Photo: via uproxx.com
How many mornings have we spent plugged into our morning cartoons? The answer: too many to not notice the obvious inspirations of real-life celebrity human beings. Well, calling celebrities actual human beings might be a stretch, but for those of us wondering where the inspiration for some of our favorite ’80s and ’90s cartoons came from, it will all make so much sense when you see these comparisons.
When it comes to spotting inspiration for cartoons, celebrity or otherwise, we’re pretty spot on. And when we’re not, there are plenty of other sites that helped us out (go pointless entertainment!). In no time at all, you’ll be embarrassed you didn’t realize who Aladdin was based on, since it’s so damn obvious once you know, along with other Disney classics and morning cartoon characters like Ariel of The Little Mermaid all the way down your favorite adult cartoons, like Cartman and Milhouse. If you didn’t feel like an idiot man-child before, watch as we hand over some sweet celebrity inspiration that was right under your binge-addicted noses. And now, on with the show…
Cartoon Characters Based on Real-Life Human Beings and Celebrities
Now for something golden: Love and Loathe: Actors You Thought You Hated and Now You Absolutely Admire
Cartoon Character Inspiration
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"Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers" - Indie & Magnum
Photo: Pinterest
If the resemblance isn't uncanny enough to see, maybe you'll recall how badass the Rescue Rangers were. Clearly, that had to be inspired by Tom Selleck hiding his erections on Magnum P.I. and Harrison Ford before he was constantly crashing planes. They were arguably two of the manliest men of the 1980s.
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"Aladdin" - Tom Cruise
Photo: via Yahoo
The studio originally wanted the design of Aladdin to imbue the boyish looks of a young Michael J. Fox then landed on a more tall, dark and handsome version based off Tom Cruise. The 1992 Disney classic came in a few years after Top Gun and Days of Thunder. Maybe Aladdin would be vastly different if we'd known more about scientology then.
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Milhouse - Paul Pfieffer
Photo: via Flavor Wire
Although The Simpsons has been around since the dawn of time, Milhouse has quite a bit of Paul Pfieffer of The Wonder Years (1988-1993) inspiration behind him, which makes sense since The Simpsons started up in 1989.
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Ariel - Alyssa Milano
Photo: YouTube
Alyssa Milano went from little girl to a budding young woman on Who's the Boss right around the time The Little Mermaid (1989) came out. Imagine if they based it off her now. That'll take bootleg animated pornography to new heights, won't it?
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Ursula - Divine
Photo: via All Day Media
We couldn't decide which was more likely to give us nightmares: this haunting childhood villain or this late drag icon, but we're leaning towards the real-life character because he existed somewhere in this world once. Divine passed in 1988, one year before The Little Mermaid was released. Call it a tribute.
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Betty Boop - Helen Kane
Photo: via smosh.com
If Helen Kane is before your time (it is, unless you were born in the '20s), you might not know she was a hit singer in the late 1920s with songs like "I Wanna Be Loved by You," which prefaced the 1930s cartoon icon, Betty Boop, based largely on Kane's actual life.
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Shrek - Maurice Tillet
Photo: via fightstate.com
Maurice Tillet was a French wrestler from the 1940s whose body deformities were an inspiration to the character of Shrek. Although, the softer side of the green ogre could be attributed to Tillet's kind, intelligent side, as well.
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Edna Mode - Edith Head
Photo: via guff.com
The power punch of Eden Mode on The Incredibles bears a striking resemblance to one of the spunkiest, bite-sized power houses in Hollywood, Edith Head, whose notorious for being as blunt as she is talented.
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Genie - Robin Williams
Photo: via abc7.com
Anyone who can recall seeing Aladdin knows that Genie stole the show, and not only was the character inspired by Robin Williams, but it was voiced over by the late great actor, as well. Looks like him, too.
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Cartman - Archie Bunker
Photo: via guff.com
Southpark creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, outwardly spoke of their incessant love for watching All in the Family back in their early days, so much so they felt compelled to bring Archie Bunker back to life within their own show. And it just so happens that Cartman is everyone's favorite character, so thank you, Carroll O'Connor.
