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It’s hard to believe there’s anything we don’t know about Disney, their movies, and their history – after all, we’ve lived and breathed it pretty much our entire lives.
The great thing about corporations as huge and far-flung as Disney, though, is that there’s always something lurking, waiting to be uncovered.
We’re hoping that, among these 12 more obscure facts, you might find something new to learn!
12. Disney’s first PG movie was The Black Hole.
Image Credit: Disney
Director Gary Nelson says they were trying not to get a G rating all along.
11. “A Spoonful of Sugar” was inspired by the polio vaccine.
According to Jeffrey Sherman, son of Robert Sherman (who helped write the song) he told his dad how he’d received his vaccine on a sugar cube.
10. Both Joan Collins and Bea Arthur turned down the role of Ursula in The Little Mermaid.
Image Credit: Disney
Both actresses agents sneered at the role, when nowadays, a-listers clamor to do voice acting in animated pictures.
9. Dick VanDyke blamed his questionable Cockney accent on his vocal coach.
Image Credit: Disney
His vocal coach was Irish and, according to Van Dyke, “didn’t do an accent any better than I did.”
8. The gold-and-blue theme of the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast was deliberately chosen.
Image Credit: Disney
It was meant to represent Belle, who was typically in blue at the beginning of the movie but morphed to gold as her character went through a transformation.
7. Julie Andrews wasn’t the first person to play Marry Poppins.
Image Credit: CBS
Actress Mary Wikes played the character in a one-hour TV adaptation on CBS in 1949.
6. Mary Wikes returned to Disney at least one more time.
Image Credit: Disney
She played Sister Mary Lazarus in the Sister Act films.
5. Disney wanted the Beatles to make a cameo in Jungle Book.
Image Credit: Disney
John Lennon was reportedly the one who nixed the idea.
4. Angela Lansbury is a pro.
Image Credit: Disney
Her version of “Beauty and the Beast” only required a single take.
This was even after she was up the night before on a flight to New York – a flight that included a bomb threat and an emergency landing – that almost made her miss the recording altogether.
3. Disneyland’s King Arthur Carousel was built for the Sunnyside Beach Park in 1922.
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That makes it older than the park.
2. 1993 was the first time Disney released a trailer that was an entire scene.
It was from The Lion King, and I think it’s fair to say that it paid off.
1. The first air-conditioned attraction at Disneyland opened in 1963.
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It was the Enchanted Tiki Room – they needed to keep the computer system cool.
I definitely learned a thing or two.
Which of these was new to you? If we taught you something, tell us what in the comments!
