My current theory for toons is that they all suffer from Buzz Lightyear complexes.
When most toons are created, they lack self-awareness. Steamboat Willie Mickey did not seam to know he was an actor and was rather chaotic when his older self brought him out in Steamboat Silly from The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse. The same can be said with the toons in Power of Illusion. Mizarabel seemed to have called in toons like Beast, Rapunzel, and Jafar and trapped them into the Castle of Illusion from different time periods. This explains why they seem to be pulled in from their in-progress stories which seem to have been going on at once (Jafar is still the royal vizier, Rapunzel is still in her tower and Beast is still cursed). They all seem to be taking their problems very seriously.
In Roger Rabbit, we see that the cartoon worlds are built using physical sets,
but the fourth wall is like a portal into the human world where they capture all of this on film.
These sets contain a sun and a solar system. Rather than being a Reality-Fiction Transcendence thing like Looney Tunes, they are adjacent realms. When toons are created, they live in these worlds genuinely believing their stories and problems are real. And why shouldn't they? They're as real to them as Truman's life in the Truman show. However, when the story ends, they come out, and they meet the humans, whom to them, everything is just a movie, but regardless, it is real to them.
In more concrete narratives like say The Lion King it's like a one-and-done thing. But the reason that Mickey and the others are so meta is because they're reoccurring cartoon stars. They can't just be Truman Show'd over and over again. They have to be actors. Willing and professional actors. Toons like Roger Rabbit have more of a hands-on relationship with their directors with them having to ask for more takes instead of everything being in one continuous shot. Because they're already in on it.
But for villains like the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Maleficent... it's not so easy to... adapt. This is why even though their movies are over... they still display evil tendencies. Because that was their life. That was how they really were. Powerful. Not just for some performance but because they liked it. Because they are evil in nature. They still torment Mickey and even though they're invited like everyone else to the House of Mouse and are expected to behave, in House of Villains, that maliciousness still remains.
Of course, they can all live in the Cartoon World/Toontown away from humans where they can live life as they prefer. Which is where they end up after their work is finished in House of Mouse, Mickey Mouse 2013... and I would assume... Lion King 1 1/2.
