each character! Captain Hook, Maleficent and Cruella de Vil all get cameo appearances as well, and the characters all prove that they're not truly evil by recognizing Cruella as the one Disney villain whose actions truly couldn't be justified, because there is no interpretation of events that can make killing and skinning puppies not evil.

Anyway, this is easily the longest write-up, but honestly just go watch Twisted, the whole thing is on Youtube and it's fantastic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-77cUxba-aA