50 Fun Facts About Kids Movies

Who voices Donkey in Shrek?

Critics called it the comic performance of Murphy's career, and Donkey has appeared in every Shrek film since.

In Home Alone, where is the McCallister family flying for Christmas when they leave Kevin behind?

The sequel, Lost in New York, sends Kevin to the wrong city instead of leaving him at home.

In Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), how many Golden Tickets are hidden in Wonka Bars?

Each finder wins a factory tour and a lifetime supply of chocolate, and every ticket holder except Charlie ends up in trouble.

Paddington the bear travels to London from the jungles of which country?

His Aunt Lucy sends him off from 'Darkest Peru' with a label round his neck asking someone to look after him.

What is the name of Dorothy's dog in The Wizard of Oz?

Toto was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry, who appeared in more than a dozen films.

In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, what candy does Elliott use to lure the alien into his house?

Hershey agreed to the product placement and sales of the candy jumped after the film came out.

Which actor plays Doctor Robotnik in the Sonic the Hedgehog movies?

Paramount delayed the first film by three months to redesign Sonic after fans hated his realistic look in the trailer.

Who voices Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)?

He also sings Bowser's love ballad 'Peaches', which charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

Who is the ordinary construction-worker hero of The Lego Movie?

He is mistaken for 'the Special' after literally falling onto the Piece of Resistance.

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, what is the three-headed dog guarding the trapdoor called?

Hagrid bought him from 'a Greek chappie' and lets slip that music sends him to sleep.

In How to Train Your Dragon, what does Hiccup name the Night Fury he befriends?

The name comes from the dragon's retractable teeth, and Hiccup builds him a prosthetic tail fin so he can fly again.

In Monsters, Inc., what does the city of Monstropolis collect from human children to use as power?

By the end Sulley switches the factory to laughter, which turns out to be ten times more powerful.

What is the name of the kingdom that Elsa accidentally freezes in Frozen?

The film was loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen and won two Oscars, including for 'Let It Go'.

In Elf, Buddy leaves the North Pole to find his real father. Where does he go?

Will Ferrell said he felt genuinely ill after eating all the sugary food Buddy scoffs on screen.

In Ice Age, what is the sabre-toothed squirrel Scrat forever chasing?

Ice Age was Blue Sky Studios' first feature, and Scrat's doomed chase opens every film in the series.

Lord Farquaad, the tiny tyrant of Shrek, rules over which land?

Duloc is a spotless, over-organised kingdom, and Farquaad banishes all the fairy-tale creatures to keep it that way.

Kevin scares people off with a fake gangster film called Angels with Filthy ___. What is the missing word?

The made-up movie parodies the 1938 crime film Angels with Dirty Faces and was shot in a single day.

In Paddington 2, what does Paddington work so hard to buy for Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday?

He takes jobs as a barber's assistant and a window cleaner to save up, and the book turns out to hide a treasure map.

In Minions (2015), which supervillain hires the Minions and plans to steal the Crown Jewels?

Voiced by Sandra Bullock, she is billed as the world's first female supervillain and takes them to London.

In the first Sonic movie, Sonic hides out near the small town of Green Hills in which US state?

The name nods to Green Hill Zone, the first level of the original 1991 Sega game.

In The Lego Movie, the superweapon called the Kragle is really an everyday object. What is it?

The 'relics' are all household items with worn-off labels, which is the movie's big clue that a real family is playing with the bricks.

Spider-Ham of Into the Spider-Verse was originally a spider bitten by a radioactive what?

He is voiced by John Mulaney and comes from a cartoon universe where the usual origin story runs backwards.

In My Neighbor Totoro, what giant grinning creature carries Satsuki to find her lost sister Mei?

Totoro himself is the mascot of Studio Ghibli and appears in its logo.

In Kung Fu Panda, Po's adoptive father Mr. Ping runs a noodle shop and is what kind of animal?

The running joke that Po never questions how a panda came from a goose finally pays off in the sequels.

In Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, what is the therapy dog who tags along with Puss called?

'Perrito' simply means 'little dog' in Spanish, and Puss is on his last of nine lives when they meet.

Which 1995 film was the first ever feature made entirely with computer animation?

It was also the first animated film ever nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

In Up, Carl ties thousands of balloons to his house to fly it to which place in South America?

It was the dream destination he and his wife Ellie saved for all their lives but never reached.

In Jumanji (1995), for how many years is Alan Parrish trapped inside the board game?

He rolls the dice in 1969 as a boy and comes out as Robin Williams in the 1990s, wild-bearded and shouting for his parents.

Which professional wrestler played the gentle strongman Fezzik in The Princess Bride?

He was the author's first choice years before the film was made and was only freed up when a lucrative wrestling match was cancelled.

Willy, the orca in Free Willy, was played by a real killer whale with what name?

The film sparked a campaign that eventually got the real whale rehabilitated and released into the sea off Iceland.

Which comedian was originally cast as Shrek and recorded most of the dialogue before his 1997 death?

Mike Myers replaced him and gave the ogre his now-famous Scottish accent.

What was unusual about the tarantula that crawls across Marv's face in Home Alone?

Daniel Stern agreed to have the live tarantula on his face but had to mime his scream so the noise would not startle it.

In Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), how were the many Oompa-Loompas created?

Roy performed every Oompa-Loompa individually rather than having one take copied digitally, so the dance numbers took months.

The Kansas farm scenes of The Wizard of Oz were shot in black and white and coloured how?

Only the Oz scenes used three-strip Technicolor, whose huge hot lights made the set miserable to work on.

What is the name of WALL-E's pet cockroach?

WALL-E has spent 700 years alone cleaning up Earth, salvaging parts from broken robots with only the cockroach for company.

Which children's author wrote the picture books that became both Jumanji and The Polar Express?

He won the Caldecott Medal for illustration for each of them.

In Mrs. Doubtfire, where does Daniel get the surname 'Doubtfire' for his nanny disguise?

Robin Williams' character invents the character 'Euphegenia Doubtfire' on the phone after sabotaging every other applicant.

In Space Jam, what are the small aliens called before they become the Monstars?

They take the talent of Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsy Bogues and others, leaving those real players suddenly hopeless on court.

Who dreamed up Scrat, the acorn-obsessed sabre-toothed squirrel in Ice Age?

She mixed a squirrel with a rat and named him on the spot; he went on to open every film in the series.

Spirited Away was the first hand-drawn, non-English-language film to win which Academy Award?

It also shared the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, a top prize almost never given to animation.

In Minions, the Minions go into hiding in a cave after accidentally firing a cannon at which leader?

Bossless for decades, they get so depressed that Kevin, Stuart and Bob set off to find a new master.

In Coco, spirit animals Dante and Pepita are what kind of Mexican folk-art creature?

Real alebrijes are carved or papier-mache fantasy animals painted in wild colours, and the film made them famous worldwide.

In Minions, the convention 'Villain-Con' is held in which US city?

They hitch a ride there from New York with the Nelson family, who turn out to be bank robbers themselves.

Which real Northumberland landmark stood in for the Hogwarts grounds in the first Harry Potter film?

The flying lesson where Harry first rides a broom was filmed on its lawns; Gloucester Cathedral supplied the corridors.

In Disney's English dub of My Neighbor Totoro, which veteran voice actor performs Totoro himself?

Welker is best known as the voice of Fred and Scooby-Doo, and Dakota and Elle Fanning play the two sisters in the same dub.

The 1995 film Jumanji opens in 1969 in the fictional town of Brantford, in which US state?

Alan Parrish rolls the dice as a boy in the family shoe-factory town and does not come out of the game until 1995.

Before Free Willy, the real orca who played Willy had lived since 1985 at an amusement park where?

The producers looked in Japan, France, Spain and Argentina before finding him at Reino Aventura, and the film's success eventually paid for his move to a sea pen in Iceland.

Which Wizard of Oz actor was originally cast as the Tin Man before swapping to play the Scarecrow?

Buddy Ebsen took the Tin Man part instead but had to leave the film after a bad reaction to the aluminium make-up powder.

Which Oscar-winning Australian actor narrates the 2015 film Minions?

He walks the audience through the Minions' long history of serving one doomed master after another.

Which actor plays Professor Flitwick in the first Harry Potter film and voices Griphook?

He plays three parts in the one film, including the head teller at Gringotts, and later took over Griphook on screen too.