Some of Disney's most famous animated films — The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Pocahontas to name a few — actually have roots in reality. I'm not just talking about those that are based on real-life people and true stories; some of the characters' appearances are actually based on the actors who voiced them. There are even a bunch of Disney characters who look exactly like the people who voiced them, because hey, sometimes a screen actor's appearance works for the world of animation, too. I mean, I think we've all noticed the uncanny resemblance between Aladdin's Genie and the late Robin Williams, who voiced the hilarious character.
According to The Atlantic, star-studded voices in cartoons only started becoming a regular thing due to Williams' casting as Genie in 1992. "In many ways, it was the perfect pairing of actor and character, and Williams's manic energy made for a undeniably great Genie," wrote The Atlantic's Scott Meslow. "But the casting decision came with a catch—it's also impossible to separate the Genie, as a character, from the public persona Robin Williams... The marketability of a big-name celebrity voice actor gave way, perhaps inevitably, to an even more insidious trend: directly basing a character's appearance on the famous actor providing its voice."
Whether "insidious" or not, the trend has clearly had staying power. Check out the following animated Disney characters who look exactly like their celebrity voice actors.
Robin Williams As Genie In Aladdin
Of course this one is going to top the list — he's the one that started it all.
Eleanor Audley As Maleficent In Sleeping Beauty
Audley not only served as the voice for the villain in the classic Disney film, but she also staged and shot scenes so the animators could use them for reference, according to The Wire.
Ed Asner As Carl Fredericksen In Up
Asner provided the voice for the 78-year-old adventurer in the Pixar movie — and the resemblance is uncanny, isn't it?
Kathryn Beaumont As Alice In Alice In Wonderland
At 10 years old, Beaumont literally was Alice for Disney animators. They used her as a model for the animated character, as well as the voice. And as you can see above, they really did closely model Alice after her in the sketches, which totally match up. Beaumont did the same for Wendy in Peter Pan , according to HelloGiggles. For her efforts, she was named a "Disney Legend" in 1998.
Danny DeVito As Philoctetes In Hercules
So obvious, right? The character looks just like the comic actor!
Anika Noni Rose As Princess Tiana In The Princess And The Frog
According to an interview with the Huffington Post, the stage and screen actress went to great lengths to secure the role as Disney's first black princess, a role that Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Tyra Banks, and Jennifer Hudson all wanted. In the end, it looks like Rose's appearance also influenced the creation of the groundbreaking princess, too.
Angela Lansbury As Mrs. Potts In Beauty And The Beast
I know, I know. Lansbury is a person and Mrs. Potts is a teapot, so how can one resemble the other? Well, Mrs. Potts' expressions and mannerisms always seemed so familiar and very much like the Murder She Wrote star. After all, inspiration has to come from somewhere.
Jane Lynch As Sergeant Calhoun In Wreck-It Ralph
Even the actress is well-aware of the resemblance between her and her character from the animated film — Lynch dressed up in costume as her Wreck-It Ralph character and it's pretty awesome (above).
Wayne Knight As Al The Toy Collector In Toy Story 2
The Seinfeld actor voiced one of the rare non-toy characters in the classic Pixar flick and it's clear where they drew inspiration from — Knight himself.
It's good to know that as awesome the world of animation is, there are always some roots in reality.
