Each Disney animated movie feels familiar, as they all share similar themes of love and happy endings. But the TikTok user buzzzi_ discovered another reason why Disney movies can give you a sense of deja vu. In the video, they show how Disney recycles their animation sequences.
The TikTok video puts a scene of Mowgli from “The Jungle Book” next to one of Christopher Robin from “Winnie the Pooh.” Their bodies move in the same way, making their actions sync up perfectly.
However, this isn’t the only animation sequence Disney has recycled. They also reused the “Sleeping Beauty” dance scene in “Beauty and the Beast.” Additionally, some animated sequences in movies “The Aristocrats,” “Robin Hood,” and “The Sword and the Stone” are the same.
Floyd Norman, a previous Disney animator, gave some insight on why Disney recycles animated sequences:
“It was done probably to save time, save money,” Norman said in an interview with Cartoon Hangover. “Although I don’t think it saved much time and I don’t think it saved much money because it was much more of a hassle to go dig this old footage out of the archive.”
Norman also told GeekDad that past audiences didn’t consume media in the same way we do now. So, viewers who watched these movies in the 60s and 70s would be less likely to spot the identical sequences between films.
He also stated that the director of many movies from that era, Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman, liked to “play it safe” by using scenes that had worked in the past.
While some people are a bit startled by this news, people are also thrilled to learn this fun fact about Disney.
TikTok user Deb Lowell commented on the video, “That’s great! Recycling…I never knew about it, but it makes sense!”
Now that we know about these reused animated sequences, we’re sure to pay closer attention the next time we watch an animated Disney movie!
Positive World Online 