The Cuphead game is one of the most brutal and beautiful indie titles you can get your animated mitts on. It's a Contra-like a run-and-gun boss-rush that will put your platforming skills to the test. But the most distinctive feature of the game has to be its 1930s cartoon-inspired art style.
The game owes a lot of inspiration to classic cartoon studios for its characters, environments, and humor. Though many different styles influenced the designs, like Fleischer Studios, Warner Bros., and even Paramount, a huge chunk of the game takes notes from early Disney cartoons. Just how much does Cuphead owe Mickey Mouse? Have a look at our list to find out.
10 The Title Opens with a Book
If we're going to get some of the more obvious Disney nods out of the way, let's start at the beginning. Before Cuphead and Mugman embark on their contract collecting adventure, we're given the exposition through a literal storybook opening. Now why does that look so familiar?
If you've ever seen Disney's Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or The Jungle Book, you'll know that they all open with a storybook bearing the title of the film. Cuphead's opening takes direct inspiration from the early Disney features and does little to hide it. It's practically written right there on the page.
9 Cuphead and Mugman Could Be Oswald and Mickey
This one might be up for some debate, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck... Both Cuphead and Mugman share a very similar color scheme and body design with two very famous cartoon icons, and they just so happen to be the first and most famous works from Walt Disney himself.
Though it's been said Cuphead was based on Betty Boop's boyfriend, Bimbo, we can't help but notice some similarities to Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. With Cuphead's red shorts, gloves, and big (sometimes) yellow shoes and Mugman's blue ensemble, the resemblance is uncanny.
8 The Devil Comes from Hell’s Bells
And where would our heroes be without a massively evil villain to fight? Fortunately or unfortunately for them, they've got the baddest of the bad when they face off against the Devil himself. For those of you thinking this animated incarnation of Lucifer looks like every other pitchfork-toting horned demon, you'd be what we call wrong.
Shockingly, this devil comes from an early Silly Symphony from Walt Disney Studios, "Hell's Bells." One look at this black-and-white Beelzebub and it's easy to see exactly which cartoon the developers used to build their baddie. From his horns to his tail, the inspiration is clear as day.
7 Sugarland Shimmy is the Cookie Carnival
Not just a character, but almost the entirety of a Disney cartoon can be traced to Cuphead's Sugarland Shimmy. Baroness Von Bonbon isn't just a pretty face in a sea of sugary treats, but one of many different characters, elements, and designs that come from Disney's Cookie Carnival.
Where Bonbon could practically be an unused design for the Silly Symphony's Cookie Queen, her legions of delicious minions also take heavy inspiration from the candy creatures that inhabit the cartoon. Even the backgrounds bear a remarkably uncanny resemblance to the sugary short film. All it needs is a gingerbread man voiced by Pinto Colvig.
6 Cala Maria’s Turtle is Toby the Tortoise
We'll be a little more lenient on this one, simply because the short might be a bit less-known than most Silly Symphonys and the design of the character in question is relatively simple. Putting a bowler hat on a cute green turtle might look innocuous enough to the untrained eye, but to Disney buffs, we know where we've seen that before.
Toby the Tortoise is the slow and steady hero from the Disney-adapted fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. Though Cala Maria's shelled sidekick might be of the sea-dwelling species, one look between the two characters and the inspiration is clear as seawater.
5 The Phantom Express and The Skeleton Dance
Once again, we find nearly an entire level loaded to the brim with Disney references, so let's unpack the frightful fun going on during Cuphead's Phantom Express level. With all the spooky enemies and imagery going on, the inspiration can be traced back to several Halloween-themed cartoons, but a certain Silly Symphony stands center stage.
"The Skeleton Dance" is a short that's going to appear a few times on our list, but it's macabre and marvelous if you've not seen it. Along with similar motifs, the background loop running behind the train is nearly identical to the one in the Disney short film. Need more proof? Look at our next entry.
4 The Skeleton Conductor Comes from Two Ub Iwerks Cartoons
Ub Iwerks was one of Walt Disney's closest friends and most famous animators. Along with giving us one of the most iconic Mickey Mouse designs, Iwerks worked on a plethora of different projects in and out of Walt Disney Studios. T-Bone, the skeleton Conductor of the Phantom Express pays tribute to two shorts from Iwerks' filmography.
Iwerks was the animator behind the previously-mentioned "Skeleton Dance," but what many animation buffs may not know is that the Silly Symphony technically got a remake with the Colombia short Skeleton Frolic, which Iwerks also animated. T-Bone's expression and design bear a striking resemblance to both species of skeleton.
3 Werner Werman Could be Mortimer or Mickey
We've mentioned Mickey Mouse a few times on this list, but now we come to Cuphead's own anthropomorphic rodent in red pants. Though it would be easy and probable to assume that Werner Werman from the Murine Corps level is a very exaggerated caricature of Mickey, the rat bears a closer resemblance to Mickey's taller and sleazier rival, Mortimer Mouse.
Both Werner and Mortimer have a long, lanky frame, a large nose, and a similar sneer between them. If Mortimer switched vocations and joined the mouse equivalent of the German army, we think we could see more than a few things in common with the two characters.
2 The Zombie Horse is Horace Horsecollar
During the final stages of the game, Cuphead will have to undergo a gauntlet of boss battles before taking on King Dice. All of the bosses have some sort of theme relating back to the Devil's Casino, but there's one certain character that has a definite Disney inspiration that cannot be ignored.
Phear Lap, the zombified skeletal horse-race gambler, shares a certain frame with Mickey's own noble steed, Horace Horsecollar. Think about it, if you were to remove the character's exterior layer, the characters would be practically identical. Maybe this is why we haven't seen hide nor hair of Horace in some time.
1 King Dice’s Cards and Gloves Are From Thru the Mirror
Before squaring off against Satan himself, Cuphead has to try his luck against King Dice. After beating his boss rush of buddies, you have to take down the king before progressing to the final stage. Though King Dice was actually inspired by real-life jazz singer Cab Calloway, his attacks come directly from Mickey Mouse's Thru the Mirror.
The more obvious visual is the army of cards marching towards Cuphead, similar to how Mickey paraded with the deck of cards in the cartoon. But if one looks at King Dice's hands, his gloves greatly resemble the anthropomorphic ones Mickey dances with under the giant top hat. A little Disney magic definitely has benefits.