There are more remakes and sequels being released than original films today but than again are
they really original?
Films reuse plotlines over and over again but that’s okay because they usually find
a plotline twist that we love and we keep heading into theaters.
Disney has been making animated films since 1937 and their first film Snow White was based
off a popular Brothers Grimm story.
Still, sometimes their plotlines are closer to films that have already been released and
people are quick to point out the similarities.
Here is Screen Rant’s list of ten Times Disney Stole Ideas From Other Popular Movies.
Stick around to the end of the video for a Frozen fact that you might not have known.
Aladdin
Nearly thirty years in the making, Miramax released The Thief And The Cobbler in 1995.
Miramax, which was a subsidiary of Disney at the time was supposed to beat Aladdin into
theater but did not.
When watching the two films it is impossible not to see the similarities.
Both villains had a bird as a partner in crime, numerous costumes looked the same and the
villain in Cobbler looked a great deal like Aladdin’s Genie.
Both of these films are considered classic animations today, even if you see the similarities.
Toy Story
The story of toys coming to life when humans aren’t around and these toys having their
own secret life was the plotline of a Jim Henson special released in 1986.
Henson released a special called, The Christmas Toy where the protagonist is desperate to
keep his status as the favorite toy.
When a new toy arrives that is space themed she doesn’t believe she is a toy.
Doesn’t that sound familiar to the story line of 1996’s Toy Story?
It’s okay Disney has worked with the Henson team for many years and today they even own
The Muppets.
Wait till you see which film’s plotline is similar to Toy Story 2.
Monsters Inc.
A monster living under your bed isn’t a new concept but having a portal to a world
of monsters is a little more unique.
In the 1989 film, Little Monsters, Fred Savage follows a blue furry, horn toting monster
into a monster world.
In Monsters Inc. an adorable little girl follows a big blue monster into her closet to another
monster world.
The few people who have actually a seen both films saw the similarities but there is less
in common than there is in common.
Now if Fred Savage returned to this monster land to go to college, than we might have
an issue with Disney.
The Incredibles
2004’s The Incredibles is about a family of four with these super powers: Superhuman
strength, ability to be invisible, super speed; and the ability to stretch and flex like rubber.
Another story of four superheroes with superpowers is The Fantastic Four, with their superpowers
being: Superhuman strength, ability to be invisible, ability to generate flames and
fly and the ability to stretch and flex like rubber.
Three out of four are the same but what happens when baby Jack-Jack finds his powers?
He can self-combust, levitate and teleport; that sounds pretty close to us.
What do you think?
The Lion King
The Lion King was billed as Disney’s first big animated feature that wasn’t a retelling
of a fairytale or a previous story.
So when the similarities to the Japanese-created American television cartoon series called,
Kimba The White Lion was revealed it was a little shocking.
From the plotline to the strong image of a lion standing atop Pride Rock, all of this
can be seen in the cartoon series.
Still Disney states that The Lion King was based off Bambi and Hamlet despite the similarities.
You remember the scene with Bambi’s departed parent talking to them as a cloud.
Oh wait, that was Kimba’s parent.
Toy Story 2
The filmmakers behind Toy Story must love Jim Henson’s work as much as we do.
Toy Story 2 has a very similar plotline to 1985’s Follow That Bird, starring Big Bird.
Big Bird leaves Sesame Street and finds other birds more like him, he gets kidnapped and
forced to perform in a circus.
His family from Sesame Street saves him and he goes back to his home where he truly belongs.
Woody leaves his home when a toy collector steals him.
Winds up with cowboy characters just like him and he’s going to be displayed in a
museum but is ultimately saved by his friends and returns home.
Luckily Toy Story 3 doesn’t have any Henson similarities or we would start to wonder.
Toy Story 3
Speaking of the Toy Story franchise, we all know how important John Lasseter is to the
Pixar studios.
Did you know he worked on the story for a Disney film called, The Brave Little Toaster?
In both films a kid goes off to college and through a misunderstanding his toys or appliances
are taken away.
The films are about the adventures of these toys making their way back to their owner,
both having a life or death scene at the city dump.
Robin Hood
When Walt Disney died in 1966, it took a long time for the studio to release another animated
hit.
One of the reasons was that the studios were cutting back the budgets of these films and
the filmmakers had to find ways to cut their costs.
One trick was to re-draw over previous cells made for other Disney films.
They even went as far back to their first animated release of Snow White for the film
Robin Hood.
This is one-way Disney stole from the old and gave to the new.
Cars
1991’s Doc Hollywood starred Michael J. Fox as a doctor who crashes his car into a
fence at a small town.
The judge sentences him to community service and he soon comes to respect the town’s
old fashion doctor.
Once he is able to leave he wants to return to his newfound home.
Looks like Disney said, “I love that car crash scene but the people ruin this movie”.
So they got rid of the people and changed the storyline a little and we got the animated
film Cars.
Still, we don’t remember any scene with a car coming our of the water without her
hood down.
Frozen
The story of a Snowman that comes to life is nothing new but tell that to animator Kelly
Wilson who made the 2009 short The Snowman.
In Frozen’s teaser, Olaf sneezes off his nose and Kristoff’s reindeer Sven goes after
that carrot nose.
In The Snowman, after the snowman looses his nose bunnies try to take it from him.
Some of the shots are even identical to Disney’s teaser.
Either way the movie Frozen melted our hearts and The Snowman was adorable to watch too.
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Did we skip over any other Times Disney Stole Ideas From Other stories?
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