One of my favorite cards in Disney Lorcana’s The First Chapter is Captain Hook, Thinking A Happy Thought. Even though the card has lore text, it tells an entire story just with its art; in Peter Pan, the curmudgeonly captain is frequently thwarted by Peter, largely because he has the advantage of flight. Being stuck on the ground while Peter torments him from the sky eats at Hook, reminding him of his lost youth and the freedom that went with it. When he calls Peter a coward for flying away during their duel, he’s clearly betraying his jealousy. Captain Hook will never fly. He has no pixie dust, and he certainly doesn’t have any happy thoughts.
But here in Lorcana, he can. Captain Hook, Thinking a Happy Thought is the perfect example of the kind of unique creativity and storytelling that Lorcana excels at. It leverages the themes and iconography of classic stories to create something new, subverting our expectations while maintaining the core of who each character is. His ability, Stolen Dust, tells us that despite his flight, this is still the duplicitous, malevolent Captain Hook we know and love. What kind of happy thought is Captain Hook thinking about? Murdering Peter Pan, of course.
It’s no surprise that Lorcana was born from the house that created Disney Villainous. Ravensburger understands exactly what makes Disney villains such great characters, and you can see that passion for depicting deliciously evil antagonists all throughout The First Chapter. There are plenty of heroes, princesses, allies, and other do-gooders in the set, but the amount of love poured into the baddies makes it clear that The First Chapter belongs to the villains.
Of the 150 characters in The First Chapter, a third of them are villains. There are twice as many Captain Hooks as Peter Pans, and three times as many Hades as Hercules. There are three Dr. Faciliers but no Tianas; The Queen but no Snow White. Other than Mickey, Maleficent has the most cards of any character. Even with some notable exceptions like the Queen of Hearts and Madam Mim, the bad guys are incredibly well represented in this first set.
But it’s not just about the numbers, it’s also about the way they’re represented. One of the things that makes Disney villains so compelling is their sheer archness; how much they love being unapologetically evil, and these cards capture that spirit remarkably well. There is so much joy in Disney villainy, you can even see it in their expressions.
Whether it’s sinister grin like Jafar, Wicker Sorcerer or a maniacal cackle like Hades, Infernal Schemer, almost every villain is shown with a smile. Many are more expressive than their heroic counterparts, and you can see how much fun the designers and artists had while recreating these characters.
You can’t have a good villain without loyal henchmen, and The First Chapter gives plenty of love to the Disney lackeys too. Mr Smee, Starkey, Flotsam and Jetsam, Goons, Horace and Jasper, and Iago all get to join the fun. Heck, Lefou has more appearances in the first set than Gaston. These mischievous minions make their masters more interesting, and it’s a testament to Ravensburger’s expertise in the subject of villainy that so many of them are included in Lorcana right out of the gate.
Ravensburger could have used Lorcana as a way to explore a different side of Disney than the one it features in Villainous, but instead it chose to dive even deeper into the dark side, delivering all scoundrels and fiends that fans want to see. It’s a big part of what makes Lorcana so interesting, and I can’t wait to think happy thoughts while battering my friends with my wickedly awesome villain deck.