19 Things You Didn’t Know About Disney

Growing up, I had an Aladdin sleeping bag, The Lion King on VHS, Tarzan figurines, The Jungle Book picture book, and an affinity towards anything Disney. Disney permeated our childhood, and when we think back on it, we feel longing for the “good times.” I don’t blame you, because being 4-years-old meant no responsibilities except keeping your tuckus clean.

Here are 19 things you probably didn’t know about Disney (in addition to Nico Lang’s post here).

1. The sorcerer in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is named Yen Sid. Spell it backwards and it’s diS neY.

Fantasia
Fantasia

2. Actress and writer Sherri Stoner was the model for Belle and Ariel. Ariel biting her lower lip and Belle brushing hair from her face are both mannerisms of Stoner that the animators captured and brought into the characters.

3. Walt Disney held the patent for technicolor for two years, which meant that Disney was the only producer of color cartoons during that time.

4. Joss Whedon came up with Rex in Toy Story.

Toy Story
Toy Story

5. Dumbo is the quietest character in all of the Disney movies.

Dumbo
Dumbo

6. The roars from lions in The Lion King aren’t actually the roars of lions. They’re from tigers. Disney thought the captured lion roars weren’t loud enough, so they used tigers instead.

7. Simba is Swahili for “Lion,” Mufasa means “King” in Manazoto.

8. The Little Mermaid had the most special effects out of any Disney movies — aside from Fantasia. Over one-million bubbles were drawn, and processes like airbrushing, computer animation, superimposition were used.

The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid

9. Mickey Mouse is the first cartoon character to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

10. Belle, Pumbaa, and Aladdin’s carpet make cameos in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

11. Aladdin’s movements with baggy pants were based on MC Hammer.

12. In The Rescuers, there is an image of a topless woman in the background.

13. The character Powerline, from A Goofy Movie is a mix of Price and Michael Jackson.

14. Steve Martin was — at one point — considered for Goofy’s voice.

15. The 101 Dalmatians movie features “6,469,952 spots on the backs of 101 lovable Dalmatians as they appear in 113,760 frames of film.” Now that’s a lot of spots.

101 Dalmatians
101 Dalmatians

16. Mickey Mouse has four fingers because a mouse with five fingers looks weird — but it’s also a financial reason too. Adding a fifth digit adds more time to production, so by having four, the studio would save money.

17. The Lion King was originally titled, “The King Of The Jungle”.

18. Princess Aurora makes a cameo in Oliver And Company.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_4RAmWt4Ac&w=584&h=390%5D

19. Donald Duck was a Nazi at one point. There is an animated short that depicts Donald in Nazi paraphernalia, and Joseph Goebbels, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler all make appearances in it.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2I7rlmefA8&w=584&h=390%5D

How’s that for a Disney movie? Thought Catalog Logo Mark

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