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Some of us never grew up and continue to be inspired by cartoons, but these people take nostalgia to the next level by spending their money building replicas of iconic cartoon houses! Here are ten of them.
10 Cartoon Houses Built to Life
1. Flintstones
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Dick Clark was a longtime TV host and powerhouse producer who passed away from a heart attack on April 18, 2012. One of Dick Clark’s houses is inspired by the 1960s The Flintstones and is now up for sale at a price of $3.5 million. The home, located in Malibu, has one bedroom and two bathrooms, a fireplace, and several large glass windows.
2. Barbie
“This year, Barbie is inviting fans into her world to explore what they’ve only played with in doll size,” said Lori Pantel, vice president for the global marketing of Barbie. “Barbie’s life-sized Dreamhouses will provide fans a new way to interact and engage with the Barbie brand while providing a memorable experience.” The Dreamhouse was built in less than a year, using more than 20 pounds of glitter and 100 gallons of pink paint to decorate the 25,000 square foot Berlin Dreamhouse. Young Barbie fans can now explore 2,500 square meters (26,900 square feet) of the iconic doll’s realm. They can try on her clothes, bake cupcakes in her kitchen, stroll along her catwalk, and even hang out in her living room.
“We’ve paid incredible attention to detail and created a completely interactive experience by using the latest technology to personalize each fan’s visit to the Dreamhouse,” says Christoph Rahofer, president and CEO of EMS Entertainment. “Together with our partner Mattel, we are building a first of its kind experience for Barbie fans around the world.”
3. Spongebob
Located in the Dominican Republic, this real-life pineapple villa was created by Nickelodeon and Nick Resort Punta Cana. Fans of the cartoon can now sleep inside the replica house, but not for a cheap price. A night’s stay here costs $3,800.
4. Up
You can now visit this one of the cartoon houses from the tear-jerking film at 13218 Herriman Rose Boulevard in Herriman, Utah! In 2011, Bangerter Homes recreated the house as part of the Salt Lake area Parade of Homes, with permission from Disney on the condition that the plans be turned over once completed, making it truly one-of-a-kind.
“The movie kind of captured the idea that a house is a place where you live and you grow up and you live your life,” builder Blair Bangerter told KSL. “We’ve tried to take this movie and bring it to life in a real home.”
5. The Hobbit
Ever since the release of The Hobbit‘s film adaptation, fans all over the world have taken to architecture to express their love for it. From among the dozens of Hobbit houses, let’s take a look at this Hobbit hotel from Thailand. Located within minutes of Khao Yai National Park, the Hobbit House offers several rooms with different styles and interior themes: Little Hole, Little Cave, Bagshot House, Dragon Inn, and Dale City—each built and decorated according to the Hobbit culture portrayed in the Lord of the Rings films. They also have the Cosplay Hut where you can dress up as your favorite magical creatures using the costumes and props inside for free!
6. Minnie Mouse
Although it made the rounds online rather recently, Minnie Mouse’s house is no more. Mickey’s Toontown Fair debuted at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in 1988 as the temporary “Mickey’s Birthdayland.” More than 22 years and a few name changes later, it closed permanently on February 11, 2011, to make way for the Storybook Circus. In 2012, as part of the New Fantasyland expansion, Mickey’s Toontown Fair will become Storybook Circus, featuring the highly anticipated double Dumbo and a revamped roller coaster.
7. The Simpsons
A Fox- and Pepsi-sponsored competition was held in 1997, with the main prize being a life-size replica of the Simpsons’ house at 712 Red Bark Lane in Henderson, Nevada. The decorators had to watch over 100 episodes of The Simpsons to get the colors and furnishings just right for the eventual owner. Sadly, the winner, Barbara Howard, from Richmond, Kentucky, chose not to accept the house, which cost $120,000 to build. Instead, she took a cash payment of $75,000 per the contest rules. The house was sold in 2001, after most of the details relating to the television series were removed.
8. Snow White
A Washington couple built an exact life-size replica of the cottage from Disney’s Snow White. However, there are only four bedrooms—notably not enough for each of the dwarves to have their own sleeping quarters. Richey and Karen Morgan began building the home in the 1970s, meticulously crafting every detail and adding addition after addition over the decades. The current owner, Evonne Bess, bought the cottage in 2005, completed the project, and is now selling the beloved home at $775,000.
9. Star Wars
Alkira House, designed by architect Charles Wright, was built for retired philatelic dealer Rod Perry in 2009 and pays homage to his two loves in life: his stamp collection and his wife. Perry claims he didn’t notice the AIA award–winning property’s resemblance to a spaceship until he saw aerial photographs. “It’s often called Starship Galactica and quite rightly so,” he admits.
Another one of the cartoon houses, which resembles the Millennium Falcon spaceship, sits surrounded by 70 acres of tropical rainforest in Far North Queensland, Australia.
10. Transformers
The characters from Transformers, the robots of the popular series of comics and films, are the inspiration for a number of homes in the Bolivian cities of La Paz and El Alto.
The passion of home builder Santos Churata for the comics and films, featuring the huge shape-changing robots, gave him the idea for new designs, including bright colors, facades, doors, and windows.
“The Transformers film has always seemed interesting to me and as a kid it seemed incredible, but when I grew up I had already been motivated to change one of the [homes’] facades. They thought I was crazy,” recalled Churata.
