Certain television and movie characters have become ingrained into the fabric of our society. We’ve become so familiar with their legends, that we could practically recite them from memory.
But what if I told you that Charlie Brown isn’t actually bald? Would it shock you to learn that Barbie isn’t a California girl? Hard to believe but it’s true. Here are 10+ surprising details about famous characters you only thought you knew.
RELATED STORIES
How Superman (originally) got his powers.
It’s a well-known fact among comic book aficionados that Superman (Kal-El) gets his superpowers from the earth’s yellow sun.
However, this wasn’t always the case. In Action Comics #1 , it’s explained that all Kryptonians become super powerful at birth.
Hobbes is both ‘real’ and ‘not real’.
I had always thought that Hobbes was a figure of Calvin’s imagination. That he ‘came to life’ because of Calvin’s willingness to believe that he was in fact real.
It turns out, that this isn’t the case. As Bill Watterson explains , his intention was always to portray two simultaneous realities: one where Hobbes is alive and one where he’s just a stuffed tiger.
The janitor wasn’t lying about his name.
One of the great running gags through the entire series of Scrubs was never really knowing who The Janitor was.
In the final episode of season 8, The Janitor reveals to JD that his name is, in fact, Glenn Matthews. But as soon as JD walks away, an orderly calls out “Hey Tommy!”.
However, creator Bill Lawrence has confirmed that Glenn was telling the truth. For once.
Marty McFly has always been a slacker!
Ever wonder how Marty McFly and Doctor Emmett Brown first crossed paths? I know I sure have!
According to co-creator Bob Gale , Marty was caught sneaking around one night on the Doc’s property.
Instead of turning him in to the police, Doc Brown offers him a job as his assistant.
Charlie Brown is a blonde.
I know it might seem hard to believe, especially upon first glance.
But according to a 1990 interview with NPR, creator Charles Schultz confirms that Charlie Brown actually has very fine blonde hair. It’s just so short, that you can’t see it.
Barbie is not from Malibu.
Shocker! Barbie is not from Malibu.
In fact, she’s a ‘Cheesehead’ from the fictional town of Willows Wisconsin , according to canon.
J. Jonah Jameson’s first name is ‘Jeremiah’.
Unlike Homer Simpson, the ‘J’ doesn’t stand for Jay.
According to a 2010 tweet by creator Stan Lee, Jonah’s first name is actually Jeremiah.
Peter Pan is a kidnapping villain.
Apparently author J.M. Barrie had very different ideas regarding the boy who never grew up.
In Barrie’s first draft, Peter was a serial killer of both pirates and lost boys. A villainous marauder who would lure children from their beds into the realm of Neverland.
Rey’s father is a Palpatine clone.
If you were confused to learn that Rey was the daughter of Emporer Palpatine – you weren’t the only one. Many fans wondered how the lord of intergalactic evil found the time to sire an heir?
Turns out that Rey’s father isn’t the original Palpatine. He’s a clone from a failed attempt to resurrect the fallen Emporer.
Pocahontas is based on a real person.
While the character is based on a real person , the events that transpire in the film are not.
Pocahontas was apparently much younger than the Disney film portrays and there was no romantic relationship with John Smith.
Sherlock should be dead.
Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of the world’s second greatest detective) dispised the eccentric investigator.
So much so that he actually killed him off entirely in 1893. Sherlock stayed dead for a decade until Doyle finally succame to the pressure and resurrected him.
Maleficent & Sleeping Beauty’s stepmother are the same person.
OK – not in the Disney world, but in the real world they are!
Both were voiced by a woman named Eleanor Audley .
So many spots in *101 Dalmations*.
This one will really have you scratching your head.
There are over 6 million spots that appear painted on the Dalmations throughout Disney’s 101 Dalmations .
Hermione Granger had buck teeth in the books.
In the Harry Potter books, one of Hermione’s defining features are her pronounced buck teeth. However, actress Emma Watson does not share the same physical trait.
Production attempted to fit the young actress with a pair of prosthetic teeth , but she found it too difficult to act with them.
Sebastian’s first name is ‘Horatio’.
I couldn’t believe it either so I checked for myself.
Sure enough, during the opening scene where Sebastian is first announced, they use his full name and title: Horatio Thelonius Ignacius Crustaceous Sebastian.
Could this be yet another one of Disney’s allusions to the works of William Shakespeare?
