Guess the Disney Movie Based on These Little-Known Facts

How well do you know your Disney movies?  

Do you have just a passing acquaintance, or are you a Disney superfan? Here are a few little-known facts about Disney films – let’s see if can you identify the correct movie. 

This classic film became a huge hit in 1950, financially saving Disney.  

Though we think of Disney as the legendary powerhouse it is today – with multiple theme parks around the world, dozens of iconic franchises, and a behemoth of a movie studio – it wasn’t always this way.  

After World War II, Walt Disney Productions was nearing bankruptcy when it released Cinderella (1950). Miraculously, people loved the film, and it saved Disney from financial ruin, paving the way for everything that followed.  

It might have all been started by a mouse, but it was rescued by a princess!

Cinderella remains popular to this day, as does its eponymous princess. Guests can meet this Disney savior at Fantasyland’s Princess Fairytale Hall in Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and even dine in her magnificent Castle at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

As early as the 1930s, Walt became interested in making this animated film, and even had concept art created for it – but the movie wasn’t made until 1989.

This classic Disney film ushered in the Disney Renaissance, from 1989 to 1999, during which Disney created some of the most beloved and successful animated films in history. 

 Sadly, Walt himself didn’t live to see it, but he had been interested in making this film for decades before his death, and even hired an illustrator (Kay Nielsen) to create concept art for it.

It’s The Little Mermaid (1989)! You can even find Nielsen’s name in the credits for visual development. If you’re old enough to remember VHS tapes, you may remember that this was the first Disney film that was released on home video after it came out in theaters.  

Nowadays, Guests can visit Ariel and her pals as part of the Fantasyland attraction Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park.

This Disney movie was the first princess film to feature a male villain.

When you think about Disney’s classic princess films, most of the bad guys were actually – girls. There’s Lady Tremaine and her daughters in Cinderella (1950), Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (1959), Ursula in The Little Mermaid (1989), and of course the terrifying Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

In 1991, the first male villain appeared in a Disney princess film – Gaston, in the classic film Beauty and the Beast (1991). He may be a bad guy, but he’s one of those Disney villains we love to hate!  

If you’re a Gaston fan, you’ll want to head to Gaston’s Tavern in Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland for a snack and beverage – and find out if Gaston really does use antlers in all of his decorating!

Credit: Disney

This animated film was Disney’s first to be directed by a woman.

Times are changing, and we couldn’t be happier about it. In 2013, a film debuted that marked the very first time a woman had directed an animated Disney feature. The film? Frozen, co-directed by Jennifer Lee.

Lee had a hand in making the film about sisters and female friendship (Elsa was initially meant to be a villain!), rather than about women competing to win the affections of a prince, a trope that is all too familiar to anyone who’s ever read a fairy tale. 

Guests can head to the attraction Frozen Ever After in the Norway Pavilion at Disney’s EPCOT to visit Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and the rest of the Frozen gang in action.

Fans know her by her nickname, but the real name for the pint-sized heroine in this Disney/Pixar film is Mary.

Mary Gibbs was not even three years old when she voiced this famous character, who shares her first name.

Gibbs was a bit young to stand and record lines, obviously, so instead she was followed around with a microphone as she played, to capture her dialogue.

The movie is Monsters, Inc. (2001), and the character is adorable toddler Boo. If you look closely at Boo’s drawings in the film, you’ll notice that she signs them as “Mary”. Who knew?

If you can’t get enough of Boo, Sully, and Mike, you’ll love Tomorrowland’s Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, where you’ll become part of the laugh factory yourself!

This 1997 movie starring Kirsten Dunst and Steve Guttenburg is based on one of the most popular rides in Walt Disney World.

Guests at Walt Disney World know that life imitates art, and sometimes art turns around and imitates life right back.  

The classic Pirates of the Caribbean ride, for example, inspired a series of hit movies starring Johnny Depp, which then inspired updates in the ride itself.

When I first watched the 1997 film Tower of Terror, I hadn’t yet ridden The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park.  

When I did finally have the pleasure of riding this popular attraction, I assumed it had been based on the movie. But the reverse is actually true – the ride premiered in 1994, three years before the film based on the attraction was released.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror continues to elicit screams from delighted Guests in Disney’s Hollywood Studios to this day.

Bottom Line

Whether you’re planning a trip to Walt Disney World or getting your Disney fix by watching a classic film on Disney+, we hope these Disney movie trivia questions have made your day a little more magical!