Disney is so popular and has so many franchises and films that we all have our favorites and our beloved characters.
The other great thing about Disney films, especially the animated ones, is that there are many Easter eggs included and a lot of thought that goes into designing these characters.
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Even if you’re a big Disney fan, you probably don’t know these 10+ random facts about the characters.
Boo from *Monsters Inc.* has a real name.
While her name is never said in the film, Boo does have a given name. Her name is Mary, and audiences can see for themselves by looking for a crayon drawing that’s on her bed.
As cute as the name Boo might be, it’s still cool to know the name that her parents gave to her.
Woody from *Toy Story* started out as a villian.
While Woody is the hero of the story, he started out with a very different design.
Early sculptures show a Woody who looked like a ventriloquist dummy. He had heavy eyelids and was originally planned to be more villain-like. They definitely made the right choice by going in a different direction.
Buzz Lightyear was almost named “Lunar Larry.”
The original plan was to have Buzz be named “Lunar Larry,” but the creators realized this name was just too out there and weird.
Instead, they named Buzz after real-life astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, and it really was a much better choice.
Mickey Mouse was almost given a totally different name.
While it’s hard to imagine Mickey with a different name, the character was originally going to be named Mortimer.
However, the name didn’t really match the character, and Walt Disney’s wife, Lillian, suggested that he change it. She was definitely right!
Sebastian from *The Little Mermaid* has a really long name.
While he’s mostly referred to as Sebastian in the film and by fans, the character has a really long full name.
At the beginning of the movie, it’s stated that his name is Horatio Thelonious Ignacious Crustaceous Sebastian but that’s way too long for most people to remember.
Elsa was originally going to be the villain.
The original plot of Frozen was a lot different than the final version. Elsa was going to be the evil snow queen who wasn’t related to Anna at all. She was also going to have been in love with Hans, and her heart turned cold when he dumped her.
We’re glad they changed this to something a bit more empowering!
EVE from *Wall-E* was created by the designer of the iPhone.
When coming up with the idea for the character of EVE, the director realized that the design was very similar to Apple products.
So, he got in touch with Apple designer Jonathan Ivie who is known for creating the look of the iPod and the iPhone.
Maleficient and the Evil Stepmother have the same voice actress.
If you’ve ever thought that these two characters sound similar, you would be totally right.
Both of these iconic Disney villains were voice by Eleanor Audley , and she also did the voice acting for Madame Leota in The Haunted Mansion . Pretty cool!
Moana originally had six brothers.
In the final version of the movie, Moana is an only child. However, early concept art gave her a much larger family.
She had six brothers including one who was always bothering her. In this version, Moana was the best sailor, but her father overlooked her in favor of her brothers.
Many Disney characters are on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
While most of the stars on the Walk of Fame are of real people, not all of them are.
Mickey Mouse was the first Disney character to be included back in 1978, but there have been several others since including Snow White, Kermit the Frog, Minnie Mouse Donald Duck, Winne the Pooh, Tinker Bell, and the Muppets.
Ursula was based on a drag queen.
When developing this iconic villain from The Little Mermaid, creators eventually settled on a design that was inspired by the famous drag queen, Divine.
Divine is known for starring in John Waters films including _Hairspray._The final design definitely turned out great!
Hercules and Ariel are cousins Greek mytholoy.
Fans of Disney are always looking for ways that the films connect to one another, but there is an actual connection that can be drawn based on Greek mythology.
Since Zeus was Triton’s uncle, this would make Hercules and Ariel first cousins, once removed.
These two iconic songs were sung by the same woman.
The voice actors for Mulan and Princess Jasmine were two different people, but the singing voice used for these princesses was the same woman.
All of the songs sung by these characters were performed by Broadway actress Lea Salonga. While she does have a great voice, it’s a bit strange they didn’t use a new person for Mulan.
Walt Disney didn’t like the spaghetti scene from *Lady and the Tramp.*
This iconic scene almost didn’t happen as Walt Disney didn’t like the idea of it. He thought it would look messy, not graceful. However, the animators were able to convince him by showing him a rough mock-up.
Luckily, the scene still happened because it’s become such a staple moment in pop culture.
The Beast is a mix of seven different animals.
Designer Glen Keane explained in an interview that the character was based on a seven different animals.
He has a lion’s mane, buffalo’s head, gorilla’s brown, boar tusks’, a bear’s body, and a wolf’s tail and legs! That really is quite the wild combination.
