Wandering in Disney’s most anticipated post of the year is here! I should clarify – this is not anticipated by readers but instead by me, the writer. Comparing Disney attractions to the year’s Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees is a fool’s errand and I am that fool. But I’ve hastily walked, like Sean Penn’s character in One Battle After Another, to the laptop to turn this out. So without further ado… This post relates each of the 10 Best Picture noms to a Disney attraction around the world.

All of these movies came out in 2025 and I’m happy to say that I’ve seen them all. Along with theme parks, travel, photography and Seattle sports teams, seeing movies is one of my favorite hobbies. I enjoyed the year in movies quite a bit, especially the top 20 or 25 movies. I was also happy with this year’s nominees in Best Picture, not that anyone asked! My favorites of the nominees are One Battle, Sinners and Sentimental Value.

There’s one rule for this outrageous, possibly appalling, blog post – match the 10 nominees to a Disney attraction. If you’ve read this far then hopefully you’ve caught on that this whole idea is in jest. If even one person thinks any of this makes sense then this is a great success. On the other hand, this self-indulgent post might be best if it’s misunderstood. Like many great films, I’m sure people will come back to this post in a decade and see the brilliance. Until then, just nod along and act like you’re having a good time for my benefit. Let’s get to it!

Train Dreams as The Disneyland Railroad

Let’s start with an easy one. Train Dreams is a quiet movie depicting the life of a logger and railroad worker in the early 20th century Pacific Northwest. The setting fits the iconic Disneyland Railroad and the mood does too, specifically the Rivers of America section. It’s not often that this post can just matchup train to train so I better take the chance before decisions get more difficult.

F1 as Tomorrowland Speedway (while the fireworks are going off)

This shot of Javier Bardem (seen below) being extremely happy on a racetrack has stuck with me many months after seeing F1. I don’t look like Javier Bardem, just in case you were wondering, but this might be the easiest scene to impersonate in a Disney Park from any of these movies. The elation he’s showing is also similar to how I feel whenever I get off the dreaded Tomorrowland Speedway. Oh yeah, and there’s the whole racing in cars thing. I guess that’s a pretty good connection too.

Bugonia as Alien Swirling Saucers

Bugonia is about a big time CEO that gets kidnapped by 2 guys that believe she’s an alien hence the A.S.S. (Alien Swirling Saucers, get your mind out of the gutter) pick. That’s all I’m going to say about this one and that’s only because I don’t want to spoil the movie and not because it’s a terrible connection that is incredibly surface level.

Sentimental Value as Phantom Manor

Sentimental Value is centered around a family house that an estranged father has decided to make a movie in and wants his daughter, a depressed actress, to star in. I’ll warn you, that’s a very materialistic look at the plot but I have agendas to fit here! You know what Disney attraction story centers around an old house, a grief stricken daughter and some familial ties? Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris! I’m just going to say that I nailed this one before anyone thinks too hard about it.

Marty Supreme as Pinocchio’s Daring Journey

This wild film is about a table tennis player in the 50’s who is willing to do whatever he can to get himself to the world championships of table tennis. Marty is not likeable, makes childlike decisions and is willing to lie his way to getting what he needs. He’s just like that little punk Pinocchio! Both stories are daring journeys with our main characters getting swallowed up – Pinocchio by a whale and Marty by people who hold power over him. I really had to stretch this one because Imagineering hasn’t made an attraction about table tennis for some reason.

One Battle After Another as Radiator Springs Racers

I’m not sure any movie scene has emulated the feeling of an amusement park ride like the final chase in One Battle After Another. The mini hills in the road felt like a roller coaster and I nearly picked Incredicoaster because of that exact same motion. But Radiator Springs Racers has that up and down motion too and you’re actually in cars! Not to mention, the desert setting matches both! Thanks to Paul Thomas Anderson for making this one easy on me.

The Secret Agent as Bruce’s Shark World

What do this excellent Brazilian film and a glorified Epcot photo op have in common? Both feature body parts inside of a shark. Thankfully, the ones in Epcot are connected to a living human. This is getting away from me.

Sinners as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Are there any Disney attractions that have to do with vampires? No. How about any that depict black culture in the 1930’s south? Not favorably, and we aren’t going there in this post. But there is an attraction that does touch on American history and racism. Big Thunder, at least in Disneyland, tells a story of a goldmine city where people are moving as quickly as possible to get rich. That includes using explosives even when on Native American burial ground. These explosives wake up the spirits who then send the runaway train on a wild ride.

I can’t say that’s a 1 for 1 comparison to Sinners but there are a lot of similarities. Some go deep, into a scarred history, and some are just about awaking spirits, whether they be natives or vampires. Much like this blog post, Big Thunder and Sinners contain multitudes.

Hamnet as Festival of the Lion King/The Lion King: Rhythms of the Pride Land

If I had a nickel for every time someone has said that The Lion King is basically a retelling of Hamlet then I’d have at least a few nickels. I’ve always thought that was a bit reductive for both stories but, now that my back is up against the wall and I’m needing to relate something to Hamnet, a (mostly) fictional story about Shakespeare’s inspiration for Hamlet (among other things), then obviously Hamlet and The Lion King are basically the same! Rumor has it Shakespeare and Elton John were good friends.

Frankenstein as MuppetVision 3D

May it live on forever.

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