Movies That Show Disneyland

It’s extremely difficult to get permission to film ANYTHING on Disney property – so it’s not a surprise that very few movies ever show the parks. But over the years, a few shots of Disneyland have made their way onto the big screen – sometimes with permission, sometimes without it. Here’s a list of movies featuring the Happiest Place on Earth; they range from a few seconds of footage to major sequences and settings.

40 POUNDS OF TROUBLE (1962)

 Source: The Movie Database

Disneyland’s first dip into a non-Disney production was the 1962 film 40 Pounds of Trouble. This was a remake of a 1934 Shirley Temple film, centered on a casino manager who gets roped into chaperoning his boss’ niece. The plot builds into a final act that takes place entirely at Disneyland, with the casino manager (played by Tony Curtis) spending the day at the park with the niece (played by Chris Lockwood) and little Penny Piper (played by Claire Wilcox). In the day at the park (which builds to a slapstick chase sequence), we see a lot of Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Frontierland – though sometimes the film tricks you into thinking certain things are located in different places!

THAT THING YOU DO! (1996)

 Source: Laughing Place

This is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Disneyland appearance in a movie, but I think it still counts! That Thing You Do! follows a small band that scores big with a one hit wonder song in 1964 as they try to keep their success going. While the band is on tour in Los Angeles, the bassist ditches his bandmates to visit Disneyland. We see his park adventures for less than 30 seconds, but we get a glimpse of him on the Matterhorn and hanging out with Mickey.

THE BOYS (2009)

 Source: IMDB

This documentary celebrates the lives and careers of Disney Legends the Sherman Brothers. We see the development of many of Disney’s most iconic songs, and the film includes a few minutes of archive footage showing the park. The park itself is not the focal point of the story so much as the movie music, but it’s a great cameo nevertheless.

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (2010)

Source: Mental Floss

Exit Through the Gift Shop is a documentary by Banksy, focused on street art in Los Angeles. The film includes about five minutes of footage shot secretly in Disneyland, including shots of It’s A Small World, Mickey’s Toontown, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, where Banksy climbs over the fence and places a Guantanamo Bay detainee doll a few feet from the track.

SAVING MR. BANKS (2013)

Source: Disney

Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of Walt Disney’s collaboration with PL Travers on the Mary Poppins film, combined with stories from PL Travers’ own childhood that inspired her original novel. When PL Travers (played by Emma Thompson) continues to struggle with the film adaptation development process, Walt (played by Tom Hanks), takes her to Disneyland and talks to her about his vision. In these scenes, we see Walt and PL Travers enter the park, walk down Main Street, and ride the carousel in Fantasyland.

TOMORROWLAND (2015)

 Source: Pinterest

Disneyland’s most recent film cameo happens at the beginning of Tomorrowland. In the opening scene, the protagonist is visiting the 1963 New York World’s Fair, and is lured onto It’s A Small World by a mysterious little girl. From the attraction, he is transported to a secretive new world, and the story officially begins. Filming took place on the attraction, as today’s version, though updated through the decades, is still very much faithful to the 60s version.