Real Life Locations in Animated Movies

Like How to Train your Dragon, many of the movies and games draw inspiration from real locations that are then painted vividly with stunning graphics that lend them a magical fairytale quality. 

Here are some of the countries and cultures that have been portrayed in movies and games.

Madagascar

Madagascar as the name suggests is a movie set in Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean with tropical forests and lemurs, but the story starts in Central Park and the streets of New York. In the Madagascar game, kids can actually choose locations like the Times Square and Venice while playing. In the movie sequels, the characters explore the world beyond Madagascar – Africa, Europe and Asia.

Up

In the movie Up, we follow Carl in his search for a giant bird to Paradise Falls, which is modeled on the Angel Falls in Canaima National Park, Venezuela. Kids can enjoy the beautiful tepui or table-top mountain found in South America in this movie.

“My Spirit of Adventure” by Peter Lee is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Rio

The movie Rio begins in the exotic jungles of South America. As the movie progresses, kids travel along with the macaw Blu to Minnesota and later to Rio de Janeiro where Blu explores the city from the magnificent Christ the Redeemer statue to the Carnaval de Rio de Janeiro where he gets to see the parades and samba dancers. In Rio, the city throbs to vibrant Brazilian music.

“RIO - THE MOVIE” by Thomás is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The Lion King

The Lion King showed the African savannah and wildlife in its full glory. The wildlife in Africa includes lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, meerkats and more. We also learn about the circle of life.

Ratatouille

Paris has time and again been glorified in movies and its charm was not lost on the makers of animated movies. The city’s food culture is depicted in the movie Ratatouille as the movie revolves around Remy, the rat, who is aspiring to become a chef. This wasn’t the first animated movie which was set in Paris. We also saw the city in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In Beauty and the Beast, we see the other side of France; the setting was inspired by Alsace.

“Ratatouille: Remy admiring Paris” by Fernando Galeano is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Kung Fu Panda

We get a taste of the Orient in Kung Fu Panda which is set in ancient China. Kung Fu is a Chinese martial arts form. The palaces we see follow the traditional architecture prevalent in ancient China. The movie highlights the spectacular landscapes and there is plenty of noodle soup to go around!

Brave

Vast stretches of sky and land, and aloof castles welcome us to Scotland in Brave. The movie stays authentic as it portrays the Scottish Highlands and the culture – from bagpipes, kilts and Tartan plaids to the Scottish accents.

“Brave Movie” by Michelle O'Connell is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Big Hero 6

The soon to be released Big Hero 6 promises to be as exciting as its animated predecessors. It is based in the fictional city of San Fransokyo and the architectural elements depicted in Aunt Cass’s Café are straight off Frisco’s streets.

So the next time you are trying to teach your kids about geography and their attention is wandering, just find the right game or movie to pique their interest!