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Discover the surprising real-life inspirations behind some of Disney’s most iconic characters. From legendary musicians and explorers to Hollywood legends and fashion icons, these beloved figures owe their unique personalities and looks to fascinating people from history and pop culture. Dive into the stories and surprising connections behind the magic!
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00:00I used to design for gods.
00:03Hmm, but perhaps you'll come with a challenge, eh?
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:08And today, we're counting down our picks for the most surprising times
00:12that beloved Disney and Pixar characters throughout history
00:14were inspired by people from our real life.
00:17What if they find out I'm not really a prince?
00:19What if Jasmine finds out?
00:22Number 10. Ernesto de la Cruz, Coco.
00:26A famous Mexican musician and actor,
00:28Ernesto is one of the most memorable Disney characters in recent history
00:32with his appearance in 2017's Coco.
00:34Success doesn't come for free, Miguel.
00:37You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to seize your moment.
00:42The Remember Me singer-slash-thief
00:44was inspired by multiple of the country's greatest performers,
00:47two of whom had cameos in Coco.
00:49Firstly, there's Pedro Infante,
00:51who is not only an actor,
00:53but his work Cuando Sale La Luna
00:55is considered one of the greatest Latin albums of all time.
01:06Sadly, Infante's life was cut short
01:08due to a plane crash in 1957.
01:11The second inspiration and fellow Coco cameo
01:14is Jorge Negrete,
01:15known as El Charro Cantor.
01:17Negrete's legendary life also ended early
01:20due to illness in 1953.
01:28Another inspiration for Ernesto's design
01:31was the prolific musician and actor,
01:33Vicente Fernandez.
01:34Number 9. The Vultures, The Jungle Book.
01:37Let's flap over the east side of the jungle.
01:39They've always got a bit of action,
01:40a bit of a swinging scene, all right?
01:42Ah, come off it.
01:44Things are right and dead all over.
01:45You mean you wish they were?
01:47Hey, hey, hey, hey.
01:51Very funny.
01:52In 1967, the Beatles were one of the biggest bands in the world.
01:56With that in mind,
01:58the Jungle Book creators really wanted to add the quartet to their film.
02:01So they created the Vultures,
02:03Buzzy, Flaps, Ziggy, and Dizzy,
02:05To drive their inspiration home,
02:07the birds all have Liverpool-esque accents
02:10and, beyond buzzy,
02:11possess floppy mop-top hair.
02:13Blimey, he's got legs like a storky ass.
02:17Like a stork, yeah.
02:18But he ain't got no feathers, he ain't.
02:23However, John Lennon reportedly rejected the band cameoing as the Vultures.
02:28While their clear resemblance was still used,
02:30other voice actors stepped in instead of Lennon,
02:32Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
02:35When Disney was developing the 2016 remake,
02:38director Jon Favreau tried to get the surviving members,
02:41McCartney and Starr,
02:42to finally make their cameos,
02:44only to be unsuccessful.
02:45We're your friends.
02:48We're your friends.
02:51We're your friends to the bitter end.
02:56Number 8.
02:57Pocahontas.
02:58Pocahontas.
02:59Look around you.
03:00This is where the path of hatred has brought us.
03:06This is the path I choose, father.
03:09What will yours be?
03:10Considering the character of Pocahontas
03:12is already based on a real-life historical figure,
03:15Glenn Keane, the supervising animator for the 1995 film,
03:18and his team,
03:19used drawings of her for their Disney version.
03:22Keane even met with descendants of Pocahontas,
03:25taking their photos to use as elements of the character's creation.
03:28In the case of Pocahontas, I thought,
03:30I need to go to Jamestown.
03:33I need to go to Jamestown to experience whatever might happen.
03:38Yet he and other animators also looked to the modeling world
03:41to awaken their creativity.
03:43Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell,
03:45Natalie Balcon, Kate Moss,
03:47and others all contributed to the Pocahontas we see on screen.
03:50Yet the animators also looked closer to home.
03:53Well, at least to the studio.
03:54After all, they also used Pocahontas' voice actor,
03:58Irene Bedard, who's Native American,
04:00to also influence the character's appearance.
04:02She brought a depth to the performance of Pocahontas
04:06that is different than, say, with Ariel,
04:11or Jasmine, or Belle.
04:13Number 7. Charles Muntz. Up.
04:16Are you Charles Muntz?
04:18Yeah, well, uh, yes.
04:20Yes, the Charles Muntz adventures out there.
04:24Another legendary villain in Disney's vast legacy of baddies,
04:28Muntz was Carl's childhood hero in 2009's Up.
04:31As an explorer, real-life legendary adventurers
04:34motivated the creators when it came to creating Muntz.
04:37I promise to capture the beast alive,
04:40and I will not come back until I do.
04:43Howard Hughes, Charles Lindbergh, and Percy Fawcett
04:47all left their mark on the character.
04:48Yet, when Muntz proved to Carl that you should never meet your heroes,
04:52another dastardly figure from our real world was an influence.
04:56As Walt Disney was beginning his animation empire,
04:58he worked for Charles Mintz,
05:00whose name shares an uncanny resemblance to Muntz.
05:03He reportedly deceived Disney by getting the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
05:07The legend is that Walt was back in New York
05:09when he found out he'd lost Oswald,
05:11and on the train on the way home,
05:13there was some mouse or something,
05:14and he said, well, I've got an idea for a new character.
05:17As such, the creators of Up wanted to nod to this infamous moment in Disney history.
05:22Number 6. Ariel, The Little Mermaid
05:25I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad.
05:31Considering she was around the same age as Ariel was being created,
05:35Alyssa Milano was a major influence on her design in 1989's The Little Mermaid.
05:40Interestingly, Milano would later present a behind-the-scenes video for the film.
05:44So far, we've fallen in love with Ariel,
05:46and we've fallen in love with Prince Eric.
05:48Well, at least I've fallen in love with Prince Eric.
05:51And how about dear old dad Triton, huh?
05:53Talk about an overprotective father.
05:55Other real-life people sourced for The Redhead Mermaid
05:57were model Christy Brinkley and astronaut Sally Ride,
06:01especially her hair movements in space to mirror Ariel's underwater.
06:05Also, Sherry Stoner was hired as a live model for Ariel.
06:08Since we're talking about The Little Mermaid,
06:10Ursula is also based on real people.
06:12It's time Ursula took matters into her own tentacles!
06:17Triton's dog will be mine!
06:19And then I'll make him writhe.
06:21I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook!
06:25With her soap opera-esque personality,
06:28Joan Collins was in writer Howard Ashman's mind.
06:31As for her appearance,
06:32the character Norma Desmond in 1950's Sunset Boulevard
06:35and real-life drag queen Divine heavily influenced the design.
06:39Number 5. Cruella de Vil, 101 Dalmatians
06:43I live for furs!
06:45I worship furs!
06:49After all, is there a woman in all this wretched world who doesn't?
06:53With her name literally containing the word evil,
06:56Cruella was always going to be a villain of legendary proportions
06:59in 1961's 101 Dalmatians.
07:02Considering she wants to make a puppy-skin coat,
07:05some might believe fashion moguls influenced her creation,
07:08but nope, it's all actors.
07:10Firstly, Cruella's mannerisms and dramatic personality
07:13were inspired by Tallulah Bankhead,
07:15who, while also performing on screen,
07:17was also known for publicly discussing her affairs.
07:20You're a low person, darling.
07:22Obviously out of the gutter.
07:24Maybe that's why I'm attracted to you.
07:27When it came to Cruella's physique,
07:30the animators hired Mary Wicks,
07:31an actor known for her long limbs,
07:33to be a live model for them.
07:35Wicks even voiced Freckles,
07:37one of the Dalmatian puppies too.
07:38She did some very marvelous things.
07:43The gestures were of the type of person that Cruella was.
07:46In other words, she was a flamboyant kind of character
07:49that you had to have her brought.
07:52Number 4.
07:53Beauty and the Beast
07:55When Linda Wolverton was set to become
08:06the first woman screenwriter to script
08:08a Disney animated feature film
08:10with 1991's Beauty and the Beast,
08:12she had a very particular vision for Belle,
08:15Catherine Hepburn.
08:16Specifically, Hepburn's performance as Joe
08:18in 1933's Little Women.
08:20I'll try and be what he loves to call me,
08:25a little woman,
08:27and not be rough and wild,
08:29and do my duty here at home,
08:32instead of always wanting to go to war to help father.
08:35One of the major reasons the producers selected
08:37Belle's voice actor, Paige O'Hara,
08:39was due to her having vocals that reminded them
08:41of Judy Garland,
08:42who also influenced Belle's design.
08:44A variety of Golden Age actors
08:46have their fingerprints on Belle,
08:48who originally resembled Angelina Jolie
08:50before a redesign.
08:51Tradition.
08:52The whole goal with Belle
08:53was not to make her the most beautiful
08:55animated character
08:56that was ever done by Disney Studios.
08:59It was to make her have heart and soul
09:01in her eyes.
09:02She was beautiful on the outside,
09:03but she was also beautiful from the inside.
09:06Natalie Wood,
09:07Grace Kelly,
09:08Vivian Leigh,
09:09and Elizabeth Taylor
09:10were each involved in the character's final creation.
09:12Finally,
09:13Sherry Stoner live modeled again for Belle.
09:16Number 3.
09:17Jessica Rabbit,
09:18who framed Roger Rabbit?
09:19Remember,
09:20she isn't bad.
09:21She's just drawn that way.
09:23You've got me all wrong.
09:24You don't know how hard it is
09:26being a woman
09:27looking the way I do.
09:29The animation director,
09:31Richard Williams,
09:32stated that when he was creating
09:34the iconic Jessica Rabbit
09:35for 1988's
09:36Who Framed Roger Rabbit,
09:38he had Rita Hayworth in mind.
09:39Yet for the character's hair,
09:41he took inspiration
09:42from another legendary femme fatale,
09:44Veronica Lake.
09:45However,
09:46the film's director,
09:47Robert Zemeckis,
09:48wanted one more actor
09:49to be mixed into the Jessica melting pot,
09:51Lauren Bacall.
09:52No, you don't have to act with me, Steve.
09:54You don't have to say anything
09:56and you don't have to do anything.
09:57Not a thing.
10:00Oh, maybe just whistle.
10:02There are rumors
10:03that there was one more person
10:05who influenced Jessica's design.
10:06In the 50s,
10:07Vicky Dugan became a pin-up model
10:09nicknamed The Back
10:10due to scandalously wearing
10:12backless dresses,
10:13similar to the red sequined one
10:15Jessica possesses.
10:16Come on, Roger,
10:17let's go home.
10:18I'll bake you a carrot cake.
10:20Number 2.
10:21Aladdin.
10:21Aladdin.
10:22I can show you the world
10:27Shining, shimmering, splendid.
10:30When Glen Keane was designing
10:32Aladdin for his 1992 film,
10:34he wanted the character
10:35to be short
10:36and have lots of dreams.
10:37So there was only one person in mind
10:39when he was drawing the street rat,
10:40Michael J. Fox.
10:42However,
10:42when the team compared
10:43Aladdin to Jasmine,
10:45there was a problem.
10:46None of them believed
10:46she'd be romantically interested in him.
10:49Rude.
10:49The character of Jasmine
10:51kind of blows him away.
10:53I don't understand
10:54why she goes with him.
10:55I understand why
10:56he goes with her.
10:57That's easy.
10:58She's wonderful.
11:00Jeffrey's like,
11:00guys, you got Julia Roberts
11:02and Michael J. Fox,
11:03they don't fit together.
11:03So after adding a bit more height,
11:06another famously short actor
11:07became the inspiration,
11:09Tom Cruise.
11:09Keane was especially inspired
11:11by Cruise's work
11:12in 1986's Top Gun.
11:14He wanted to encapsulate
11:15the actor's cocky portrayal
11:16in that film
11:17and adapt it for Aladdin,
11:19which he nailed.
11:19Father,
11:20I choose Prince Ali.
11:22Prince Ali left.
11:23Better check your crystal ball again,
11:25Jafar.
11:26Prince Ali!
11:27Another fun inspiration,
11:28which is far more obvious,
11:30is that M.C. Hammer's
11:31notorious parachute pants
11:32influenced Aladdin's attire.
11:34Before we unveil our top pick,
11:36here are a few honorable mentions.
11:38Dr. Facilier,
11:39The Princess and the Frog.
11:41Alongside inspiration
11:42from Haitian voodoo,
11:43Michael Jackson
11:44and Usher were influences.
11:45You dream big.
11:48Just look at this place.
11:50Gonna be the crown jewel
11:52of the Crescent City.
11:54And all you got to do
11:56to make this a reality
11:57is hand over
11:59that little old talisman of mine.
12:01Powerline,
12:02a goofy movie.
12:03With a pop star persona,
12:04Prince,
12:05Michael Jackson
12:06and Bobby Brown
12:07were inspirations.
12:08I got myself a notion
12:11One I know
12:13that you'll understand
12:15We set the world in motion
12:19By reaching out
12:21for each other's hands
12:22Joe Gardner, soul.
12:24Rather than a celebrity,
12:26Dr. Peter Archer,
12:27a retired music teacher,
12:28was the basis for Joe.
12:30And I wanted to learn
12:33how to talk like that.
12:35That's when I knew
12:40I was born to play.
12:44Connie knows what I mean.
12:47If you love games,
12:49be sure to check out
12:50WatchMojo's new game,
12:51Terrible Influence.
12:52Just launched for purchase
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12:55Terrible Influence
12:56is a satirical board game
12:58about the dark side of fame
12:59from the writer
12:59of the most popular girls
13:00in school
13:01and Us,
13:02WatchMojo.
13:02Boom.
13:03I can make an apology video.
13:05Oh, you so would.
13:06Click on the link
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13:08and be the first
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13:13Number 1.
13:14Edna Mode,
13:15The Incredibles.
13:16You are Elastigirl!
13:18My God!
13:19Pull yourself together!
13:20What will you do?
13:21Is this a question?
13:22You will show him
13:23you remember
13:24that he is Mr. Incredible
13:25and you will remind him
13:26who you are.
13:28As director and writer
13:29of 2004's The Incredibles
13:31and the voice actor
13:32for Edna,
13:33Brad Bird confirmed
13:33in 2013
13:34that she wasn't
13:35solely based
13:36on the fashion designer
13:37Edith Head.
13:38However,
13:38he previously confirmed
13:39that she was
13:40one of the influences
13:41alongside actor
13:42Linda Hunt
13:43and author
13:44Patricia Highsmith.
13:45After all,
13:45with an iconic character
13:47such as her,
13:47Edna needed many influences
13:49to form her basis.
13:57Alongside being inspired
13:59by the fictional Q
14:00from the James Bond franchise,
14:01real-life fashion moguls
14:02such as Anna Winter
14:03Iris Apvel
14:05and Coco Chanel
14:06have all been connected
14:07to Edna.
14:08One of her animators,
14:09Teddy Newton,
14:10confirmed that the 1995
14:11fashion documentary
14:12Unzipped
14:13affected their designs,
14:14which featured designers
14:15such as Isaac Mizrahi
14:16and Polly Allen Mellon.
14:18Don't know what to say,
14:19honestly.
14:20Is that why you're
14:21going to make gowns for me?
14:22Yes, I am.
14:22I'm going to make gowns for you.
14:23That is how she referred to it.
14:25She said,
14:25will you make me gowns?
14:27Like that she laughed.
14:28I was like,
14:28are you kidding?
14:29Will I make you gowns?
14:30I will make you nothing
14:31but gowns.
14:31I mean,
14:32this is like,
14:32I can't wait.
14:33If you could choose
14:34any classic Hollywood actor
14:36to have a Disney character
14:37based on them,
14:37who would you pick?
14:38Let us know below.
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