- The opening of every Disney movie has featured a logo in the shape of Cinderella's castle since 1985.
- But there have been times when the logo has been drastically altered to fit the theme of the movie.
- The live-action "Mulan" is the latest to do that, as it opens with the castle at Shanghai Disneyland.
- Here are all 51 times it has occurred.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Cinderella's castle has become an iconic opening image in every Disney movie. Often accompanied by the musical arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" from "Pinocchio," it's one of the brand's most famous symbols.
It began with the 1985 movie "Return to Oz," in which white lines behind a purple background formed the shape of Cinderella's castle with the words "Walt Disney Pictures" appearing at the bottom.
Since then, the logo has evolved into its CGI-animated form today in which the castle is backlit by a setting sun. The only word that appears is "Disney."
But there have been times over the decades when the castle has been drastically altered or replaced to represent the feel of any given movie.
The live-action release of "Mulan" is the latest example. The castle before the film is the one that's at Shanghai Disneyland.
Here's a rundown of all 51 times the Disney castle opening has been changed in a movie:
"Toy Story" (1995)
The Pixar era at Disney began with 1995's "Toy Story." To feature the CGI animation of the studio, the logo was altered in a more defined look for the castle.
"Meet the Deedles" (1998)
For this live-action comedy starring a then-unknown Paul Walker, the logo is made to look like it's underwater. Moving water makes it fade and the movie then opens with underwater shots.
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (1998)
To get you into the holiday feel, the logo for this comedy starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas has colorful Christmas lights appear on the arc.
"Tarzan" (1999)
Through the 1990s, a light blue background accompanied the Disney logo. But for "Tarzan," right when the "Walt Disney Pictures" words appear, the background is the jungle.
"Inspector Gadget" (1999)
In the same year "Tarzan" was released, Disney premiered the live-action "Inspector Gadget" with Matthew Broderick in the title role. To open the movie, the logo had its most drastic change yet with gears and springs that disassemble.
"Fantasia 2000" (1999)
When the Walt Disney Pictures text appears at the start of "Fantasia 2000," the background turns to outer space.
"Recess: School's Out" (2001)
For the start of this animated comedy, the main characters appear when the logo comes up and with kazoos, play the "When You Wish Upon a Star" theme.
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire" (2001)
The logo shows up fully formed at the start of "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" and has an aged underwater metal look. The only light appears to be a reflection on the surface.
"Snow Dogs" (2002)
For this adventure comedy starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and set in the arctic, the Disney logo turns to ice.
"Return to Never Land" (2002)
Tinker Bell sprinkles pixie dust over the logo in this sequel to "Peter Pan."
"Lilo & Stitch" (2002)
To play on the sci-fi feel of the movie, the logo at the start of "Lilo & Stitch" has a green beam placed over it and it is then abducted by it.
"The Country Bears" (2002)
To get us into that woodsy feel for "The Country Bears," the logo was placed on a wood background with a flame burnt into the wood to form the arc.
"The Jungle Book 2" (2003)
For the sequel to "The Jungle Book," the movie opens with the logo put in front of a light blue fabric. The fabric is then used by Mowgli to tell his story after the logo disappears.
"The Lizzie McGuire Movie" (2003)
In the movie that stars Hilary Duff in the title role that she made famous on The Disney Channel TV series, the logo forms behind a black backdrop in pieces and then when the arc appears, blue and red lights flash like police car lights.
"Piglet's Big Movie" (2003)
For this movie focused on the tiny favorite from Hundred Acre Wood the arc in the logo is pink.
"Teacher's Pet" (2004)
To match the movie's hand-drawn style, the logo was given the same look. The music was also the theme from "Pinocchio" instead of the "When You Wish Upon a Star" song in the movie.
"Home on the Range" (2004)
For this Western-themed animated movie, the logo is branded and then burns away as the movie's first musical number begins.
"Chicken Little" (2005)
Marking the first movie Disney Animation made with CGI, 3D animated software (separate from what Pixar was doing already), the studio tweaked the logo so it looked three dimensional.
But to give the logo a nod to the movie, it replaced one of its flags with a rooster wind vane.
"Ice Princess" (2005)
In the early 2000s at times the Disney logo would begin with an all black screen and then appear in a glow of light used by the arc. In "Ice Princess" the arc is a frosty blue.
"Sky High" (2005)
In the family adventure movie starring Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston, the logo turns into a city skyline.
"The Shaggy Dog" (2006)
When the logo appears for "The Shaggy Dog," it looks like the usual one and then suddenly the castle turns into a dog house.
"The Wild" (2006)
Along with the impressive 3D animation of the logo, what also stands out with this version is the triumphant music in the background and Kiefer Sutherland beginning a story.
But he's interrupted by a child who says he's heard that story already. So the whole logo reveal is done twice. Each time, the arc goes away until the child is satisfied with the story that's about to be told. Then the logo is fully presented.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006)
With the release of "Dead Man's Chest," the logo got a huge revamp that is still the style used to this day.
We start on a bright star in the sky, then it pans down to a boat and train on a track (both hat tips to Magic Kingdom at Disney World) and then fireworks go off in the sky as Cinderella's castle is revealed and then the words Walt Disney Pictures. All of this is done in dazzling CGI animation.
Most of the time the "When You Wish Upon a Star" theme is used.
"The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" (2006)
In the third "Santa Clause" movie, the logo is revealed to be inside a snow globe. Santa's hand even picks it up and shakes it making snow go all over it.
"Enchanted" (2007)
In this rom-com starring Amy Adams, James Marsden, and Patrick Dempsey, the logo appears as it always does until the very end when the camera rushes towards the castle and we fly directly into one of the windows to begin the movie.
"Bedtime Stories" (2008)
In the Adam Sandler family comedy, the logo suddenly becomes a flipbook as pages turn to reveal different adventures.
"Race to Witch Mountain" (2009)
At the end of the logo reveal, the castle transforms into a mountain before the screen is filled with stars in the story.
"Tron: Legacy" (2010)
The logo here really is different with lights appearing first on-screen and then after some movements revealing the castle.
"Mars Needs Moms" (2011)
The blue sky turns Mars red for this animated movie.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (2011)
Right from the start, this logo is very different than most. It starts with fog blowing in on the screen. Then atop the castle is a pirate flag. Next, two mermaids jump out of the water before the Walt Disney Pictures text appears.
"Prom" (2011)
The logo quickly evolves as a collage step by step to reveal the entire castle, text, and arc with stars.
"The Muppets" (2011)
The text in the logo changed from "Walt Disney Pictures" to just "Disney" beginning with this movie. It has been this way to date.
"John Carter" (2012)
The entire logo sequence was in red for "John Carter."
"Frankenweenie" (2012)
After lightening strikes, the logo changes from color to black and a white and rain begins to pour down as an ominous moon is full in the sky. Can you expect anything else for a stop-motion movie directed by Tim Burton?
"Oz the Great and Powerful" (2013)
Here the logo is made almost like a ride at one of the Disney parks. The "Disney" word opens for the camera to move inside the castle. Inside is a music box. The color is also all in black and white.
"Planes" (2013)
The castle in the logo begins to shine a bright light and you realize it's a watchtower as two jets fly past.
"Saving Mr. Banks" (2013)
To throw us back to the era where Walt Disney was calling the shots at the studio he created (the movie is about him, played by Tom Hanks, trying to get the rights to "Mary Poppins"), the opening of the movie looks like how the ones of his era started.
"Into the Woods" (2014)
To get us into the spookiness of this musical story, it opens with the logo surrounded by bare tree branches and a full moon.
"Maleficent" (2014)
Instead of Cinderella's castle, the logo is King Stefan's from "Sleeping Beauty," as this movie delves into the characters from that classic.
The logo also goes from night to day before the movie begins.
"Cinderella" (2015)
The logo goes from its usual look to more realistic on a bright day with a field surrounding it in this live-action version of "Cinderella."
"Tomorrowland" (2015)
The logo gets completely futuristic with a rocket passing the screen.
"The Finest Hours" (2016)
The logo gets a gold tint, perhaps touching on the calm before the storm that's featured in the movie.
"The Jungle Book" (2016) / "The Lion King" (2019)
A traditional look, it also features landmarks from Disneyland, including Sleeping Beauty's castle. The same logo shows up for "The Lion King."
Both are directed by Jon Favreau.
"Beauty and the Beast" (2017)
To do the live-action version of "Beauty and the Beast," the logo featured the beast's castle.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017)
Once more, the logo gets spooky for a "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. The pirate flag is atop the castle again and the weather looks treacherous.
"A Wrinkle in Time" (2018)
The prepare you for the trippy feel of the movie, the logo completely changes into a kaleidoscope image.
"Incredibles 2" (2018)
The logo is completely redone in a 1960s style to go with the feel of the franchise.
"Christopher Robin" (2018)
The logo beings as it always does but by the time we see the castle, the animation begins to change to the more basic look that all the Winnie the Pooh book drawings looked like.
"Mary Poppins Returns" (2018)
Here we find the castle with familiar London landmarks in the background like Big Ben and London Bridge.
"Noelle" (2019)
For the logo for "Noelle," it begins to snow and then suddenly Santa's sleigh flies over the castle.
"Mulan" (2020)
For the logo of the live-action "Mulan," the landscape before we see the castle is one from China. The castle that is at Shanghai Disneyland is used. And the arc is created by a Phoenix, which is featured in the movie.
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