Disney magic meets Hollywood charm! We're diving into the fascinating world of actors who inspired the looks of your favorite Disney princes. From Tom Cruise to Hugh Jackman, discover the real-life inspirations behind these animated heartthrobs.
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00:00It looks just like him! It even has his eyes!"
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most notable stars
00:08who were apparently used as inspiration for Disney princes.
00:11They were very opinionated. They let us know what they liked and what they didn't.
00:16Number 10. Val Kilmer and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
00:20Prince Adam. The Beast.
00:22Beauty and the Beast fans have long debated who they love more,
00:26the prince and his beast, or his human form. It is a running gag among Disney aficionados
00:31that Belle was rather disappointed when the towering beast she fell in love with
00:36turned into a rather delicate young man. One thing's for certain, though,
00:40Adam is undeniably quite dashing.
00:42It is you!"
01:05Although unconfirmed, Val Kilmer's features are said to have been an inspiration.
01:11We can see it! Look at his gorgeous auburn mane and eyes.
01:15"'Death next to love' is a trivial thing.
01:20Your touch is worth a hundred thousand deaths."
01:23It's also easy to see how the prince's angular facial structure
01:27could have been taken from Schwarzenegger's sharp jawline.
01:30Their muscular builds probably lent themselves to the designs, too.
01:34You're so big and so well-grown. You should be proud of your body."
01:39Number 9. Keanu Reeves and Clint Eastwood.
01:42Li Shang.
01:43I saw that.
01:45What?
01:46You like him, don't you?
01:48No! I...
01:49Yeah, all right, yeah, sure. Go to your tent!
01:52The leading man of Mulan made us swoon when we were young, and continues to do so today.
01:58According to Disney Prince Wiki, the Chinese warrior with his glowing skin and sleek black
02:03hair was designed on the basis of several Asian men, and Dirty Harry.
02:08You want my star?
02:09I want an answer. Have you been following that man?
02:14Yeah, I've been following him on my own time.
02:17Most evidently, you can see glimpses of Keanu Reeves in him, who has Chinese ancestry.
02:23At the same time, Eastwood's killer smile is easily recognizable in the general.
02:28Hong Kong-American action star Bruce Lee and Superman actor Dean Cain,
02:33who has Japanese roots, were apparently referred to as well.
02:37So do you, like, have to work out and stuff?
02:39Nope, it's all natural.
02:43Number 8. Louis Hightower.
02:46Prince Florian.
02:47I'm wishing, I'm wishing, for the one I love to find me, to find me.
02:57The OG Disney prince, often called Florian, only has a couple of scenes in 1937's Snow White and
03:03the Seven Dwarfs. Even so, he was a cultural reset, to say the least.
03:07Was he strong and handsome?
03:10Was he big and tall?
03:12There's nobody like him, anywhere at all.
03:16To animate the studio's first-ever true-to-life man,
03:19Milt Kahl had a reliable live reference model in Louis Hightower.
03:24The actor's movements and expressions had the perfect balance of elegance and command,
03:29making him ideal for the role.
03:31Hightower's dancing background worked in the animator's favor,
03:35and he ultimately worked to bring us the charismatic, albeit elusive, prince.
03:46Number 7. Ed Kemmer.
03:55Prince Philip.
03:56Aurora from Sleeping Beauty was the first Disney princess to have a prince with a widely known name.
04:02He's also a more active participant in the story, which is no small feat.
04:07So arm thyself with this enchanted shield of virtue,
04:12and this mighty sword of truth,
04:15for these weapons of righteousness will triumph over evil.
04:19Given how important such a development was,
04:22his moniker was apparently inspired by real-life royalty.
04:26Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. However, when it came to his enchanting good looks,
04:30Disney animators looked elsewhere.
04:32More specifically, they turned to Space Patrol star Ed Kemmer.
04:37After all, you're the commander-in-chief.
04:38Exactly why I can't ask anyone else to do it.
04:42Well, you don't have to ask me. If you're willing to stick your neck out, you can count me in.
04:46The actor joined Helene Stanley as a performance model for the character,
04:51and it sure had us wishing they made a live action starring the two.
04:55Clearly, their chemistry translated onto animation, too.
05:076. Gene Kelly and Jeffrey Stone, Prince Charming
05:23One of the greatest actors in Hollywood history,
05:26Gene Kelly, inspiring the most iconic Disney prince,
05:30Charming, comes as no surprise. The timeless heartthrob bears
05:34close resemblance to the love of Cinderella's life. But the actor himself wasn't feeling it.
05:40Now wait a minute.
05:41Wait my foot. You must be out of your mint-lined head.
05:45I know I need dough, but I don't need it this badly. If you're hard up for companionship,
05:48they have guys in town who do this kind of thing for a living. Call one of them.
05:52In an interview from the late 80s, he said he would much rather Fred Astaire play the prince,
05:56with the smooth ballroom moves. Nevertheless, it was actually Jeffrey Stone who ended up modeling
06:02as Prince Charming alongside Helene Stanley's Cinderella. In the later years of his life,
06:07Stone even authored an autobiography titled Whatever Happened to Prince Charming?
06:13Oh, the prince. I haven't met the prince.
06:16The prince? But didn't you know that...
06:20Goodbye!
06:215. Joshua Finkel, Prince Eric
06:24He's so beautiful.
06:26What would I give to live in love?
06:32It isn't surprising that the man who turned Ariel's head would be a looker in real life.
06:37Prince Eric was modeled after actor Joshua Finkel,
06:41whose leading lady was inspired by the beautiful Sherry Stoner. Finkel imbued the prince with his
06:47endearing pleasantness, in addition to, of course, his suave appearance.
06:51I would get a packet from Disney that would contain the storyboards of the
06:55sequences we're about to do, and then the audio tracks of the pre-recorded voices of
06:59those sequences. And basically, it was my job to put those two things together.
07:03You look wonderful.
07:04Thanks in part to his unforgettable performance as Eric, The Little Mermaid became a classic.
07:09He also had a shining career on Broadway, and even dabbled in directing and coaching.
07:15However, the Disney gig remains his favorite.
07:18Isn't this great? The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face.
07:224. Bruno Campos, Prince Naveen
07:26He's beautiful, no?
07:28No.
07:30Oh, dance with me, fat man.
07:33Stay loose, Lawrence.
07:34You're supposed to be a man of the state, I know.
07:37Yes, yes, yes. But first, high-five everyone here in three.
07:42He may be the Prince of Maldonia by name, but to us, he's the King of Hearts.
07:47Disney animator Randy Haycock played around with several early drawings based on
07:52Tinseltown cuties like a young version of Cary Grant and a fresh-faced Brad Pitt.
07:58Even artist J.C. Leydendecker informed some design choices.
08:02However, the truest inspiration was right in front of their eyes.
08:06In the recording booth, in fact.
08:07Oh, but you must kiss me. Look, look, look. Besides being unbelievably handsome,
08:12I also happen to come from a fabulously wealthy kingdom.
08:15Surely I could offer you some type of reward? A wish I could grant? Yeah?"
08:19The Prince Naveen we see on our screens was apparently sketched from his voice actor,
08:24Bruno Campos' brooding allure. Although Maldonia is said to be located in Eurasia,
08:30Campos' Brazilian origin gives Naveen similar traits.
08:34They talk about these things for a long time, and they carry it,
08:37and they're invested in these characters, and they believe them.
08:40And when the story's good, you know, it's a good thing to be a part of.
08:453. Mel Gibson
08:47John Smith
08:48Easy, Thomas, it's me. Oh, John, I could have killed you.
08:54This one might make or break your perception of Pocahontas forever.
08:58The ever-controversial Mad Max star not only voiced John Smith,
09:02but was apparently also a visual reference for the character.
09:06Every now and then, you catch in the cartoon itself, you catch that they've stolen an
09:10expression off your face. You can see what they've done. It's very clever.
09:12Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones also reportedly contributed to his persona.
09:17Other actors who were sought out to bring the explorer to life were Butch Hartman and Rob
09:23Duncan. However, the very first iterations were actually based on notorious womanizer Errol Flynn.
09:29To this day, some fans still prefer the early drafts of the design,
09:33wondering what it would have been like to see that vision realized.
09:37I've seen hundreds of new worlds, Thomas. What could possibly be different about this one?
09:422. Johnny Depp
09:44Hugh Jackman, Brad Pitt, David Beckham, and Gene Kelly.
09:49Flynn Rider
09:50All right, listen, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.
09:55Here comes the smolder.
09:563. Disney's Walking Green Flag
10:01Disney's walking green flag, Rapunzel's ride-or-die Eugene Fitzherbert,
10:06was born from an extensive process of research.
10:09Tangle directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard called it the hot man meeting.
10:14We wanted this guy to be really, really handsome, and so we put up photos all over the walls of the
10:20most handsome leading men in all of Hollywood history, and sort of picked out which features
10:26would sort of work best.
10:28The lineup included Depp, Jackman, Pitt, Beckham, and Kelly. Women attending the very serious
10:34gathering got to choose the fairest of them all, with Rider being an amalgamation of their
10:39favorite traits in men. That said, the preliminary sketches by Jin Kim
10:44were reportedly largely based on the Pirates of the Caribbean actor.
10:502. Tom Cruise, Aladdin
11:21Know you?
11:22Uh, no, no.
11:25You remind me of someone I met in the marketplace.
11:29If you've ever watched Aladdin and thought to yourself,
11:31young Tom Cruise would be perfect in the live action, you're not alone.
11:36The Top Gun actor was the final blueprint for the smugly, mischievous thief-turned-prince.
11:41Although Michael J. Fox was animator Glen Keane's first pick, President Jeffrey Katzenberg
11:47wasn't on board. Instead, it was ultimately Cruise's quote-unquote
11:52impish look that sealed the deal.
11:54There's one thing I've learned in all my years. Sometimes you gotta say,
11:59what the f-----, make your move.
12:02Reportedly directed to mirror the kind of electric dynamic you'd see between Cruise
12:07and Julia Roberts, Keane pursued the new version of Aladdin with conviction and made magic happen.
12:14Everyone say thank you!
12:15I choose, I choose you, Aladdin.
12:22Call me Al.
12:24Which Disney prince was your romantic awakening? Let us know in the comments.
12:31Belle, it's me.
12:34Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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