Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Pinocchio… If you pay attention to a few details of these Disney cartoons, they must remind you of certain French cities and their monuments
In cinema films, certain scene settings are often inspired by real life, by neighborhoods that exist in cities and sometimes by historical monuments. This is the case in several Disney movies. Did you know ? Certain details, notably princess castles, are totally inspired by French cities. And for good reason, Mr. Walt Disney himself was an unconditional lover of France. Throughout his travels, he found some ideas that he shared with his artists for their stylistic research for sets. This is visible for example in the Aristocatswhich represents old Paris or in certain settings of Ratatouille which are reminiscent of the gourmet restaurant Le Train Bleu, located at the Gare de Lyon. But other Disney animated films, just as well known to the public, take up, in small touches, the architecture of certain French cities or their monuments.
Three French cities inspired Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel
Among the Disney creations, there is the film of Sleeping Beauty (1959). In the story, everyone has in mind the majestic, magical-looking castle where Princess Aurora is locked up, who is plunged into a deep sleep after the spell of the witch Maleficent. But what is less known is that the silhouette of the castle is inspired by three French cities, starting with one ancient medieval city in the South of Francenamely Carcassonne.
A second town, little known, except for architecture buffs, was also used to create the real Sleeping Beauty castle, which has been the emblem of the Disneyland Paris amusement park since 1992. It is located in the Loire Valley: Saumur and its castle, nicknamed “the castle of Love”.
Another very touristy place was also a source of inspiration for the castle which appears in the Animation Film Rapunzel (2010) from Disney Studios. It is located in the English Channel in Normandy: the Mont Saint Michel.
Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast are inspired by a very touristy French region
The settings of castles in the films Cinderellareleased in 1950, And The beauty and the Beast from 1991, were imagined in part thanks to a French region, which is famous for its numerous Renaissance castles. You will have guessed it, we are indeed talking about the Loire Valley. For the record, it was the Château de Chambord which made it possible to draw certain details on the two Disney castles.
A detail in the Pinocchio film comes from a town in Eastern France
In the movie Pinocchio from 1940, several scenes are played out in the workshop of the inventor Gepetto, who created the famous Pinocchio puppet. In his shop, where he sells his creations, there is a detail that must catch the viewer’s attention: the wall on which a whole bunch of cuckoo clocks are hung.
These objects were not completely invented solely by the directors of the film. They were inspired by the astronomical clock of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg. Seeing this Renaissance masterpiece, Walt Disney developed a new passion for automaton clocks, which would also find their place in other Disney films.