Luke Owen with a selection of Disney cameos in Disney movies that you may not have noticed…
Disney. They are a company who have been part of almost every single person’s childhood – I’d go as far as to say I don’t know a single person who didn’t watch their movies as part of their development. They’ve become synonymous with memorable songs, great storytelling, unforgettable characters, questionable ethics and fantastic animation. And while none of their stories are particularly interconnected (the direct-to-video sequels notwithstanding), there have been times where Disney characters have shown up in other Disney movies in small cameos.
Some of these are fairly obvious, like The Little Mermaid’s Sebastian and Pinocchio showing up in Aladdin thanks to the pop culture spewing Genie or The Lion King’s Scar in Hercules. But I want to show you some of the ones you may have missed – the ones the animators slyly put into the movies as little Easter Eggs for us to find…
Beast in Aladdin
Speaking of Aladdin, in the scene where The Sultan is stacking toys on top of each other, there is one figure that is bears resemblance to a character from the Oscar winning Beauty and the Beast…
Carpet in Princess and the Frog
Sticking with Aladdin, the first character to be animated solely by computers, Carpet, has actually made two cameos in Disney movies. The first being Hunchback of Notre Dame and the second being in the opening shots of 2006s The Princess and the Frog.
Before we leave Carpet’s cameos, we’ll quickly look at his appearance in Hunchback of Notre Dame because he’s not the only one to show up…
*It should be noted that I’ve been told that Pumba from The Lion King, but even with this video I can’t spot him. Is it just me?
Mrs Potts in Tarzan
Not exactly one of the most popular Disney movies of the 90s, Tarzan at least had a ‘sort of’ cameo from some familiar looking crockery to save you from the hideous Phil Collins songs.
Peg in 101 Dalmatians
A slightly more obvious one than previously seen here, but the saucy Peg from Lady and the Tramp can be seen in pet store of 101 Dalmatians. Perhaps the animators thought with so many dogs on screen, we wouldn’t notice.
Pixar in Finding Nemo
Unlike their hand drawn counterparts, Pixar are quite happy to add in cameos and Easter Eggs to make each film feel like it’s part of the same Universe – not sure how that works with Cars, but I digress.
Soon to be released back into cinemas in 3D, Finding Nemo has not one, not two but three cameos from other Pixar characters! First up is everyone’s favourite Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear who appears as an action figure in the dentist’s waiting room.
Right at the end of the movie as (spoilers) the other fish in the tank are escaping, a yellow car drives past that wouldn’t have looked familiar at the time, but is actually Luigi from Cars (which would come out three years later).
And finally back in the dentists waiting room, this little boy is reading a comic of a superhero who would make a name for himself in Brad Bird’s The Incredibles, which came out the following year.
So there you have it folks, some Disney cameos in Disney films that you may not have seen before. I’m sure there are others that I’ve missed (I think Stitch appears as a toy in Treasure Planet) so feel free to add in some of your own finds in the comments section below.
Happy hunting!
Originally published March 1, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
