Talk:Bellwether/@comment-24308881-20160308140458/@comment-1635429-20160331201248

The charming aspect doesn't always work, you're right. Certain characters, like Yolai, just need to be intimidating.

But the difference is that they try to make Bellwether charming. Her performance during the climax is very hammy and over-the-top, but for me, it didn't work, and she just came off as annoying and out of place. If they used the entire movie to develop that side of her character, instead of a mere seven minutes of her screen time, it probably would've stomached better. And a change of voice actresses wouldn't hurt either. I mean, I'm sure Jenny Slate is great, but she doesn't have the range to pull off a convincing villain, sadly.

I agree with you, she definitely has motivation, and she could have been a really compelling character if they developed her story and why she feels the way she feels. You can make assumptions, and headcanons, but honestly, all we see from her at the climax is that she's a power-hungry "racist", so to speak, with a disdain towards her boss. They play her up as this complex character who wants justice for prey animals, but they completely contradict that in the climax, when Judy says, "So that's it—prey fears predator and you stay in power?" and her response is "Yeah, pretty much." She doesn't care about prey, she just wants predators taken down, and climb the political latter of power in the process, basically ruining any ounce complexity and just making her, once again, the "racist" politician who wants power. If they had just dropped the act sooner, and gave her time to flesh out, it would've probably made more sense, and felt a little more organic/tolerable.

She doesn't ruin the movie or anything, and there are much worst antagonists in Disney movies, but she is my one glaring flaw in an otherwise fantastic movie, which adds to why it's so frustrating. That, and the fact that this is the third consecutive underdeveloped bad-guy in Disney's string. I'm really rooting for Moana to end this trope.