Disney artists borrowed from traditional Chinese ink painting to begin Mulan.

Mary Blair's journey through Latin America inspired a body of work that blended her distinctive modernist style with the textures, colors, and patterns she encountered. One of my personal favorites comes from her time in Mexico, created as concept art for Disney’s 1943 film Saludos Amigos.

Walt Disney wanted Sleeping Beauty to be “a moving illustration.” He meant that literally. He instructed his animators to treat the film not like a traditional cartoon. The result was an aesthetic departure that set Sleeping Beauty apart from anything Disney had done before or since.

From medieval manuscripts and unicorns to renaissance landscape paintings and modern design, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is filled with nods to real art that inspired its unique look. Did you know you can see many of these artworks in person in New York City museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Morgan, and The Cloisters?

By the 1500s, in parts of Europe, the bob was all the rage for men—Shrek's Lord Farquaad and Snow White connect to it!

Blog post exploring the influence of art history, specifically Rodin, on the Beast’s hands Disney's Beauty and the Beast

Disney's Sleeping Beauty has a fascinating art history connection with medieval tapestries, including the Unicorn Tapestries

Did you know Ariel in The Little Mermaid is influenced by Victorian art?

Moana's clothing and her connections to bark cloth (tapa) in the Pacific Islands