One small UK village has a surprising connection to the Disney franchise – and has featured in every film since 2006.
Trying to work it out?
Well, we’re all familiar with the motif of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, which appears with a shooting star sparkling around it, as the title sequence of every Disney film.
But what you might not notice is that a flag, with three lions on it, flies on top of the castle.
This coat of arms belongs to the family crest of Walt Disney’s ancestor, Sir William d’Isney, which he first saw on a tomb in the churchyard of the village of Norton Disney, in Lincolnshire.
In July 1949, Walt himself visited Norton Disney. By this time, he had won 12 Oscars and the company had celebrated its 25th anniversary.
He was visiting the UK during the filming of Treasure Island, and after hearing there was a village sharing his name he was naturally intrigued, having previously only been able to trace his family’s history back to his great-grandfather, who was Irish. So, he decided to pay a visit.
Visiting the graveyard of St Peter’s Church, it was here that he learned an important part of his past.
Minister Rev RK Roper explained to him that a family called the De Isignys had relocated from France alongside William the Conqueror following the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Over the centuries, descendants changed the name from d’Isigny, then to D’Iseny, deciding upon its final form of Disney between the 13th and 14th centuries.
Finding the 14th century tomb of Sir William d’Isney, Disney found the family crest which featured three lions facing left – symbolic of Normandy in France.
Less than 10 years later, in 1965, Disney added the very same coat of arms to Sleeping Beauty’s castle at the Disneyland theme park in California – and the rest is history.
‘This is the oldest place in England where you can find a trace of Disney, of Walt Disney’s history and his family tree and even his coat of arms’, Disney historian Sebastien Durand told the BBC.
‘They took photographs of it and they reproduced it on the castle in Disney, California, and since then it is on every Disney castle in all Disney parks.
‘It even appears now at the beginning of every Disney movie.
‘So, since 2006 at the start of every Disney film, three lions can be seen flying on the flag at the top of Sleeping Beauty’s castle – a tribute to Norton Disney.’
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