Are all Disney movies connected?
Walt Disney’s films are littered with so many references and connections I was surprised I was the first to try mapping them in one unified Disney world.
I’ve stuck to major Disney movies and sequels, but I do appreciate the Disney Channel/XD/Junior cross-overs that many people have pointed out in the comments.
Also, because Jon Negroni did such a fantastic job with The Pixar Theory I’ve resist the urge to include connections between the Disney and Pixar worlds.
To see how Frozen fits in to the unified Disneyverse, read: The Frozen Theory.
All that aside, please enjoy my Disney theory…
Disney movies clearly don’t take place in our world.
Disney world map couresy of DeviantArt’s theantilove.
Theirs is a world where animals communicate verbally with one another (including with other species and a handful of gifted humans). It’s a place where man, beast and mythological creature regularly express their hopes and desires through song (if only to themselves), and where magic exists, and can benefit those who respect it, and punish those that don’t. Also, there are aliens.
But what if I were to tell you that these were all characteristics of one coherent world? That every Disney film could be linked back to a single coherent timeline? That would be stupid, right? Well, obviously. So I’ve settled on 30.
1. The Lion King
It starts…
The Lion King represents the earliest point in my Disney timeline. The untouched Savannah and lack of evidence of any human existence give the film’s ‘Circle of Life’ message a timeless feel. (The Lion King plays quite a simple role in the Disney Theory – with two notable exceptions. If you want to see where it gets weird, you should go read The Lion King Theory)
However, through a certain cameo in another Disney movie, we are given a clear time period, as well as definitive proof that Pride Rock isn’t entirely safe from human hand…
2. Hercules
To catch a big-cat predator.
In Hercules, we see the hero of Ancient Greece throw a distinctive lion skin at Phil’s feet. Since it’s fairly unlikely that Greek hunters happened across Pride Rock within days of Simba’s final showdown, we can assume Scar was merely wounded by falling in to a pit of cackling hyenas, and later proved easy prey for some Grecian adventurer. (Greece is, of course, close enough to Africa that a hero might brave Poseidon’s wrath. But more from him later.)
Following The Lion King, we can travel a little further afield…
3. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Googling ‘Stoned Pumbaa’ can prove educational.
It’s not Pumbaa himself, but since Notre Dame started construction about 1500 years after the time of Ancient Greece we can assume the model for this gargoyle was a descendent of the big guy. It’s also one of two appearances from a warthog in Quasimodo’s Paris. The second of which is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, and connects us to two other Disney classics…
(skip to 2:45)
4. Beauty and the Beast
‘Disney Sniper’ is a dark game guys.
Here we have three Disney cameos in one: a screenshot-defying appearance of a Pumbaa-looking boar, carried on a spit; a trader shaking out Aladdin’s friend Carpet; and a clearly-defined Belle, ‘nose stuck in a book’, walking through Paris.
Following the Disneyverse web of connections is inherently disjointed and prone to tangents, but if we allow ourselves to be momentarily distracted from the many links between Aladdin and Disney’s two French-set movies, we can follow the Beauty and the Beast lead to explore:
‘The Bambi’s Mother Paradox’
Bambi’s mother – chilling in the clearing like she’s not the cause of countless childhood traumas.
5. Bambi
Here we have Bambi’s mother appearing in Beauty and the Beast, looking exactly as she does in her movie (as well childrens’ nightmares the world over). But while the likeness is uncanny, Bambi can’t be set in 18th Century France…
6. The Jungle Book
Come on! At least look at your surroundings before chowing down!!
Nor can it take place in 19th Century India, despite Bambi’s mother appearing as prey for a hungry Sheer Kahn. The reason for this is simple…
7. The Rescuers
Dude, just enjoy this mother/son time while it lasts.
Because here she is in The Rescuers, drinking 20th Century Bayou water with her soon-to-be-orphaned son (whose age corroborates that this is the same time-period as the early part of Bambi). So can Bambi’s mother travel through time? The answer comes later.
First, back to Aladdin and his French connection…
8. Aladdin
That crocodile totally farted.
Finding a Beast figure hidden among the Sultan’s tower of exotic creatures proves how far the myth of the cursed prince has travelled outside of Europe. For those keeping track, Carpet’s appearance in The Hunchback of Notre Dame means this is set before he finds himself in The Cave of Wonders, and Belle’s appearance must be after she finally gets to leave Beauty and the Beast’s ‘provincial town’ – making Beauty and the Beast the earliest of the three and Aladdin the latest.
In prison, personal grooming is the first thing to go.
Also, the ‘I’m free’ guy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame may be a fan favourite, but the similarities between him and Jafar’s beggar disguise make him suspicious. While the guy must have been locked up for something, Frollo’s Paris is so unjust it’s easy to believe he could have been unfairly imprisoned, and his consistent failure at escape is what hardens him in to the amoral Jafar (meaning ‘Jafar’ is the disguise, and this is his true appearance).
Aladdin’s magical characters therefore give us a useful gateway to what we will call…
‘The Flexible Time Theory’
Genie painting with all the colours of the wind.
9. Pocahontas
Genie displays many of anachronisms (and whatever the dimensional version is – see his references to our world) typical of magical characters in the Disneyverse. His appearance in Aladdin and the King of Thieves does not mean Pocahontas is set in the same time period; instead it’s an insight in to how users of magic in the Disneyverse can access different times and places.
Genie’s schizophrenic persona may not be from centuries trapped in a lamp (though that can’t help), but could actually be a symptom of the madness that Disney’s magical characters suffer thanks to their ability to perceive events outside of a linear timeline.
This understanding of magic is especially relevant when we look at Aladdin’s next connection:
10. The Princess and the Frog
For a lamp that hasn’t been rubbed in centuries it really keeps its shine.
Four centuries later, we still see Carpet and the lamp turning up wherever the magic is. The fact that voodoo-priestess, Mama Odie has it could mean many thing: it could be Genie’s old lamp, or another genie’s lamp, or, Odie is yet to reach through the timeline and place it in the Cave of Memories for Aladdin to find. Many magic users in the Disneyverse seem to look through time, so with these artefacts constantly reappearing throughout time in impossibly good condition, perhaps it’s possible to reach through it as well.
To find more about how the Disney timeline isn’t always as direct as you think, follow the link to:
DisneyTheory.com 
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But nothing tying them to “The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes”?
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Think; Big Hero 6 Ya(a)ma(a) calls Hiro Zero, a subtle reference to Hercules, In Hercules we see a scar rug/ skin connecting it to Lion King, an any sequels Like Lion King 2 are connected by chronology, also Stan Lee is in Big Hero 6 connecting it to ALL Marvel Movies since Stan Lee is in all the movies. The Incredibles connects to fantastic 4 #1 and 2. Monster’s Inc connects to Nemo and Toy Story 2/3 which is in connection with Toy Story, There is also the theory that Frozen, Tangled and The little Mermaid are connected, In Frozen, while Anna is singing “For the first time in Forever” while she is on the lamppost area slow it down and you will see Flyn Rider’s and Rapunzel’s hairstyles, color, and even costumes, In Tangled there is the exact same wheel touched by Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, And since Randall is Andy’s Monster the two are connected, Up is connected to Inside Out because Carl is dreaming, dead, or hallucinating, how you ask, simple, when Carl protected his mailbox he got hit on the head and is in a coma, the boy scout having previously visited is included in his coma and Carl develops a real world where he meets his hero and comes to terms with grief so he can escape his coma and world, In The Little Mermaid we see many treasures, including a fork and books, even paintings, could one of these be connected to a movie? In Tarzan we see a tea set that looks remarkable to the set similar in Beauty and the Beast, and the theory is that Jane is Beast’s Granddaughter or something, it makes sense, Jane can talk with Tarzan, understands animals, adapts quickly, and has the tea set. Well how do all movies connect you ask, good question, In Brave Meridan or Maggie meets a bear, Disney had Brother Bear and Brother Bear 2, and the bear that the hero killed in the movie was black, I think, but that’s besides the point you say, Meridan’s mother was transformed by potion, true, and Kodiak’s brother was transformed by spirits, connection. Okay so how else does it connect, Well where do you say that Meridan got her bow skills from or to? I say Robin Hood, Robin Hood is a descendant of Meridan’s Family inheriting amazing skill. Okay you say so what? Well I’ll tell you what else, In Once upon a time Ursula is Poseidon’s daughter and in Disney Ariel is Triton’s daughter and in Once Upon a Time Ursula had her singing voice stolen as Ariel did, see a family coincidental connection yet? But how does any of this connect to each other you ask? good question, well in Cars it connects Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, and Monster’s inc, so there’s another connection, what about Mother Gothel you wonder here’s a theory a descendant of the evil queen, both want youth and at some point were old and ugly and they both had knives. Well how does this connect anything you ask, answer singing, most Disney movies have singing, even Shrek which isn’t Disney had some, In Mulan also she has Mushu, Mushu can come from Babylon or China, but in Mulan we see a doll, could it have been another Disney Character’s doll? Finally all Disney movies are connected by emotion and all of the movie’s are stories in Belle’s libraries like Aladdin(see theory) or in the Heroine in Inside Out, her Imagination is letting her imagine all the movies. Crazy right? Not as crazy that it’s in Carl’s Imagination, or even Better that it’s all in the Fantasia Movies, or that Disney will release something that explains this, if you have a Disney/ Pixar theory please share here and on Facebook, and deviant art, twitter, with friends and on those theorists websites, be back soon. Also it’s said that Tarzan’s parent’s are Elsa/ Anna’s parents, and that Anna’s dad is Rapunzel’s Uncle which would make sense and that magic runs in family and that the Old Woman in Brave is Boo, after all she carved bears, but the timelines are off you say, not true, Boo may have been in any year A.D, but suppose that when Sully visited her again she went in monster world wandered through a wooden door and ended up in Scotland before Meridan’s birth. And Bambi’s mother is seen in Rescuers, and Jungle Book and In Beauty in the beast, the Old man disguise Jafar had is his true form and the Old Man is seen in Hunchback of Notre Dame, and old man wants lamp for power and youth and old man was criminal in Notre Dame and Agrobah and could’ve gone on ship. The Genie’s lamp is passed on through Aladdin’s line until one descendant decides to go to America and sell the lamp for money, or magic. The genie is also seen as Pumbaa and Pochantes and Mickey Mouse himself suggesting genie has not only traveled through his time and world but multiple times and worlds as he has a robot, also in Hercules the fates say Indoor Plumbing is gonna be big. The beast is seen in Aladdin as a treasure of Jafar/ Sultan and a Pumbaa boar is seen in Notre Dame’s Cathedral, and Belle is seen in Aladdin/ her movie along with the carpet rug trader and Pumbaa on a roast. Bolt is the dog of a friend to the heroine in Inside Out and the gerbil Rhino is owned by mother odie as we see an old woman in the trailer park that resembles mother odie, it is reasonable she travels after all. Peter pan visits England, which is near Beast’s and Frozen/ tangled Areas. Also video game character exist in Wreck it Ralph but we see a dinosaur from meet the Robinson’s hmm, ans since they time traveled in that movie and Mr. Peabody and Sherman, hmmm… Lastly Hercules is related to the Poseidon line and is a distant cousin of Ariel, But these are just theories Disney Theories!, nope won’t work, A Film Theory! #Film Theories,
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Waaaaay better than Nolanverse
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Kingdom…Hearts.
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Fair point, though in Kingdom Hearts Sora often appears in the middle of a Disney movies’ narrative, interacting with main characters in pivotal scenes which are different to the films and sometimes changing the path of the story significantly. Therefore I have to assume the Disney worlds in Kingdom Hearts are alternative versions to the movies’ Disneyverse.
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I;m starting to think kh is somehow connected to making the disney universe…
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Easy connection and fits with your computer program theory. Given in Kingdom Hearts the technology exist to make holographic worlds. Example, Roxas’ Twilight town. Couldn’t the Disney Universe be a computer program run by King Mickey and the rest of the core Disney characters?
Also in a side note. Beauty and the Beast could completely come after Aladdin.
The beast toy can be explained as a toy of an actual beast, that had the appearance of the Beast, in the Disney timeline pre-Aladdin. The Enchantress, when cursing Prince Adam, changed him into the form of a beast known to her not one of her own imagination.
How did she know what the beast looked like? As you stated the magic users of the Disney universe seek to have the ability to traverse time and she could have either seen the beast itself or at least a toy that had been made of him. As for Jafar being the I’m free guy. What if that is still him post “All Powerful Genie” and in some sort of revenge wish. Because lets face it, from the master’s point of view in the genie-master relationship, how great a genie would Jafar really be.
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Also think I noticed wreck it ralph at the bar in tangled.
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great disney blog! i just started one as well! check it out here: http://goingdisney.wordpress.com/
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This is incredible! I can’t imagine how long it must’ve taken to tie all the easter eggs togehter, and I especially loved your theory on one of the Porters going into the film industry. I like to think that the witch (“enchantress”) from the Beauty and the Beast prologue made the rounds, since we see dancing silverwear during the “Unbirthday” scene of wonderland.
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This can’t be true, the pixar theory makes more sense than this.
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Think what you think. I believe it. You don’t that’s fine. But thank you for not making fun of it.
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Yup, the only answer I have to this that makes sense is Kingdom Hearts. I think that game is a lot bigger than people realize and will tie into all this somehow. It’s the only logical explanation.
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Pingback: Mapping the Disney universe (and its mind-boggling fan theories)
Clearly the elephants is farting into the alligators mouth. Please fix your caption. The alligator clearly didn’t fart
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THATS A SHEEP, NOTHING FARTED
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THANK YOU!!
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There is one thing they didnt mention in this which i had to actually look to believe it myself. In Disney’s The Little Mermaid, as king Triton is coming into the theater you see the crowd below him cheering as he comes in. Amongst all of those merfolk you spot, donald, goofy, and mickey. i say right there is some form of proof kingdom hearts does exist, tying all of these worlds and universes together in some form.
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I need a screenshot of this!
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couldnt the lamp have come from france aswell because the movie “princes and the frog” is set in new orleans.
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I think the penguin in #8 is from Mary Poppins and the crocodile from Peter Pan.
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Reblogged this on Reflections in Space.
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Could all disney movies be connected and do you think they are ?? Also will you write something about that .. and could all disney movies and all pixar movies be connected ??
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hercules and alladin are in the same time and world 100%. in hercules the animated series, which chronicles the teenage years of hercules, there is an episode where jafar and hades team up, and alladin and hercules team up. which means that alladin is a young man id say around 24 25 when hercules is just a teenager. it is also proof that they are from the same world.
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This is a small thought, but what if the disney movie’s plots are some sort of recreation of whats happened in the kingdom hearts universe ? maybe it involves time travel(If you follow the kh saga)
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Do you think this Disneyverse, in any way, fits in with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? What about your video game theory?
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Not to mention, the ‘I’m Free’ guy bears a resemblance to the guy that used the “Tall glass of water” pickup line on Mother Gothel. . .
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problem with all of these is it’s just easter eggs for the viewers to be like oh look! but it doesn’t tie anything together storywise. just like how Mrs. Potts and Chip were in the camp scene of Tarzan.
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What Kevin said. I’m all for making theories and dealing with cameos, like Rapunzel in Frozen and (here’s where I disagree with Kevin) the teaset in the camp. But most cameos like Pinnochio in Tangled, the half a million Magic Carpet cameos, and the other stuff like that is just there so that people can brag to their friends that they found them. But if that’s what you like to do, then I guess I’m not one to judge. Carry on.
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Shouldn’t the Little Mermaid link to Denmark on the map as mentioned in the Frozen-theory?
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this is really an interesting blog and very informative blog about Disney animated movies. All Disney Movies are great and good movie and story line. thanks for sharing this blog and articles.
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The snake in The Princess and the Frog is the same one in jungle book
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I don’t think that really is Kaa in TP&TF, just another Disney-esque representation of a snake. There’s only so much you can do with one visually, after all.
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I always thought that the snake from jungle book was the same one from Robin Hood, I think they’re voice by the same actor
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Hope I helped
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I remember a TV episode crossover of Hercules and Aladin. So those take place at the same time. The carpet in Notredame must have been de-powered and traveled the world after Aladin died of old age or something.
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Just found the site through this article. I love this sort of thing! I’m sure there are mountains of other cool stuff for me to look back through on the site, too. Great work!
I got a new bookmark! 👌
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I noticed that in Monsters inc., when boo was giving sully toys, she gave him a Jessie toy from Toy Story , a ball from Dumbo, and a Finding Nemo doll.
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Even I noticed it. A great Easter Egg
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What if going off the kingdom hearts theory you guys have going, rather than alternate universes created, what if it’s every possible outcome of every possible choice? Because we all know one decision could mean a completely different life story… Just a thought
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Maybe there is a connection between Disney movies, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ultron sings the song “I’ve got no strings” from Pinocchio in Age of Ultron. Spider-Man mentions the Star Wars movie Empire Strikes Back in Captain America Civil War and also uses the same tactics to defeat Giant-Man. The superheroes in The Incredibles are mainly based on Marvel superheroes. Maybe there is more. Make a theory about the relations between Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilms.
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Hi,
I have a theory about beauty and the beast that I have been dying to share. See many people say that ten years passing means that the prince would have been 11 when the spell was cast. However I don’t think it has actually been 10 years. If you remember it’s an enchanted castle, and magic is involved. Magic is not time relevant. Also when the beast and belle fall in love it seems to happen over a period from fall to spring, but when Belle goes to help her father it seems only a couple Days have passed since she was taken. This being that there is still snow when she finds him. The snow had begun to fall when maurice was kicked out of the tavern. This is my evidence to come up with the theory that time passes differently at the castle. My theory is that ten years at the castle may be only one or two years, meaning the prince woyld have been 19, or 20. Not 11. The reason I am telling you this is if you would be willing to share my theory on your blog?? If so that would be awesome!
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Ariel is from Denmark! Understand it!
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So there are several multiversal principles that could be at work here. The movies would be the primary reality representation. There are TV sbows based on those movies that would represent splinter realities. Then, the direct to video sequels which branch off into their own story. Then, tie in books and childrens books based on the movies, and any licensed material such as video games and comics. These represent optional realities that expand on the original but are not always compatible. Then, crossover stories like Kingdom Hearts and Roger Rabbit. These are optional as to whether they really happened to the characters. According to one’s point of view, these stories did or did not happen. Others are clearly alternate realities such as Tale Spin.
The cameos or easter eggs are dimenskonal bleedthroughs where similar actions are repeated in different contexts such that only an outside observer would understand the similarity of both moments. It is the idea of history repeats, but in very specific actions. It is not tied to linear time but bypasses it.
The other type of cameo is when one reality is known as a fictional reality in another world, so in the current reality, the othet story appears unreal, though it simultaneously exists. This was covered with BH6-WIR.
That theory mentioned the possibility of Marvel vs Capcom, which would apply the fictional reality principle and the optional crossover principle at once. In Marvel, the crossover only happened if you accept it happened. This is because of the idea of the main characters actually experiencing the crossover so that it happened, or if the crossover was an alternate reality and took place with alternate versions of the characters. Whether or not Marvel and Capcom really crossed over is up to the perceiver.
In the case of Roger Rabbit happening, sure. Bonkers may be a continuation of that setting.
The main movies sharing a main reality is fine until throwing in the main cartoon characters Mickey, Goofy and Donald. This is because their own realities overlap in the TV sborts and episodes, yet seem to branch off into incompatible realities when focusing on one character, then branch off further into realities focused on in comics.
It’s assumed that Toontown would be the easy access point to the different realities, as well as Looney Tunes realities. The Toontown at Disneyland is a representation of that nexus point. The Kingdom Hearts series probably shares a similar nexus reality property, only focused on Square. It should be possible for Square characters to find the Toontown hub and access Looney Tunes.
It’s difficult to say whether the comics and cartoons are compatible. Sometimes they are, and sometimes they are alternate reality versions. This can be noticed with Duck Tales the cartoon vs the comics.
Because Goofy and Donald meet in the cartoon shorts, it would make sense if they shared a reality. But Goofy and Goof Troop tend to emphasize a world of humans and anthromorphs, while Duck Tales and Darkwing seem to place humans in an alternate reality. So do Goof Troop and Duck tales take place in the same reality or in alternate realities that are accessible to each other? That would mean every Goofy and Donald crossover would involve teality hopping. But the earliet shorts seem to suggest Mickey exists in the same reality as both Goofy and Donald.
This leads to three variations of the anthromorph problem. Pluto is an animal, and there are anthromorphic animals acting as humans but there are probably no humans. Or, anthromorphic animals live in a world with no pets and no humans. Or, animals and anthromorphic animals share a reality with humans. It’s not always consistent whether humans are part of the cartoon world or have never existed there, because both have happened depending on the show.
But then, the movies seem to say ignore the show and pay attention to the movie. Until the movie has a cameo to a show. This would indicate the main cartoon movie reality has interdimensional bleedthroughs with the cartoon reality of Mickey, Donald and Goofy. In the cartoon movie reality, those characters typically are fictional. It would take an interdimensional hop to enter the shared world of Mickey, Donald and Goofy.
However, most cartoons exhibit a principle where the cartoons can break character and say they are done acting. This bypasses the need for a portal as all the characters are already there behind the scenes, albeit out of character. This then brings up the question of how many stories actually happened from the perspective of actually happening vs how many are acted out out fictions. And then those fictions would be realities while being percieved as fictional, unless there is some other property that allows the stories to be fictional and actual without having to care about separate realities. Either way, this reality bending behavior ends up as side effects such as cameos.
From this, the Disney multiverse could be arranged into five or so primary reality clusters with visible branches representing tie-in works. Of course, most of these realities are splintered from the fairy tale reality.
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Aladdin and Mulan are also connected. When Jasmine and Aladdin finish singing a ‘Whole New World’ they can be seen sitting on a rooftop, in that scene you can also see the dragon display. The whole scene resembles the emperor’s castle from Mulan and that dragon display is just before the Huns reveal themselves.
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If you watch Tarzan, and and her father have the beauty and the beast Mrs Potts tea set in their camp!
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