It all started with a mouse. Since 1937, Disney movies have bottled the very essence of childhood. Ask any stranger on the street and chances are they have a favorite Disney flick and/or a favorite Disney princess. Over the years, Disney and Pixar have become really good at two things: making awesome movies and keeping secrets.
By now, most Disney fanatics have made the connection that many of Disney and Pixar’s characters are related thanks to hidden easter eggs. But that fact apart. there are still a lot secrets to uncover, even for those of us who’ve watched our favorite Disney flick dozens of times. So to get you started on your Disney sleuthing, here are 17 facts about Disney movies you never knew:
1. Toy Story 3
In Toy Story 3, Andy says goodbye to his childhood as he packs to leave for college. While the scenes in his room reveal many Easter Eggs such as Finn McMissile (Cars 2) and Nemo (Find Nemo), one of the most interesting Easter Eggs is the postcard found on Andy’s bulletin board. The postcard is addressed from Carl and Ellie Frederickson from UP, indicating that Andy must be related to Fredericksons.
2. Frozen
Disney’s smash-hit Frozen is noted as one of the first Disney movies featuring strong, independent female leads who didn’t rely on a prince to save the day. But did you know that it was also the first movie to feature a homosexual couple? In the scene where Anna first enters Oaken’s Wandering Trading Post and Sauna, Oaken introduces her to his family. Upon closer inspection, you can see that Oaken’s family features another man and several small children, which, along with Oaken’s flamboyant personality, signifies that he is gay.
3. Hunchback of Notre Dame
In the Aladdin sequel, Return of Jafar, Jafar seemingly dies after Iago thwarts his plans to kill Aladdin and destroys his lamp. But in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, we know this isn’t true. Though there’s no telling how Jafar got out of the lamp (like if the magma destroyed the lamp and broke the genie curse) or how he came to be in Paris, but he makes an appearance in his old man disguise as the old heretic in the movie.
4. Sleeping Beauty
Many have noticed that most of Disney’s protagonists are missing one or both parents. This was particularly prominent in Disney’s earlier films as Walt’s own mother died in 1938. The story goes that after the success of Snow White, Walt bought a home for his parents. But a faulty heating system caused his mother Flora to die by carbon monoxide poisoning. Walt later names one of the fairies in Sleeping Beauty after his mom.
5. A113
A113 is a mysterious code that appears in nearly every Disney and Pixar movie ever made. As it turns out, A113 is actually the number of the room at the California Institute of Arts where many Disney and Pixar animators learned their craft.
6. Aladdin
Disney’s 1995 hit Aladdin begins much different from their other films. The tale of Aladdin is introduced by a peddler who resorts to telling the story after failing to captivate the audience with his gizmos and gadgets. While it might not seem out of the ordinary for a Disney tale to be told by an outside character, did you know that the reason the peddler character exists is because he was meant to be someone else? Yes, the peddler was meant to be the genie in disguise. For this reason, they share many characteristics like quirky personalities and the fact that they are the only characters with four fingers.
7. Toy Story 2
Though Toy Story 2 was the underdog of the Toy Story franchise, the movie introduced us to the Woody’s beloved Western counterpart Jessie. In addition, if you paid close enough attention, you will also find that the movie also gave us some background on Andy’s parents. In Toy Story 2, Jessie reveals that she was given away by her owner once she outgrew her. As her owner places Jessie and her things in a box for donation, many have noticed that the red cowboy hat she had was not given away. So it would appear that Emily held onto that hat…and passed it on to her child, who also grew up to love a cowboy doll. As for Andy’s dad? The theory is that Andy’s father was the child in the Woody’s Roundup children’s program. We know that Al tries to buy Woody because Woody is a rare collector’s item and pretty hard to come by. We also know that when Al tries to buy Woody, Andy’s mom tells him that Woody’s not for sale because he is a family toy. So we can assume that Andy’s dad was given Woody after appearing on the show.
8. Monsters Inc.
While most animated child characters are voiced by trained actors, the voice of Boo in Monsters Inc. was actually provided by Mary Gibbs. Gibbs, who was just five at the time of the movie had a hard time with recording and memorizing lines. So in order to get the sound bites for Boo, the production team followed her around the studio and pieced together Boo’s dialogue from the things she said while she was playing.
9. Brave (apple)
Princess Merida’s affinity for apples was no coincidence – in fact, her love for apples, along with the character Lord MacIntosh, holds a sentimental meaning in the movie. In 1986, Apple founder Steve Jobs purchased the Computer Graphics Division of Lucas films from George Lucas and established an independent company to be christened “Pixar.” When the computer mogul passed away in October 2011, it was decided that Brave would be dedicated in his memory with the end credits scripted with: “Dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs, our partner, mentor and friend.” Also a fun fact, nearly all Pixar movies feature Apple products (never Microsoft) for the same reason.
10. 101 Dalmatians
There is definitely no shortage of dogs in Disney’s 101 Dalmatians. But did you know that one of the pups in the movie made its first appearance in another Disney canine movie? Jock, a Scottish terrier is one of Lady’s best friends in Disney’s Lady And The Tramp. In 101 Dalmatians, he is also the one who helps the puppies escape from Cruela de Vil.
11. Bambi
One of the saddest moments in Disney movie history is the passing of Bambi’s mom. While eating a meal, Bambi’s mom sensed danger and urged him to run despite the gun shots ringing in the background. When Bambi returns to their den, we discover that Bambi’s mom did not return, assuming that she was shot and killed by hunters. But what if she wasn’t? Twenty-five years later, a deer bearing a strong resemblance to Bambi’s mom is stalked in Disney’s Jungle Book by Shere Khan. But while it’s nice t think that Bambi’s mom simply went somewhere else, the truth behind this cameo is that Disney often reuses animations to cut film-making time.
12. Big Hero 6
In Disney’s newest superhero movie, Big Hero 6, main characters Hiro and Baymax run to the police station to report the theft of Hiro’s microbots. In the scene, the cop approaches the station bulletin board where you can see many “wanted” posters of criminals at large. But which familiar face appears in the top right corner? It’s none other than Hans, Prince of the Southern Isles, from Disney’s Frozen.
13. Lion King
In Disney’s The Lion King, the hyenas were portrayed as dumb minions sent out to do Scar’s bidding. While their failed attempts made for comedic relief, did you know that Disney was actually sued over it? A hyena biologist protested against the portrayal of hyenas in the film and sued Disney Studios for defamation of character. Another researcher – who had organized the animators’ visit to the University of California’s Field Station for Behavioural Research, where they would observe and sketch captive hyenas —boycotted the movie after seeing the how the hyenas were portrayed.
14. Jungle Book
The singing vultures whom Mowgli befriended in the Jungle Book were voiced by lesser-known British actors thanks in part to John Lennon. When Disney was drawing up the story boards, the plan was to have The Beatles voice the vultures. But it seemed that the Fab Four’s tour schedule didn’t leave any time for recording lines and John Lennon was opposed to the idea of playing a vulture. After the original plan failed, Disney found some British actors for the roles to bear vocal resemblance to The Beatles.
15. Tom Cruise
From his chiseled good looks to the tiny vest showing off his abs, Aladdin is arguably one of the most attractive Disney male leads. But it wasn’t always meant to be that way. The original animation for Aladdin depicted him as a scrawny underdog. But once the Jasmine character design was done, producer Katzenberg had animators scrap the original Aladdin, stating that the onscreen couple’s chemistry needed to be convincing. So at the last minute they tweaked Aladdin to look more toned and chiseled, basing his design off of the hottest Hollywood star at the time, Tom Cruise.
16. Winnie The Pooh
Did you know the voice of Eeyore, the sad pin the tail on the donkey, is also the voice of another popular cartoon character? That’s right, Eeyore voiced by Peter Cullen, who is also the original voice for Optimus Prime. Those two characters couldn’t be more different!
