# Feature animated film originality-Disney **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, disney-hulu, cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [May 21, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286 "2026-05-21T16:04:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/1 "2026-05-21T16:04:31Z")
Has Disney ever put out an original animated feature film that was not a derivative/retelling of another popular story? Original script, original characters only? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/2 "2026-05-21T16:12:51Z")
I didn’t know offhand, so I pulled up Disney Wiki’s list of the Disney Animated Canon. _The Aristocats_ was wholly original. _Lilo and Stitch_ was originally pitched as a children’s book but went unpublished. The creator gave Disney the right to turn it into a movie, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/3 "2026-05-21T16:12:59Z")
Pinocchio, Alice, Dumbo and Bambi were based on books. Most were based on public domain fairy tales. Three Caballeros comes closest probably. Mixed animation and live action but I believe an original set of stories. Oh, maybe the Lion King? Inspired by Hamlet, but not really Hamlet at all. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/4 "2026-05-21T16:18:52Z")
_Raya and the Last Dragon_’s protagonist was based off of a pair of Vietnamese warrior princesses, but not based on any particular story about them. _Encanto_ is an original story that weaves in the richness of Colombian culture. Disney’s _Wish_ is also an original story bringing back the idea of wishing on a star to make your dreams come true, for the studio’s 100th anniversary. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/5 "2026-05-21T16:22:00Z")
_The Nightmare Before Christmas_ appears to be more-or-less original: it’s based on a poem written by Tim Burton in 1982, but as Burton co-produced the film, and had worked to develop it for years, it’s not a case of Disney using some third-party book or fairy tale as its basis. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/6 "2026-05-21T16:31:18Z")
_Fantasia_ comes close. All the characters were created to fit the sounds of the classical compositions, with one exception. Goethe’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (German: “Der Zauberlehrling”) was used for Mickey’s character. Here’s a trivia question that nobody will get without looking it up. What is the name of Mickey’s character? Yen Sid, or Disney spelled backward. Monks appear during “Ave Maria” but I wouldn’t call them characters from the original. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/7 "2026-05-21T17:01:29Z")
I was always led to believe that Yen Sid was the name of the sorcerer. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/8 "2026-05-21T17:24:51Z")
Indeed. [https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Yen\_Sid](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Yen_Sid) Mickey was still Mickey. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/9 "2026-05-21T17:29:28Z")
I read it wrong. Must have been a spell of confusion. _Rorecros_. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/10 "2026-05-21T17:46:32Z")
_Brother Bear_ and _The Emperor’s New Groove_ aren’t based on pre-existing stories. (Despite its title, the latter is _not_ a retelling of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/11 "2026-05-21T18:53:59Z")
I didn’t realize there were so many. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/12 "2026-05-21T23:15:37Z")
No problem! I enjoyed looking this up and was pleasantly surprised there were this many. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/13 "2026-05-22T03:26:05Z")
_Home On The Range_, _Atlantis_, and _Dinosaur_ are also all originals. Though they aren’t very memorable, possibly because of that lack of name recognition a book or fairy tale provides. Though I am a fan of Atlantis. _Frozen_ is supposed to be based on The Snow Queen, but it veered away from that sometime in its development and now both it and its sequel are wholly original. There is a third coming, that one may yet introduce some Snow Queen elements. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/14 "2026-05-22T03:31:55Z")
I don’t believe _Moana_ is based on any specific work besides Polynesian mythology in general. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/15 "2026-05-22T06:03:22Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Frozen_ is supposed to be based on The Snow Queen, but it veered away from that sometime in its development Veered away is one way to put it. About the only thing carried over from Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” are two names, [Kai and Gerda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen#Kai_and_Gerda) and even they are demoted from principal characters to two barely there palace servants. It’s just as well. While it has a happy ending the original story is pretty depressing in the telling. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/16 "2026-05-22T13:54:04Z")
_Bolt, Wreck it Ralph, Zootopia_ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/17 "2026-05-22T14:02:49Z")
In Googling an answer to the OP’s question, I did find this list. Most of which was mentioned already. Apparently The Lion King is considered the first original Disney animated story, even though it’s inspired by Hamlet (but without the mother issues). Actually, I just got an idea for a new thread. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Frozen_ is supposed to be based on The Snow Queen, but it veered away from that sometime in its development and now both it and its sequel are wholly original. There is a third coming, that one may yet introduce some Snow Queen elements. Yeah, I would say that the only thing in common between Elsa and Hans Christian Andersen’s Snow Queen is they are both queens and they both work a lot with snow. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/18 "2026-05-22T14:41:36Z")
Nope. **Kimba the White Lion.** Look it up. Denials notwithstanding, the Rat stole the show. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/feature-animated-film-originality-disney/1030286/19 "2026-05-22T15:31:24Z")
“Kimba the White Lion (Japanese: Jungle Emperor) is a classic manga series by Osamu Tezuka, serialized from 1950-1954, about a white lion cub who, after his parents’ death, is raised by humans and returns to the jungle to rule with wisdom and peace, teaching animals human ways. It’s famous for its influential anime adaptations,…” Sounds more like a reverse Tarzan than Hamlet / The Lion King IMHO.