12 Real Places That Inspired Classic Disney Animated Films

From 2D hand-drawn characters to computer-generated movies, the world of animation has come a long way. And Disney had the biggest role to play. With its magical kingdoms, forests and underwater worlds, castles and palaces, the studio has inspired generations of people with its wondrous setups. 

But the artists didn’t conjure everything from pure imagination: Since the first fully-animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Disney creators have looked to the real-world for inspiration. Here, we explore the backdrops and insider stories that have taken Disney creators around the world, from Kenya to Germany to India, in search of the company’s classic magic. 

1. London, England  // One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and Peter Pan (1953)
2. Black Forest, Germany // Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
3. Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany // Pinocchio (1940)
4. Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany // Sleeping Beauty (1959)
5. Château de Chillon, Switzerland // The Little Mermaid (1989)
6. Notre Dame, Paris, France // The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) 
7. Mount Olympus, Greece // Hercules (1997)
8. Kenya // The Lion King (1994)
9. The Forbidden City, China // Mulan (1998)
10. Taj Mahal, India // Aladdin (1993)
11. Machu Picchu, Peru // The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

London, England  // One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and Peter Pan (1953)

The tail-wagging tale of Dalmatian puppies is set in London. The Victorian house featured in the book by Dodie Smith and in the animated movie is located on Primrose Hill in the north of the city; it went on sale for $11 million in 2020. The movie also includes Regent’s Park and Big Ben, two iconic locations in the British city.

Big Ben features prominently in another Disney Classic: The 1953 movie Peter Pan. The adventurers of the mischievous boy who never grows up are set in 20th-century England. In the opening scene, the boy lands on the hand of the clock with Wendy and her two brothers, John and Michael, which causes it to chime. Then, they all fly off to Neverland, “the second star to the right.”

Black Forest, Germany // Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Disney’s first animated feature film, and almost a century later, it still offers the same joy and comfort when you listen to “I’m Wishing.” The story of the fair princess Snow White is another century older—German academics Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published it in 1812. 

A number of pivotal sequences are featured in the forest, where Snow White runs off to escape her evil stepmother. Disney artists drew inspiration from Germany’s Black Forest for the visualization of this sinister, mysterious woodland. 

The mountainous region attracts adventurers and romantics with its picturesque villages, scenic hikes, and frothing waterfalls. In fact, many of the tales from the Grimm Brothers are associated with this region.

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Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany // Pinocchio (1940)

Disney’s second animated movie, released in 1940, is based on a children’s novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, and takes place in Italy. You can visit the village of Collodi in the Tuscan region, which has Pinocchio Park. 

Or, you can head west to the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany. Although the story was based in Italy, it is this fairytale Bavarian town with half-timber houses and cobblestoned streets that gave the movie its medieval setting. 

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany // Sleeping Beauty (1959)

The castle depicted in Sleeping Beauty made its debut at Disneyland, California four years before the movie’s 1959 release. It was designed by Disney Imagineer Herbert Ryman, who was tasked with envisioning the theme park. Walt Disney oversaw the construction himself; his brief to Ryman was that he wanted the park to have a castle as the focal point. 

The castle—now one of the brand’s most recognizable symbols—was inspired by Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. A two-hour train from Munich will take you to Schwangau, where the turrets of the fairytale structure rise in the Bavarian Alps. More than a million people visit the 19th-century palace that King Ludwig II commissioned but never saw completed.

Château de Chillon, Switzerland // The Little Mermaid (1989)

This Disney film is loosely based on Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s story, and in Copenhagen, Denmark, there is a Little Mermaid statue that is truly little. But the real inspiration came from 800 miles away. 

Disney animators drew looked to Château de Chillon on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, to breathe life into Prince Eric’s castle. The 12th-century castle has enchanted artists for centuries and continues to charm visitors; Lord Byron famously wrote about it in his 1816 poem, The Prisoner of Chillon. (In 2023, Disney also confirmed that Dubrovnik in Croatia influenced the castle’s coastal setting and architecture with its medieval fortification.) 

Notre Dame, Paris, France // The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) 

At first glance, Victor Hugo’s tragic novels may not be the first choice for a children’s animated movie: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a classic work of French literature published in 1831 with many deep themes such as corruption, oppression, and faith. Disney’s 1996 animated version also has similar themes, but it takes a much family-friendly approach with a happier ending.

The bell-ringer of the church, Quasimodo, lives in Notre Dame, the famous gothic cathedral in Paris. The cathedral is a revered landmark in the French capital; you can book a slot online to visit it for free. Its roof was tragically destroyed in a fire in 2019, but it reopened in December 2024 after a massive restoration effort, which is still ongoing.

Mount Olympus, Greece // Hercules (1997)

To do justice to the adventures of this son of Zeus, the team at Disney went on a trip to Greece and Turkey and took a deep dive into Greek mythology. Many of the sites that you can visit today are featured animatedly in the movie, including Mount Olympus. The mountain is the highest peak in Greece—and is a formidable figure in Greek mythology. In the movie, Mount Olympus is the celestial residence of Zeus, depicted in gold, shrouded in clouds. The doors of the mythical heavenly abode may be locked for mortals, but you can visit the real mountain and hike to the summit.

Kenya // The Lion King (1994)

The Lion King is one of the most successful Disney movies of all time. Pride Rock, the triangular rocky landmark around which the animal kingdom convenes, is a prime spot in the movie. Disney animators drew from East Africa’s landscapes, especially Kenya. If you ever plan a safari in the area, you may be lucky enough to spot the real-life versions of Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa. 

The Forbidden City, China // Mulan (1998)

The 1998 animated film was based on The Ballad of Mulan, set in the 6th century in the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the poem, as in the movie, the warrior enlists in the army by disguising herself as a man and returns home victorious. 

When Disney started working on its adaptation, members of the team visited Beijing, Datong, Xi’an, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, and Guilin to find inspiration. One such place that strongly influenced the film was the Forbidden City in Beijing, an imperial palace complex of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now a museum and a tourist attraction with over 15 million visitors each year, it served as the inspiration for the Imperial City, the palatial home of the Emperor of China. The Great Wall of China, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is another prominent feature in the movie. 

Taj Mahal, India // Aladdin (1993)

The 1993 fantasy film about a common thief Aladdin falling in love with Princess Jasmine is based on a story from the collection of Arabic folklore, One Thousand and One Nights. 

The movie is set in the fictional city of Agrabah. According to director John Musker, the first iteration of the movie was based in Baghdad, Iraq, but the Gulf War forced them to rethink the location so he used an anagram of the letters and turned it into Agrabad. But if you watch the animated movie closely, you will find that there’s an uncanny resemblance between the Sultan’s palace and Taj Mahal in India. 

Although the movie was a commercial success, it received backlash for its negative portrayal of Middle Eastern people and culture. In 2020, Disney added a warning on its classic movies such as Aladdin to acknowledge their racist undertones and stereotypes. 

Machu Picchu, Peru // The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

The Incan city of Machu Picchu features heavilyThe Emperor’s New Groove. As a part of a research trip, a team of 10 from Disney, including animators and art directors, traveled to Peru and soaked in the culture and architecture of this ruined city in the clouds for 10 days; the animators also visited zoos and llama farms to observe the animals that became the heart of the movie.