Billy Eichner’s first moviegoing experiences were, let’s just say, formative.
“I think the first movie I ever saw in a theater was Bambi,” the actor-comedian, 46, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Followed incongruously by Flashdance. I’m sorry! It was!”
It was Eichner’s parents who took him to 1983’s R-rated Flashdance after Disney’s family-friendly Bambi, he clarifies. And yes, the Queens native is now “equally informed by both of those things,” he quips.
“I’m a gay man. Okay?”
Seth Rogen, the Pumbaa to Eichner’s Timon in Disney’s musical prequel Mufasa: The Lion King (in theaters now), remembers “seeing Bambi also from a very young age.” When asked for his favorite similarly feel-good classics from the House of Mouse, Rogen says, “I like those Pixar movies a lot, [especially] the Toy Story films.”
The animated franchise’s third installment from 2010 “is a favorite movie of mine,” reveals the Canadian star. “It’s too emotional for me to casually watch it every now and then. But if I see it on, I’ll turn it on. It’s great.”
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“I just re-watched The Muppets Take Manhattan,” adds Eichner, “which I know originally wasn’t a Disney movie, but I guess it’s on Disney+ now.” The Muppet Christmas Carol is also an annual favorite every holiday season, he says.
As for a recent Disney classic, Eichner doesn’t hesitate: “I did watch Inside Out 2 alone,” he says. “And was moved to tears to an uncomfortable degree as a 46-year-old man.”
Following 2019’s photorealistic remake of The Lion King, Eichner and Rogen reprise their roles as the wisecracking meerkat and warthog in Mufasa: The Lion King. The Barry Jenkins-directed musical prequel, in theaters now, stars Aaron Pierre as Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka a.k.a. Scar, plus the voices of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Anika Noni Rose, Mads Mikkelsen and more.
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