Disney isn’t all about beautiful princesses, charming princes, and fairy tale castles. But of course, you probably know by now that Disney has a long history of portraying cute animals as the protagonists. Let’s not forget that the giant mass media company debuted with Mickey Mouse, an anthropomorphic mouse, after all. So, it’s safe to say that it all started with a mouse.
More than anything, Disney finds inspiration from animals. By giving them human characteristics, animators create lovable characters that feature a combination of the fantastical and the mundane. It is said that during the production of Bambi, animators initially had a hard time incorporating human characteristics and emotions into animal characters. But Walt Disney himself insisted that they make the anthropomorphic animals look as realistic as possible.
Real Animals That Look Exactly Like Disney Characters
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In order to pull this off, he let the animators study actual animals by bringing live animals in cages in the studio. So, they can study the physiology and movement of all the animals that would appear in the movie. And since most Disney animal characters were based on actual ones, don’t be surprised when you stumble upon real animals that look exactly like Disney characters.
We’ve collected some amusing photos of actual animals recreating Disney characters. The resemblances are so uncanny that you’d wonder ‘who copied who?’
Bambi and Thumper (Bambi)
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Tod and Copper (The Fox and The Hound)
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Pua the Pig (Moana)
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Brother Bear
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Marlin and Dory (Finding Nemo)
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Hei Hei the Rooster (Moana)
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Abu and Iago (Aladdin)
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Timon and Pumbaa (The Lion King)
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Nick Wilde (Zootopia)
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Lady (Lady and the Tramp)
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Dumbo
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Bolt
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