8 Disney Characters Based on Actors and Celebrities

Disney is a big part of everyone’s childhood, and while you might think of it as classic entertainment that’s been made specifically for kids, it has a long history of being influenced by popular culture. What you might think was created by Disney out of nothing, might’ve actually been a direct result of something that was popular in the media when the movie was being made. Did you know that quite a few characters in Disney were directly inspired by celebrities? Here are a few Disney characters you’re definitely familiar with but probably had no idea which celebrities inspired them. But once you see them side by side it’ll all start making sense.

1. Maleficent – Eleanor Audley

You might know that Eleanor Audley voices the character of Maleficent, but few know that she was also asked to actually act out scenes from the movie in front of cameras so that later on the animators could use them as references in their work. So, in the end, they used not only her movements and gestures as inspiration for the animated movie, but her features also inspired the appearance of Maleficent. And as a bonus, she was also the inspiration behind Cinderella’s evil stepmother. Does this mean that Eleanor just looks evil by nature or do we all see these features as evil because Disney essentially created the stereotype out of Eleanor?

2.The Mad Hatter – Ed Wynn

Ed Wynn gave his voice to the mad hatter, but once you see what the actor looked like, you’ll understand that it’s not just the voice that he and the Mad Hatter have in common. The Alice in Wonderland character he voices is basically Ed in cartoon form. Disney actually heavily based the Mad Hatter’s personally on Ed Wynn.

3. Scat Cat — Louis Armstrong

If you haven’t watched Aristocats as a child – you need to watch it now. It’s such a masterpiece. Originally Scat Cat was meant to be named Satchmo and he was supposed to be voiced by the famous Louis Armstrong. But unfortunately, Armstrong had some health problems that stopped him from voicing the character and Disney hired Scatman Crothers to fulfil the role instead.