Which Disney films share the same universe? Who are the real-life inspirations for your favorite characters? And which scripts were almost COMPLETELY changed? This list explores the secret stories behind the most iconic Disney characters, proving that—in the end—happily ever after isn’t always what it seems.
1. Who Shot Bambi's Mother?
The hunter responsible for the demise of Bambi's mother was originally credited as "Man," but an early draft of Who Framed Roger Rabbit was going to reveal that her killer was in fact none other than Judge Doom!
2. She Had The First Word
The first character to actually speak in a full-length Disney cartoon was the Evil Queen in Snow White. Not first villain, or first female character: first voice ever. Her first wicked words were "Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face".
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) - Walt Disney Pictures
3. Frozen Had A Completely Different Villain
Initially, creators planned to have Elsa as the evil Snow Queen, comparable to other white-haired greats like Cruella de Vil and Ursula. However, the musical number "Let It Go" was a total gamechanger. After hearing the lyrics, the writers completely rejigged the plot to make her the beloved antihero of our dreams.
Frozen (2013) - Walt Disney Pictures
4. Frollo Was Actually A Man Of God
In Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Frollo is a Catholic priest. For the Disney adaptation, screenwriters made him into "Judge Claude Frollo" the Minister of Peace, as not to offend any religious sensibilities.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) - Walt Disney Pictures
5. A Famous Drag Queen Inspired Ursula
Ursula from The Little Mermaid was inspired by the iconic drag queen, and John Waters' muse, Divine. Unfortunately, Divine did not live to bring Ursula to life himself, as she passed on in 1988.
6. Captain Hook And George Darling Are Oddly Connected
The same actor voices two characters from Peter Pan. Hans Conried is the voice behind both Captain Hook and George Darling. And we can't deny that there are some obvious similarities here.
Peter Pan (1953) - Walt Disney Pictures
7. The Evil Witch Reigns Supreme
The Queen from Snow White was ranked #10 on the "villains" portion of the AFI's 100 Greatest Heroes & Villains list. To give you a sense of how wicked that is, she beat Michael Corleone from The Godfather by one spot.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) - Walt Disney Pictures
8. Only One Princess Kissed A Villain
Poor Jasmine really took one for the team when she tried to save Aladdin by locking lips with the evil Jafar. In fact, she is the only Disney princess to kiss a villain.
Aladdin (1992) - Walt Disney Pictures
9. Tarzan's Family Betrayal
In Disney’s 1999 adaptation of Tarzan, we know little of Clayton beyond that he really wants to hunt those gorillas. In the original Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, however, Clayton is revealed to be Tarzan’s paternal cousin. The Disney version of Clayton doesn’t resemble much of the literary Clayton beyond sharing the same name, but it’s good to know that after all these years, Disney still doesn’t shy from kin-slaying.
Tarzan (1999), Walt Disney Pictures
10. The Little Mermaid Almost Lost Its Iconic Song
One of the film's best songs, "Part of Your World," almost didn't make the final cut. During the test screening, a child in the audience dropped his popcorn, making the chairman of Walt Disney Studios worry that the song was too boring. Luckily, the rest of the staff disagreed and saved the day for all of us.
The Little Mermaid (1989) - Walt Disney Pictures
11. An Unprecedented Expiration
Technically speaking, Mother Gothel is the first Disney villain to die on-screen of old age.
Tangled (2010), Walt Disney Pictures
12. Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder Are In Frozen
If you keep your eyes peeled while watching Frozen, you may notice a brief appearance of Tangled's main players—Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder. You can see them here, entering the castle for Elsa's coronation.
Frozen (2013) - Walt Disney Pictures
14. Walt Disney Had A Favorite Princess
Walt Disney told Ilene Woods (the actress who voiced Cinderella), "You're my favorite heroine, you know". She replied, "You mean Cinderella?" "Yes," he said, "there's something about that story I associate with".
Cinderella (1950) - Walt Disney Pictures
15. A Fable Inspired A Bug's Life
A Bug’s Life was inspired by Aesop’s fable, The Ant and The Grasshopper. In this story, a grasshopper spends the harvest months having fun instead of collecting food. Come winter, the grasshopper is starving and begs the ants for food but is turned away. Andrew Stanton and Joe Ranft wondered why the grasshopper doesn’t just take the ants’ food.
Thus, the antagonist Hopper and A Bug’s Life were born.
16. The Beast Is A Combination Of Many Animals
According to animator Glen Keane, he found inspiration for the Beast's singular look by looking at many different animals. He used a wolf's legs, a bear's body, a dog's tail, a buffalo's head, a gorilla's eyebrows, a lion's mane, and a wild boar's muzzle.
Beauty and the Beast (1991) - Walt Disney Pictures
17. Sleeping Beauty Barely Spoke
38. Lady Tremaine Was Chillingly Realistic
Lady Tremaine, AKA Cinderella’s stepmother, was deliberately drawn to be more realistic than the film’s other antagonists. Filmmakers wanted her to embody a more chilling and "out of this world" demeanor by drawing, ironically, from our world.
Cinderella, Walt Disney Productions
39. Skateboarding Inspired Tarzan's Movements
The animator Glen Keane revealed one of the greatest inspirations behind Tarzan—his son, Max: "[Max] loved performing fearless skateboarding stunts and watching extreme sports, such as snowboarding. Thus, Tarzan seemed to 'surf' through the trees".
Tarzan (1999) - Walt Disney Pictures
59. What’s a Good Henchman For?
In The Lion King, Scar’s iconic number "Be Prepared" is actually sung by... Ed the Hyena. Or rather, Ed’s voice actor (Jim Cummings) stepped in to do the singing voice for Jeremy Irons for part of the song. Irons had blown out his vocal cords while trying his best, so that’s Cummings doing his best Irons impression for the song’s final third.
The Lion King, Walt Disney Pictures
60. Going Solo
All the animation for Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians was done by a single person. That’s a lot of straight lines for one poor sketch artist.
61. Gaston Was Not The Original Villain
Gaston was not originally supposed to be the lead villain in Beauty and the Beast. Instead, Belle’s evil Aunt Marguerite was meant to have occupied that dastardly role. Unfortunately for her, Maggie did not have what it takes to make the film’s final cut, and so it's Gaston that we all remember hating so much.
62. They Had Another Hades In Mind
Before James Woods won the part of Hades, the creators of Hercules imagined the role for John Lithgow or even Jack Nicholson—two distinct voices, but not exactly fast-talkers, as Woods’ Hades came to be known.
63. The Stars Just Didn’t Line Up
Patrick Stewart had to turn down the role of Jafar in Aladdin because he was too busy filming Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Aladdin (1992) - Walt Disney Pictures
64. Her Wardrobe Reveals The Truth
Tangled takes place in the 1780s, but Mother Gothel’s dress is from the Renaissance. Some people might think this was just a design mistake, but her costume was actually deliberate—it signifies how old she actually is.
Tangled (2010) - Walt Disney Pictures
65. He Was Too Terrifying For Disney
Tim Curry auditioned to play Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but unfortunately, most considered the former Dr. Frankenfurter just too terrifying for Disney. This was only two years before he played Pennywise the Clown in the horror film, It.
It (1990), Warner Bros. Television
66. The Youngest Disney Baddie
Hans from Frozen is canonically 23 years old. This makes him the youngest ever Disney villain (If you don’t count Sid from Toy Story. I personally don’t; he was just a kid, and no one told him that toys were alive…).
67. Hook Was Too Lovable
Walt Disney himself specifically ordered that Captain Hook not die at the end of Peter Pan. The iconic animator had an eye for hot intellectual property; he predicted fans would like this bumbling buccaneer, and that means Hook’s here to stay.
68. Gaston's Quarter-Life Crisis
Gaston is only 25 years old. Honestly? That makes a lot of sense now that I think of it.
Beauty and the Beast (1991) - Walt Disney Pictures
69. Gaston 2.0
Gaston was based on Beauty and the Beast co-screenwriter Linda Woolverton's ex-boyfriends. However, he was also based on the character of Avenant, a very similar bro-type from Jean Cocteau’s 1946 adaptation of the same fairy tale. Of course, Disney transformed him from Cocteau’s more foppish aristocrat suitor to the jock we know and hate.
70. From Big Boss to Bad Bad
Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective was modeled after the CEO of Disney, Ron Miller. You can’t blame them: Miller was 6'6" and happened to be a former player for the Los Angeles Rams football team, so he cut a pretty imposing figure.
The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Walt Disney Pictures
71. The Price We Pay
The original design for Ratigan was originally more "thin, weasely, and ratlike". However, the casting of Vincent Price as the voice actor inspired the animators to rework the character to better fit the famously sleek, expressive actor.
72. He Was A "Car Salesman Type"
James Woods ad-libbed much of Hades' dialogue in Hercules. He was "based on a Hollywood agent, a car salesman type"—and he was hard to keep up with. The most difficult part of bringing the God of Death to life was getting the speed of his animation to match Wood’s fast-talking performance.
Hercules (1997), Walt Disney Pictures
73. John Ratcliffe Comes From The History Books
To date, John Ratcliffe from Pocahontas is the only animated Disney villain to be based directly on a real historical person. That it, unless Ursula really is hiding beneath the waves and we've just never managed to find her.
Pocahontas (1995), Walt Disney Pictures
74. Iago's Other Personality
Iago was originally to be a serious, dignified British parrot. But then the smooth and sultry sounds of Gilbert Gottfried in Beverly Hills Cop II seduced the animators. Gottfried won the part, and the animation team even changed the parrot's design to give him a semblance of the actor’s half-lidded eyes and omnipresent teeth.
Aladdin (1992), Walt Disney Pictures
76. Dastardly Daycare
In the live-action Maleficent movie, three of Angelina Jolie’s children (Pax, Zahara, and Vivienne) make cameo appearances.
77. Kaa Wasn't Always The Enemy
Poor snake can’t catch a break: Kaa in The Jungle Book was supposed to be Mowgli’s ally. In the Disney movie, he was demoted to side-antagonist.
78. You Talking to Me?
Robert De Niro was John Lasseter’s first choice to play Hopper in A Bug’s Life. Unfortunately, De Niro repeatedly turned the part down. At the 1995 Oscars, Lasseter met Kevin Spacey, who enthusiastically signed on to the animated flick.
79. The Evil Queen Had a Real Name
The Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs actually has a name: She goes by "Grimhilde".
80. Woody Was A Ventriloquist Dummy
It's difficult to imagine Woody as anything other than an adorable cowboy doll—but horrifyingly, the initial concept envisioned him as a ventriloquist dummy.
Toy Story (1995) - Walt Disney Pictures
81. Disney's Repeat Offender
Eleanor Audley did the voices for Lady Tremaine in Cinderella, Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, and even Madame Leota in the famous Disneyland ride, The Haunted Mansion. That's a pretty good resume!
82. The Truth Behind The Horns
The horns on Angelina Jolie’s costume in Maleficent were designed by professional fetishwear makers. Seems obvious now that I know.
83. The Lion King Had A Creepy Side
"The Madness of King Scar" was a deleted song in The Lion King. With Nala singing, it was centered around a creepy deleted encounter between her and Scar. According to leftover storyboards, Scar was thinking about his need for a mate and cubs to continue his line. He comes across Nala, who spurns his advances. At her rejection, Scar sends his hyenas to chase Nala off.
Although it was eventually reworked and included in Lion King: The Musical—with Scar, Zazu, the hyenas, and Nala singing—let’s be thankful, for our childhoods' sakes, that this cinematic courtship was left on the cutting room floor.
The Lion King, Walt Disney Pictures
84. The Chorus Line
Among the all-stars who lined up to voice Ursula the Sea Witch were Bea Arthur, Roseanne Bar, and Elaine Stritch. The role ultimately went to Pat Carroll.
85. Gaston's Altered Demise
If you’re "lucky," you might come across the grittier ending of Beauty of the Beast, in which Gaston’s passing is much less ambiguous and a little more explicit. Some cuts of the ending feature a shot of skulls in Gaston’s baby blue eyes as he plummets to his end at the film’s climax. In the script, the womanizer also screams "Time to die!" at the Beast, instead of "Belle is mine!" but this was also cut for being too intense.
Beauty and the Beast, Walt Disney Pictures
86. Gaston Got Off Easy
Gaston was supposed to die like Scar from The Lion King. In the original drafts for Beauty and the Beast, Gaston was meant to initially survive his fall off the cliff, only to be devoured by wolves. Disney deemed this end too gruesome for a human being. For fratricidal lions, though? Bon appetit.
The Lion King, Walt Disney Pictures
87. Hercules And Ariel Are Related
If you want to get technical about it, Hercules and Ariel are cousins. You see, Hercules is the son of Zeus, who is the brother of Poseidon, who fathered Triton—Ariel's father. I guess it's a small world after all.
The Little Mermaid (1989), Hercules (1997) - Walt Disney Pictures
88. Snow White Is Underage
Yes, Snow White is only 14 years old—and yet, she spends the entire film living with seven men in the middle of the woods while longing for her Prince Charming.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) - Walt Disney Pictures
89. A Famous Screen Siren Inspired The Evil Queen
The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a combination of two different women: actresses Joan Crawford and Lucille LaVerne. The queen's unsettling gaze, strong jaw, and arched brows were a direct influence of the screen siren, Joan Crawford. However, Lucille Laverne not only lent her voice to the role, but her body movements were also a reference for the queen's dramatic transformation into the witch.
90. Why Couldn't Dopey Speak?
Dopey is the famously mute character in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But this wasn't always the case. You see, initially, the script had many lines for him. The studio even hired the famous voice actor Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck) to bring Dopey to life. However, it just wasn't meant to be.
Walt Disney, unhappy with the recording, cut ALL of Dopey's lines. Blanc's voice is only audible whenever Dopey hiccups.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) - Walt Disney Pictures