The sweeping savannahs and majestic escarpments of Kenya were central to the animators' vision for The Lion King. They visited the Great Rift Valley and Hell’s Gate National Park in their research. There are numerous contenders for Pride Rock, with lofty rocks such as Fischer’s Tower dotting the park’s geothermal landscape. Sightings of cast members like baboons, hyenas and warthogs are common, although lions are not. Big cats are rarely seen here, but zebras and antelopes are in abundance.
Wishing to create a culturally sensitive story inspired by the Polynesian demi-god Maui – who is said to have created the Pacific Islands by fishing them out of the sea – Disney visited Samoa, Tahiti, Mo’orea and Fiji during their research for movie Moana. They assembled a group of experts from the islands to avoid cultural insensitivity (albeit not to complete success). While inspired by the many Pacific cultures and landscapes they saw, the look of Moana's home, Motunui, is widely considered to be closest to Samoa, the Pacific nation that is made up of nine lush volcanic islands.
Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef is where Nemo’s misadventures begin in Finding Nemo, but it’s Sydney where the little clownfish ends up, captured in an aquarium in a dentist’s office. Marlin and Dory are taken to 'ride' along the East Australian Current by surfer turtles and end up at Sydney Harbour, where they meet some greedy seagulls and Aussie pelican, Nigel, who helps rescue Nemo. Once you’ve admired the sights of the harbour, head to Sydney Fish Market for seafood treats. Watch out for those hungry pelicans and seagulls, though.
Albeit with some digressions from the Greek legend, the 1997 Hercules animation tells the story of everyone's favourite buff demi-god. Born on Mount Olympus, Hercules travels to Phil's Island – said to be inspired by the island of Rhodes – for hero training. Other classical Greek structures seen within the film include the Temple of Zeus, whose impressive ruins are one of Athens' many treasures.
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The spectacular table-top mountains of Venezuela and the world’s tallest waterfall, Angel Falls, inspired Paradise Falls in poignant Disney Pixar film Up. The directors visited this remote nature reserve in southeastern Venezuela as part of their research for the movie. The creators spent weeks exploring and documenting the remote region in photos, sketches and paintings.
Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, Disney’s 1998 animation took inspiration from Beijing’s sprawling Forbidden City for its depiction of the Emperor’s home. Constructed between 1406 and 1420, the UNESCO-protected complex is an exceptional example of Chinese palatial architecture. For five centuries, ordinary people were banned from even approaching the walls of this imperial palace, hence its "Forbidden City" nickname. It’s now a museum full of ancient art and artefacts.
The live-action remake of Mulan was largely filmed in New Zealand in 2018 but the filmmakers drew inspiration from across China for their sets. These include the desert landscapes of the northwest, the rainbow mountains of Zhangye Danxia Landform Geopark, and the doughnut-shaped fort-like houses of the Hakka people. Located in the Fujian mountains in southern China, these UNESCO World Heritage-listed structures were the model for Mulan’s home village.
The formidable Alcázar of Segovia was allegedly central to Walt Disney’s vision for the Evil Queen’s pointy stone castle in the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Perched on a rock with a white façade, witches hat towers and deep moat, the part-Moorish, part-19th-century fortress is everything you could want from a wicked queen’s lair.
The stunning lochside Eilean Donan Castle, constructed in the 13th century to protect the lands of Kintail from the Vikings, was one of a few Scottish strongholds that provided producers with the model for Castle DunBroch in Brave. The film is set in a fictional Scottish Highlands landscape during the Middle Ages. The team also visited and were inspired by Dunnottar Castle on the cliffs of Stonehaven and the Calanais Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis.
Gumbo, beignets and the bayou: the food and landscapes of the Deep South almost ooze through the screen in Disney’s depiction of 1920s New Orleans in The Princess and the Frog. The plot takes Tiana – Disney’s first black heroine – on the streetcars along New Orleans’ historic St Charles Avenue, past jazz bands in the French Quarter and on the Mississippi onboard the Steamboat Natchez, while her happy ending takes place in the city's St Louis Cathedral.
There’s a striking resemblance between Peru's ancient Incan citadel Machu Picchu and the setting of Disney’s The Emperor's New Groove. The film features the voices of John Goodman as llama herder, Pacha, and David Spade as Kuzco, the young Incan emperor who plans to build a lavish summer house high in the hills. With its jungle-clad peaks, steep cliffs and jaguars, Peru provided the film's producers with rich inspiration on their research trips to the Urubamba Valley near Cusco.
Art director of Frozen, Michael Giaimo, travelled to Norway as part of his research for the icy tale. The country’s dramatic coastline, mountains and historic towns informed his vision for the kingdom of Arendelle, which sits on the banks of Arenfjord. Pretty stave church St Olaf's by the magical Sognefjord is one real-life location in the film, featuring as the chapel where Elsa is crowned queen. The 19th-century church didn’t just inspire the architecture, but also the name of everyone’s favourite snowman, Olaf.
Another of Norway’s distinctive churches, the medieval Borgund Stave Church also influenced the architecture of the bustling kingdom of Arendelle and Elsa’s palace – as did Oslo’s Akershus Fortress and the colourful historic wharf of Bryggen in Bergen. And, of course, the magical lights that are conjured up by the Troll King are the very real aurora borealis, which shine over northern Norway in the winter months.
Agrabah's lavish Sultan’s Palace in the 1992 animation Aladdin – home of the Sultan, Princess Jasmine and the dastardly Jafar – was loosely inspired by India’s most famous monument, the Taj Mahal. The artists drew on the 17th-century mausoleum’s white marble façade, onion domes and minaret towers, as well as its pools and fountain. It’s not surprising that the building influenced the animators, as the Taj Mahal is considered one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture, mixing Persian, Indian and Islamic architectural styles.
The live-action remake of Aladdin from 2019, starring Mena Massoud and Will Smith, took the cast to the sweeping sand dunes, sandstone mountains and rocky caverns of Wadi Rum. In the south of Jordan on the western edge of the Arabian desert, this protected reserve is the perfect location for the retelling of the Middle Eastern folk tale.
The jagged tooth-like peaks of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming’s Jackson Hole valley inspired the Clawtooth Mountains of The Good Dinosaur. The other spectacular landscapes that apatosaurus Arlo journeys home through were drawn from a variety of places scouted by the Pixar team in America’s northwest, including the dramatic geysers and waterfalls of Yellowstone, the ancient mesas of Wyoming’s Red Desert and the sweeping grasslands of Montana.
With its narrow streets, colourful half-timbered medieval houses and cobblestone square, Riquewihr in eastern France looks like it has leapt from the pages of a storybook. It was this pretty village, nestled among the vineyards of Alsace, that formed the model for Belle's 'poor provincial town' in the 1991 animated version of Beauty and the Beast. Ribeauvillé is another of the region’s charming medieval towns that inspired the picturesque world from the film.
Another of France’s postcard-perfect medieval villages inspired the filmmakers for Disney’s 2017 live-action remake of the iconic fairy tale, featuring Emma Watson. This time the production designer largely modelled the bookish heroine's village, the fictional Villeneuve, on Conques after scouting out the location. With tight cobbled streets, fountains and wonky timbered houses complete with wooden shutters and windowsills festooned in flowers, this sleepy village in the south of France is everything you could want as the home of a Disney heroine.
France’s elegant capital has provided the backdrop for many films, including Disney’s The Aristocats (1970). Its grand boulevards, back alleys and rooftops play a starring role in the feline protagonists’ escapades. Le Petit Café is thought to be based on Café de la Paix. One of Paris’ most iconic and oh-so-chic cafés, it first opened in 1862 on the Place de l’Opéra and has played host to numerous literary greats, including Victor Hugo and Ernest Hemingway.
In Ratatouille the adventures of misunderstood gourmand rat, Remy, take him around Paris’ streets, sewers and even into the Seine. The city's competitive fine dining scene is central to the film’s plot as Remy infiltrates the kitchen of a top Parisian restaurant. The upscale, Seine-side La Tour d'Argent inspired the film’s depiction of fictional restaurant Gusteau’s, while celebrated chef Hélène Darroze, who has restaurants in Paris and London, inspired the character Colette.
Producers spent two weeks touring Colombia’s highlands, jungles, cloud forests and towns for inspiration for the visually stunning landscapes that bring Encanto to life. The highland villages near the Cocora Valley, including Salento (pictured), with its colourful houses and cobbled plazas, inspired the film’s eponymous fictional town. The verdant valley is famed for its tall wax palm trees, which are the world's tallest and also feature in the film.
Colombia’s stunning natural landscapes also pepper Encanto, including the surreal Caño Cristales, or the ‘rainbow river’ in the Serrania de la Macarena; and the Choco rainforest. Home to capybaras, coatis, anteaters, jaguars, tapir, hummingbirds and toucans, this wildlife-packed forest in the country's far northwest was the inspiration for the jungle that comes alive in Antonio’s magical room.
Although the 1964 classic was filmed on set in California, Edwardian London plays a starring role in Mary Poppins. Number 50 Smith Street in Chelsea, where the book’s author P.L Travers lived for many years, inspired the depiction of the Banks’ family home on Cherry Tree Lane in the Disney film. St Paul’s Cathedral is the setting for one of its most famous scenes and numbers – Feed the Birds. The 2018 sequel Mary Poppins Returns also featured many real-life London landmarks, including the Bank of England on Threadneedle Street.
London is also the home of dalmatians Pongo and Perdita and their 'pets' Roger and Anita in One Hundred and One Dalmatians. The classic scene where the dogs’ romance blooms takes place in Queen Mary's Rose Garden, a gorgeous part of Regent's Park in London, with 12,000 different varieties of roses and a pretty ornamental lake. Nearby Primrose Hill also makes an appearance in the 1961 film when the dogs alert the Twilight Barking about their missing puppies.
Coco director Lee Unkrich and team visited museums, markets, plazas, workshops, churches, haciendas, cenotes and cemeteries throughout Mexico to create their vision for the film. The Land of the Living and the village of Santa Cecilia were inspired by Tenochtitlán, the ancient Aztec city on which Mexico City was built. The producers also took inspiration from a mixture of real-life villages and their vibrant celebrations for the Día de los Muertos festival.
The terraces, dams, canals, pyramids and tombs of ancient hilltop city Monte Albán also inspired the vision for director Lee Unkrich’s mystical realm, the Land of the Dead, where Miguel is transported. Founded around 500 BC and inhabited by the Olmecs, Zapotecs and Mixtecs, the vast complex overlooking the city of Oaxaca was carved out of a mountain and is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Mexico.
Disney and Pixar’s pastel-hued Portorosso, the fictional town in 2021 film Luca, was inspired by Cinque Terre in Liguria, Italy. Production designer Daniela Strijleva and Genoa-born director Enrico Casarosa took various trips to this part of Italy, where Casarosa spent childhood holidays. Monterosso is one of the five little cliffside villages that influenced the film, along with Corniglia (pictured) and Vernazza, whose piazza features in the film.
New York is the setting for Disney Pixar’s Soul and the home of aspiring jazz pianist, Joe Gardner, voiced by Jamie Foxx. The filmmakers visited West Village jazz clubs such as the Blue Note and Village Vanguard, late night pizza stops like Two Boots and neighbourhood barbershops for inspiration for the film's non-fantasy scenes. The city’s famous subway and chaotic traffic-clogged streets also make a memorable appearance.
Sat on a rocky isle on the banks of Lake Geneva in the shadow of the mountains, Château de Chillon has an ethereal setting and it wouldn’t seem unfeasible to see a mermaid emerging from the pretty blue waters that surround it. It was the setting of this handsome fortress that fired the imagination of the animators creating Eric’s castle in The Little Mermaid. Just near Montreux, it’s Switzerland’s most visited historic site today.