30+ Disney Characters We Didn’t Know Were Inspired by These Real People

It’s pretty much common practice for Disney to base certain characters on certain actors, especially the ones who lend their voice. This is also done by animators to ensure the characters appear more natural on screen. Everything from a person’s body language, expressions, and even how they wear their clothes is observed. So, take a look at some of the faces behind your favorite characters. You may recognize a few!

Rapunzel — Based on Mandy Moore

While Rapunzel is known for her never-ending blonde locks, there’s no denying that she and brunette beauty Mandy Moore share some resemblance from Disney’s 2010 animated film Tangled. Moore was also unsurprisingly the voice actress.

Animators took Mandy’s facial features and light skin tone into account when drawing up the famous Disney lead character. Just look at their matching dreamy green eyes! If Mandy ever wanted to go blonde, we now know how it would look!

Belle — Based on Sherri Stoner

While Beauty and the Beast’s star Belle was voiced by Paige O’Hara, actress Sherri Stoner provided all the inspiration for her movements. This is because Disney is known to employ live-action models to help animators create realistic interactions.

Sherri has a pretty impressive acting history as she also helped inspire The Little Mermaid’s Ariel after swimming in a water tank. She later went on to become a writer and producer.

Princess Aurora — Based on Helene Stanley

Princess Aurora is another legend from our fairytale dreams. So, it makes a lot of sense that her character was loosely inspired by fashion icon Audrey Hepburn. The animation team focused in on Hepburn’s trim physique when it came to sketching Aurora.

But, everything else about the Disney princess was inspired by live-action model Helene Stanley — from Aurora’s facial structure, to her dance moves and elegance. The side-by-side comparison here gives it away!

Aladdin — Based on Tom Cruise

Actor Michael J. Fox was the initial inspiration for the title character of the 1992 Disney film Aladdin. However, while designing the characters in late production, the creators decided to make him look older. This meant that a young Fox no longer worked for the role.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, the then-chairman of Walt Disney Studios decided to appoint Tom Cruise’s character from Top Gun as the main inspiration as he had the mature look Aladdin’s character required.