Iconic Disney film locations

For those who have never been on safari before, there is already a preconception of how it will be, and what you will see from Disney’s The Lion King. While each safari destination offers the beautiful sunsets and game-filled grasslands featured, the 1994 film was actually set in Kenya. A team of animators from Disney visited Kenya’s Great Rift Valley and the Masai Mara National Park in search of inspiration – for both the landscape backdrops and the wildlife characters. 

Head to Hell’s Gate National Park in the Rift Valley and you’ll see a magnificent rock on a grassy savannah. As a result of geothermal activity, this is believed to be the rock that gave the animators the inspiration for Pride Rock. That said, there are impressive kopjes in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania that are also in the battle of being the Pride Rock.

Research was done exceptionally well by Disney and the film has often been praised by its integration of the Swahili language. Many of the characters are named after Swahili words. For example, Simba means lion, Sarabi means mirage, Rafijki means friend and zazu means movement. Of course, the most popular phrase of the whole film, and one that to this day is used in the safari industry by guides themselves is ‘hakuna matata’ which translates to ‘no worries’.

Released in 2007, Ratatouille is a Disney film following the life of a street rat with an exceptional sense of smell and taste. The rat (Remy) ends up cooking in a gourmet restaurant, showing the world what he is capable of. Of course, cooking and fine dining is something that France is known for and thousands of people travel to the country every year to taste some of its most unique delicacies. 

Although most of the animations are set in the kitchen, there are scenes which show the skyline of Paris beautifully. Iconic landmarks like the rooftops of Paris, the banks of the Seine River, and the Pont d’Arcole bridge are all shown. On the other side of glamour, metro stations and sewage systems are shown but is you head to Paris, you will only see the luxurious side, we can assure you!

Although the popular Disney film Mulan (1998) absorbs some Japanese cultures, the film was set in the Northern Wei dynasty of China. A team of researchers and animators were sent to China in 1994 in search of cultural inspiration. The actual storyline itself (where Hua Mulan disguises herself as a man to fight in the army instead of her father), is loosely traced back to the legend of Mulan. Many of the characters’ names have meanings in Chinese. For example, Ping (one of the soldiers) means flowerpot, and Chi-Fu literally translates to ‘bully’ in Chinese. 

The latest remake of Disney’s Mulan (2020) was set in and around the Xiangyang Province in eastern China. Researchers and filmmakers traveled around this area in search of iconic landmarks and sets, such as the Imperial Palace in Zhejiang Province, as well as historic-looking backdrops in the Hubei Province. 

Although there are undeniable Americanized cultures and influences, Disney’s Mulan does show a good amount of Chinese culture and heritage. These include references to a matchmaker, the dragon, inclusions of the phoenix, and of course, the real war and conflict that the country occurred for a long time (between nomadic groups in central and northern China).