Walt Disney Pictures was founded in 1923, and for more than nine decades, they’ve
constantly delivered audiences top-notch entertainment content.
With all of the properties they own today, the Mouse House is arguably more popular than
it’s ever been, enthralling moviegoers of all ages with a variety of captivating stories
and memorable characters.
Still, for all the great things Disney has done, not everything they create is wholly
original.
There are more than a few instances of one Disney movie “borrowing” a concept from
another Disney flick, trying to put a new spin on it so fans won’t notice.
Here are 10 poplar movie ideas Disney stole from Disney.
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Zootopia
Those who have seen the infamous “recycled animation” clips online know that Disney
likes to use the same character models for different productions in an effort to save
time, and it’s a practice that continued well into the 21st century when computer animation
became the dominant form.
Nick Wilde, one of the main characters in the hit film Zootopia, bears a close resemblance
to someone from an old Disney film.
His design follows the template of Robin Hood from Disney’s 1973 take on the story.
Both characters are foxes, so it isn’t surprising the directors looked to Robin Hood for inspiration.
Frozen
Let It Go may have dominated the airwaves, but it was hardly the only catchy musical
number from Frozen.
The lovable snowman Olaf had a tune of his own called In Summer, where he sang about
how he wished he could enjoy warmer weather.
At one point in this sequence, Olaf does a dance with some seagulls in yellow and red
hats.
It’s an obvious reference to Disney’s own Mary Poppins, when Mary Poppins and Bert
dance with the penguins who are wearing similar outfits.
There’s no denying it’s a fun little moment, so it’s easy to see why the studio would
want to use it again.
Moana
Upon its release, Moana earned rave reviews from critics who praised it for eschewing
the traditional Disney princess formula.
Moana is a strong, independent woman who is not dependent on a love interest to get by
in the story.
As progressive as this is, no new ground was really broken.
That same character set-up was used for Merida in Brave, albeit in ancient Scotland instead
of the Pacific Islands.
Given that Brave was another box office hit that won an Oscar, Disney figured it would
work well again.
Another similarity is that Moana and Merida are the only Disney “princesses” not based
on a fairy tale or legend.
Aladdin
One of the more memorable elements in Pinocchio is that fact that whenever the wooden puppet
tells a lie, his nose grows.
But did you know that Pinocchio isn’t the only Disney hero with an easy-to-spot tell
for when he’s being untruthful?
Many years later when making Aladdin, the Mouse House incorporated this trope in a fun,
creative way.
Whenever Aladdin lies, the plume on his hat falls and covers his face.
This may not have gone down in film history the way Pinocchio’s nose did, but it’s
still a fun inclusion and something for fans to keep an eye out for the next time they
watch the movie.
Disney apparently wants to teach children not to fib, which is an admirable goal.
The Lion King
For an entire generation of moviegoers, the death of Mufasa is one of the most traumatizing
film moments they’ve ever had to endure.
Even after the scene was altered to be less intense, it still served up one of Disney’s
strongest stomach punches.
There’s only one thing that could possibly rival it: the death of Bambi.
The similarities between the two sequences are no accident either.
When writer Irene Mecchi joined the project, she was told the pitch was “Bambi in Africa
meets Hamlet,” so Disney knew what they were doing from the start.
It’s hard to argue with the results, and The Lion King is one of their most acclaimed
films.
Wreck-it Ralph
Disney’s ode to video games broke tradition for animated films by having the principal
actors record their voice over lines together.
This allowed for better chemistry to develop and allowed for improvisation.
It’s a cool idea, and it’s one Disney had experience with years earlier in Monsters,
Inc.
For that Pixar production, John Goodman and Billy Crystal spent time in the recording
booth together, as did Steve Buscemi and Frank Oz.
Monsters, Inc. was noteworthy for the comradery between the characters, so this unorthodox
method clearly paid off in the end.
You can expect things will be the same when production on Wreck-it Ralph 2 gets underway.
Up
Disney films have featured a multitude of villainous characters, but most of them seem
to meet their ultimate end in the same manner.
It’s become a frequent occurrence for Mouse House evildoers to fall to their deaths.
A recent example of this was seen in Up, when Charles Muntz took a tumble to his doom.
He was the fifth Disney villain to die this way, following the likes of the Wicked Queen,
Gaston, Frollo, and others.
Up was the first time a Pixar movie incorporated this Disney trope, so it’ll be interesting
to see if this is a one-time thing or a sign of what’s to come.
Inside Out
Pixar loves to make references to their other films, but they’re usually light-hearted
Easter eggs for those paying close attention.
For Inside Out, they included a callback that could be a bit more morbid.
When Riley is having nightmares about her new house in San Francisco, a deceased rat
pops up on the screen.
Longtime Pixar fans may notice that this critter looks eerily similar to Remy, the hero of
Ratatouille.
Hopefully everyone’s favorite rat chef didn’t meet his end since we last saw him and this
is just another case of Disney reusing their character models again.
Remy was an inspiration to us all, so we don’t want him to be nightmare fodder.
WALL-E
Pixar’s 2008 smash hit takes place in a future where humanity has abandoned Earth,
but the filmmakers looked to the past and present for inspiration in the movie’s design.
The People Mover transportation system is a nod to the old Disneyland attraction WEDway
PeopleMover, which was in Tomorrowland for 30 years.
Additionally, the spaceship AXIOM was partly influenced by the Disney Cruise Line ships,
giving its inhabitants a luxurious environment to call home.
As the old saying goes, you write what you know, and the creative team at Disney certainly
adhered to that.
It grounded the futuristic bits of WALL-E so the audience could really buy in.
Zootopia
Life isn’t always easy for Judy Hopps.
As the first bunny cop in Zootopia, she has to overcome a lot of adversity on a daily
basis.
In order to get by, she adapts the mantra “Tomorrow is another day.”
Where did she get it from?
Judy is apparently a fan of old Disney flicks.
The line can be seen as a reference to a song from The Rescuers, which was also about a
group of unlikely animal heroes working together to solve a crime while facing menacing predators
on their quest.
That seems like a fairly big coincidence, so it wouldn’t be shocking if Disney had
The Rescuers in mind when piecing together the outline of the story.
Conclusion
Those are our picks for times Disney stole ideas from Disney.
Which ones did we miss?
Sound off in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe for more fun videos!