10 Disney Movies That Prove It’s All One Big Shared Universe

Disney movies have each left an indelible mark on the lives of children around the world, but few fans actually realize that all of Disney’s movies exist in one interconnected universe. While Disney has never had an Avengers-style crossover that brings all of its various movie characters together, there have been enough Easter egg references and crossovers between Disney animated films to prove that at least ten of them all exist in the same cinematic universe.

Below you can find a list of Disney films and a breakdown of how they connect to other films on the list. By the time you get to the end, you’ll have all the explanations needed to impress your friends with Disney movie insights.

NOTE: This list will be looking at Disney animated films – Disney-Pixar films tend to exist within their own separate shared universe.

Tarzan

The 1999 Disney Tarzan animated film features a scene of Rosie O’Donnell’s wisecracking gorilla Terk getting into a tea set that Minnie Driver’s Jane Porter brought with her on safari (for some reason). That tea set is seen to be the same enchanted French tea set in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, placing the two films in one shared continuity.

Peter Pan

In a strange case of retcon Easter egging, Disney’s 1953 Peter Pan animated film has a connection to The Little Mermaid animated films. Peter Pan always featured a scene where Peter and Co. spot a trio of mermaids; Disney’s 2008 Little Mermaid direct-to-video prequel Ariel’s Beginning featured a flashback featuring Ariel’s mother, Queen Athena, and explained how she died when a pirate ship crashed into a lagoon where the merpeople were swimming. Disney fans didn’t miss the fact that Queen Athena’s character design looked like an older version of that young red-headed mermaid who appears in Peter Pan. Suddenly fans had many questions about who was captaining that pirate ship that killed Athena.

Beauty and the Beast

We already broke down how the enchanted tea set from Beauty and the Beast made it into Tarzan, but that’s not the only crossover connection that Disney’s 1991 animated classic has with other films. Beauty and the Beast‘s main character Belle also shows up in a later Disney animated film, spreading her influence across the shared universe.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Yes, if you look closely at an early scene of Disney’s 1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame animated film, you’ll spot Belle from Beauty and the Beast taking a stroll around Notre Dame while reading a book. Disney’s animated UK is a small world, after all.

The Little Mermaid

The story of Ariel’s mom may share the same space with the tale of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, but the original Little Mermaid animated film has sparked many of its own Disney Universe connection theories. One popular theory has been that the sunken ship that Ariel is exploring early on in the film isn’t just any ship: it’s the ship of Frozen‘s King Agnarr and Queen Iduna of Arendelle. The king and queen died at sea, leaving their daughters Elsa and Anna orphaned. Various cast and crew associated with Frozen have rebuked this theory, and Frozen II shattered it by revealing the actual ship Agnarr and Iduna died on. Regardless, this theory still finds renewed life and discussion with every new generation of Disney fans.

Hercules

Keeping with The Little Mermaid, Disney fans who know their mythology have recognized that Ariel’s father, King Triton, is actually a mythological figure tied to another famous Disney father: Zeus from the 1998 Hercules animated film. Triton’s character is a clear stand-in for Neptune/Poseidon, the God of the Seas and the brother of Zeus. That means Ariel and Hercules are arguably cousins – and it definitely shows. Both royal children go on journeys that ultimately see them choosing love over power in their respective films.

Tangled

Disney’s Tangled was an animated retelling of the classic Rapunzel story, but it’s also been a connective bridge to another major Disney film. One of the clearest crossover moments occurs in Disney’s Frozen when Princess Anna opens Arendelle’s castle to royal visitors, and Tangled‘s Rapunzel and Eugene are clearly seen to be among the guests in attendance. That cameo sparked an entire rabbit hole of fan theories that link Tangled and Frozen together in one shared universe. That hole goes so deep as to posit that Frozen’s King and Queen of Arendelle were on their way to Rapunzel’s wedding when their ship sank, only for Ariel to later discover it, linking all three Disney Princesses (but to be fair, a lot of that theory has been debunked).

Moana

The first Moana movie sees Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s character Maui trying to retrieve his magic fish hook, which will restore his full demigod powers. When Maui eventually does get his hook, he then has to get his transformation abilities in order. Maui doesn’t get it quite right when trying to transform into a shark: the first form he takes is that of the reindeer Sven from Frozen. This means the two modern Disney classics are part of the same universe.

Encanto

Disney’s Encanto sneaks in an Easter egg nod to Frozen, which proves that the two are in the same (musical) universe. At the end of Encanto, when Bruno finally comes back home, he sings a song of apology with a verse dedicated to his sister, Pepa. Since Pepa’s special ability is controlling the weather, Bruno sings the lyrics “Let it snow / Let it go” which is accompanied by a melodic ode to Frozen‘s iconic musical number “Let It Go” for a brief moment.

Frozen

With connections to Tangled, Moana, Encanto (and maybe The Little Mermaid), it’s clear that Frozen is a major cornerstone of Disney’s shared universe.

Are there any other Disney movie crossovers that are your favorite? You can stream all of these films on Disney+.