Destinations That Inspired Kids' Movies

Movies come to life in these unforgettable destinations that inspired your children’s favourite tales, writes Aleney De Winter.

- Aleney De Winter

My son was five years old when he first announced that he wanted to visit New York. I was suitably impressed by his cosmopolitan tastes in travel until he added that he wanted to “stay in a sewer so he could train and eat pizza with the Ninja Turtles”.

While noshing with ninjas in the sewers of New York City isn’t really all that high on my holiday wishlist, who wouldn’t want to visit a location straight out of a fairytale, especially if it comes without the bad guys and all that cinematic melodrama?

The settings of your child’s favourite movies are often so dramatic and fantastical, you’d be forgiven for thinking they could only have been dreamt up in someone’s imagination. But more often than not, the memorable movies were inspired by real-life destinations that are every bit as beautiful as their celluloid counterparts. The only thing you’re missing is the talking snowmen and martial arts-loving wildlife.

Mexico 

coco 

There is no doubt that kids will go loco for Coco, the brand-new Disney offering that is a stunningly animated tribute to the power of family and the culture of Mexico. Steeped in the colourful traditions of Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), a Mexican holiday where families gather to honour their ancestors, Coco is sure to leave families the world over hankering for a Mexican adventure.