BURBANK, CA—During the final installment of a three-part retrospective podcast on the film studio Thursday, longtime Disney illustrator Russell Schroeder revealed that every one of the company’s live-action and animated features takes place in a single, unified world. “Most people don’t know this was the way Walt Disney envisioned it, but every one of these films takes place in the same interconnected universe,” said Schroeder, explaining that Never Never Land is only five minutes away from the coral reef where Nemo lives along with Daryl Hannah’s character from Splash.” “The plot of the The Lion King may not be happening at the same time as Aladdin, but those characters are all there in that world while it’s going on. Of course, if the filmmakers had been so inclined, they could have had Jasmine hop into Herbie Fully Loaded and speed through Pride Rock on her way to see the Jonas Brothers’ 3D Concert Experience—that is, if she didn’t get tricked by Br’er Rabbit’s Tar Baby first.” When asked why more characters didn’t cross paths during their adventures, Schroeder responded that filmmakers have approached the collective kingdom rather cautiously ever since Bambi’s mother was mistaken for a rabid dog and shot by Travis from Old Yeller.

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