Disney has an incredibly long and storied history. So much so, that I’m willing to bet you likely haven’t even scratched the surface of their collected Filmworks !
In order to shine a light on those Disney classics of old, here are 10+ behind the scenes secrets from some of the most famous Disney movies of all time!
RELATED STORIES
The sorcerer, Yen Sid from *Fantasia* is based on Walt Disney.
Supposedly Disney became well known for casting evil looks to his peers and employees. If that weren’t enough, take a closer look at the spelling of the name.
If you arrange Yen Sid backward, you get Dis Ney!
The studio brought in live deer for the artists to study during the making of *Bambi*.
There were two of them to be precise. The animators would gather in a large room to study how the animals would naturally move and interact with one another.
The director of *The Jungle Book* fought hard to get The Beatles to play the gang of vultures.
There’s no definitive reason as to why the band declined to appear but according to rumors, it was a mixture of schedules not aligning and John Lennon ‘s outright refusal to participate.
*Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs* had an insanely high budget.
Walt Disney ended up borrowing almost all of the budget for Snow White – an estimated $1.5 million dollars. Upon its release, the film received a standing ovation from audiences and rapidly grossed over $8 million.
This was unheard of during the Great Depression.
*Treasure Island* was Walt Disney’s first ever live-action film!
Walt began the project largely due to postwar constrictions.
He had substantial profits in the UK that had been frozen as a result of WWII. Rather than build a new animation studio, he decided to make a live-action film.
Angela Lansbury had a lot in common with Eglantine Price in *Bedknobs And Broomsticks*.
“Like Miss Price, I was in England when World War II broke out. My mother gave me a choice of being evacuated from London to a boarding school in the country or studying acting at home. I chose the latter without hesitation.”
Aldous Huxley wrote the first draft of the *Alice In Wonderland* script.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Aldous Huxley is the legendary author behind classics such as ” Brave New World ” and “Doors of Perception”.
Disney dismissed the script, claiming that it was “too literary”.
Legendary actor Kirk Douglas felt passionately about his musical number in *20,000 Leagues Under The Sea*.
”I`ve made 76 movies, and I sang in only a few of them,” Douglas said during an interview.
”But “Whale of a Tale” was the most wonderful song I ever sang. It was a really rollicking song that everyone liked.”
There’s such a thing as *Old Yeller* syndrome.
Many consider the killing of Old Yeller to be one of the saddest moments in Disney’s long history. Even decades later, this scene is still widely discussed.
Old Yeller syndrome is a term used to describe the trauma that comes from seeing the film.
A famous scene from *Lady And The Tramp* was inspired by Walt’s real life.
Remember when they open the box and we see Lady as a puppy for the first time?
That’s exactly what happened one fine Christmas morning at the Disney residence. Walt hid a dog for his wife in a hatbox underneath the tree.
Disney tried to make a toy version of Flubber, identical to what was seen in *The Absent-Minded Professor*.
However, things didn’t go according to plan at all! The Flubber had to be recalled because it was toxic!
Children around the country were reported having sore throats and rashes.
*The Sword In The Stone* was the last completed film Walt Disney produced before his death.
While it’s true that Walt did put pieces of himself into The Jungle Book he unfortunately never lived to see it premiere on the big screen.
Dick Van Dyke still gets criticized for his accent in *Mary Poppins* .
“Oh, I don’t talk to British people because they just make a mess of me,” Van Dyke said during an interview. “They tease me to death about it.”
I personally thought he was great, but that’s just me.
The opening sequence in *The Sound Of Music* was incredibly frustrating for Julie Andrews. .
Julie explains that the shot was filmed with a helicopter and that: “the downdraft from those jets was so strong that every time I’d made my turn and the cameraman signaled he’d gotten it, the helicopter circled around me and the downdraft just flattened me into the grass.”
Nana’s tonic in *Peter Pan* was seriously strong.
Ever wonder why the children all of a sudden get so sleepy after taking Nana’s tonic? During the time that Peter Pan takes place, tonics were incredibly common.
This was often a combination of morphine and alcohol and was marketed to parents with fussy children!
