Fan art allows fans to come up with their own distinct portrayals of their favourite fictional characters. Whether they choose to change their vocation, gender, or even species, being truthful to the spirit of the character is very important.
Nowadays, the internet has transformed this art form into a world-wide trend. With the use of social networks, such as Pinterest and Instagram, unknown artists can share their work on a number of different platforms and become celebrated and followed for their originality and dedication. This, in turn, prompts other people to create their own fan art, giving way to a colossal fan based movement that has no limits.
As before mentioned, a fan artist enjoys taking something that already exists and reconstructing it with their own unique stamp. What better source material to do this with than Disney?
Many Disney fans have created images that go against the Disney archetypes, turning Disney princesses into vampires or 21st century teens, merging Disney tales with famous action movies, and even giving Halloween style make-overs to our favourite Disney side-kicks.
Forget everything you knew about your most beloved furry Disney creatures for we are about to introduce you to the 15 Disney Characters Completely Reimagined As Humans.
15 Marie, Toulouse, and Berlioz from The Aristocats
This digital painting by Kalno perfectly captures the individual personalities of each kitten sibling. Marie’s air of self-importance, Toulouse’s mischievousness. and Berlioz’s quiet nature are all illustrated with great precision in this one frame.
This image merges manga style sketching with a quintessential Parisian background. Evidently, Kalno wanted to stay true to the film in this way whilst still giving it an anime twist.
The Aristocats was initially intended to be shown on Walt Disney’s show Wonderful World of Color as a live-action two-part episode. There were also many changes made to the original story (written by Tom Rowe) before it became the “catnap” story we all know today.
Renowned for its catchy songs and intriguing feline characters, The Aristocats maintains its popularity amongst adults and children alike.
14 Roxanne from A Goofy Movie
Disney has a long history of taking cute animals and giving them human characteristics, not just in regards to their way of life, but also in terms of their physicality.
The same can be said for Mickey, who despite being a mouse, wears a pair of shorts and owns a pet dog named Pluto.
Additionally, The Goofy Movie‘s Roxanne (Max’s crush) has more in common with a teenage girl than a canine, so the differences between the original character and the Roxanne displayed in this drawing are minimal.
The use of anthropomorphic animals or creatures within Disney allows children to see their own lives merged with surreal and colourful characters. Mixing the fantastical with the mundane makes these stories all the more spellbinding.
It also doesn’t make a whole lotta sense which is why kids love it so much.
13 Scar from The Lion King
So apparently Scar is kinda hot as a human– who knew? Although he does look more like a human-lion hybrid in this image. Nevertheless, this digital painting is a truly imaginative take on one of Disney’s more menacing villains.
This fan artist goes by the name Sakimichan and she is renowned for her recreations of popular animated characters, many of which can be deemed a little, if not very, suggestive. She also loves toiling with a character’s identity from gender-swaps to giving them a pin-up appearance.
The live-action version of The Lion King has cast Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor as Scar so it will be interesting to see whether they stay true to the Disney depiction of Scar or decide to make him more three dimensional.
After all, it seems as though this character has many skeletons in the closet, and not just in the literal sense.
12 Bagheera and Baloo from The Jungle Book
For many children, Baloo is the perfect companion: funny, truthful, mischievous. and loyal. Also, his song “Bear Necessities” is a Disney classic and he clearly knows how to give good hugs.
In the 2016 live-action version of The Jungle Book, Baloo’s lovable nature was brought to life once more thanks to Bill Murray’s very charming Baloo voice-over.
What’s more, in 2018, yet another The Jungle Book adaptation will be released which will show a more sinister side to Kipling’s children’s book. So, yeah, Baloo might not be as cuddly in this one.
This digitally created picture by S0alaina gives the humanized versions of Baloo and Bagheera very similar physical features to their animal counterparts. Apart from the ears, outfits and fur, there aren’t any major differences between the two images. Evidently, Soalaina wanted to depict them as accurately as possible.
11 Mickey Mouse and Friends
This manga piece by Yokotn proves that the Mickey franchise would certainly work well as an anime series.
Mickey was created by Walt Disney as a replacement for his first ever animated star, Oswald the Rabbit.
Having fallen out with Universal’s film producer Charles Mintz over money and disputes regarding the ownership of Oswald, Walt cut ties with Universal and created, alongside his animator Ub Iwerks, the famous mouse we all know today as Mickey.
After his fallout with Mintz, Walt Disney ensured he owned the rights to all his company’s characters. In many ways, Mickey Mouse was his way of continuing the Oswald legacy without using the rabbit himself.
It’s possible that Walt Disney later thanked the stars for this change in circumstance. The iconic ears have become synonymous with Disney and it’s this characteristic that makes Mickey so unforgettable.
10 Thomas O’Malley and Duchess from The Aristocats
This illustration of Thomas O’Malley and Duchess by MabyMin depicts the cats as a human couple. The woman version of Duchess is wearing an outfit reminiscent of the year in which the Disney film is set (1910), while the man version of O’Malley wears something a little less ostentatious.
From this image, you can see that the humanized O’Malley possesses the same charming qualities as his Disney counterpart.
In The Aristocats, O’Malley displays typical alpha-male traits such as a distaste for responsibility and an overly self-confident demeanor. He initially seems disconcerted by the fact that Duchess has children but later becomes so enamoured by her and the little ones that his behaviour soon changes for the better.
Although in many ways, O’Malley is a bit of a cliché male protagonist, so it’s amusing to see a cat assimilate this role.
9 Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King
As you may know, The Lion King is based on Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and Simba’s two side-kicks (Timon and Pumbaa) are based on Hamlet’s childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, unlike Timon and Pumbaa, Hamlet’s pals aren’t to be trusted.
In The Lion King, after Mufasa’s tragic death, the duo are a well needed distraction with their ‘hakuna matata’ way of life. In this drawing by Nandomendonssa, the resemblance between the human versions of Timon and Pumbaa and the original characters is uncanny.
You’ll be excited to hear that in the 2019 live-action remake of this film, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen will be taking on the roles of Timon and Pumbaa, respectively. What’s more, James Earl Jones will once again be doing the voice for Mufasa.
8 Lady and Tramp from Lady and the Tramp
These two love birds, or love dogs, have malicious forces set against them from the outset. Not unlike humans, there is a frustrating social divide between them– Tramp is a street dog and Lady comes from a wealthy family.
This drawing by Pugletto succeeds in recreating this (Tramp looks scruffy and carefree while Lady looks more put-together). However, despite their differences, there is an obvious connection between the two characters, similar to what is conveyed in the film.
Pugletto has said that his art work is a way to vent his frustrations regarding the lack of diversity portrayed in fan-art and from this image, it’s highly evident that this artist enjoys adding a dose of meaning to his creations.
7 Stitch from Lilo and Stitch
Ever wondered what Stitch would look like as an international student? Well today’s your lucky day because fan artist Hyung86 drew exactly that.
In fact, this artist has created what he calls a Disney University filled with tons of Disney characters, each with their own unique studenty look.
In Stitch’s case, the artist imagined him as a bit of an outsider (much like the original character) who studies computing and robotics, loves surfing, frogs, Star Wars and Elvis.
This is certainly a distinctive take on what the miniature alien would look like as a human as it would be impossible to identify this young man as Stitch if it wasn’t for the number 626 on his hoodie and the space invader logo on his cap.
There is no denying that this artist enjoys capturing the more subtle details of a character.
6 Terk from Tarzan
Tarzan’s female gorilla friend Terk has a very important role within this Disney flick. Proving that blood is irrelevant, Terk acts as Tarzan’s older sister and cares for him as much as a biological sibling would. Tarzan is a movie about the true meaning of family.
In Tarzan’s case, his parents were killed when he was a baby which led to him being brought up by a gorilla family. Although the differences between Tarzan and his family are apparent, his bond with them, and in particular the female members, is unbreakable.
In this drawing, the artist, known as Johanna The Mad, looks at what it would be like if both Tarzan and his sister were humans, and how they might appear growing up.
You will also notice that each image represents the different elements of a sibling relationship (including sibling rivalry) which makes it a very relatable depiction of family.
5 Nala from The Lion King
With this picture, artist Fernanda Suarez (also known as Fdasuarez) has totally reinvented the character of Nala as a modern teenage girl. Suarez links her own version of Nala to the lioness Nala by giving her a pair of top-buns (similar to cub ears), a Simba hoodie and a paw tattoo.
Suarez has drawn a wide range of modern day Disney princesses, often unveiling a rebellious side to them that is rarely shown in the movies.
If you’re a fan of Beyoncé, you’ll be glad to hear that the diva herself will be taking on the role of Nala in the 2019 movie
. In the original Disney film, Nala is more of a love interest than anything else so we are curious to see how they develop this character for a present-day audience.
4 Flounder and Ariel from The Little Mermaid
Friendships between different species are incredibly moving to both adults and children alike so it’s not surprising that these are included so much within family movies.
In The Little Mermaid, Ariel and Flounder aren’t that different (they both have fish tails), but what makes them so dissimilar are their personalities. Ariel enjoys taking risks whilst Flounder is just as clueless but utterly paranoid of doing anything out of the norm.
Furthermore, Ariel often acts like Flounder’s older sister even though he is constantly having to rescue her from messy situations.
This drawing by fan artist Chacckco encapsulates the spirit of Ariel and Flounder’s friendship. Although their friendship is not as complex as other Disney friendships, their bond does bring some good old Disney lightheartedness to the film.
3 Mike and Sulley from Monsters University
This manga drawing by Wagashima illustrates the monters as young high school jocks. In the hopes of revealing a different side to these characters, Wagashima has turned these monsters into regular university students– well, almost regular.
The humanization of an animated creature is a challenge most fan artists are willing to accept because it adds another layer to an already well-known character. In this way, fan art can provide something fresh and exciting, thus renewing characters and stories that have been around for some time.
Bill Murray was initially cast to do Sulley’s voice, but because the director was unable to contact him following the screen test, they gave the part to John Goodman.
Mike’s role was taken on by Billy Crystal, who’d been feeling regretful after having previously rejected an offer to do the voice for Buzz Lightyear.
2 Minnie Mouse
In this drawing by Miacat7, Minnie’s manga eyes and facial features aren’t too far off from the original Minnie. Big eyes are used abundantly in both anime and Disney, but very rarely are villains given this distinctive look.
Large eyes within animation usually convey that a character is trustworthy, innocent. and slightly naive. For this reason, Disney princesses and other lead characters are seldom given small eyes.
In fact, they haven’t evolved that much at all since the first Disney princess, Snow White, nor do they look that much different from each other.
This is somewhat controversial because it fabricates a homogenised illusion of what “moral” should look like.
Equally, in manga, the villainous characters often possess slanted eyes and a sharp bone structure, unlike the heroic protagonists who mostly have abnormally big eyes.
1 Shere Khan and Kaa from The Jungle Book
This drawing by Pugletz looks more like a book illustration than a piece of fan art, but that’s what makes it so delightful. Pugletz conveys the malicious nature of both these characters through the eyes and body language– these two are undeniably up to no good.
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book seems as though it was made for Disney, so it’s no surprise they adapted his collection of stories for the big screen.
In the 2016 The Jungle Book adaptation, Idris Alba did the voice for Shere Khan and Kaa was played by Scarlett Johansson.
Interestingly, Kipling’s Kaa is not female but male. In addition to this, Kaa is not a villain in the book but Mowgli’s friend.
In the yet to be released film Mowgli, which is based on the actual book rather than the Disney movie, Kaa will also be presented as female, with Cate Blanchett doing the voice-over.
—
What do you think? Do you know of any other amazing art that recreate Disney characters as humans? Let us know in the comments!
About The Author
