Have you imagined Snow White as a zombie or Aladdin as a female urchin? Disney can have its notions about princesses and so can the artists, reports Yoshita Rao
The fairest maiden in the land caught in a tight embrace with ball gown-clad Cinderella, their lips interlocked – such is the graffiti splayed across the overwritten and scribbled walls of Melbourne’s Hosier Lane. To imagine the two dainty Disney princesses in a scandalous love affair is nothing short of striking imagery, and now a trend on social media allows artists to do just this – reimagine Disney princesses in different avatars.
Illustrating Ariel, the sea princess, with a Levi’s t-shirt or in a Halloween get-up is Azerbaijani artist Laura Gurbanova’s favourite pastime. At 16, she has over 200 posts on Instagram relating to this latest trend. “Artists from different countries of the world draw Disney princesses in their own style. It’s one of the most popular trends at the moment,” she exclaims.
In another post, Ariel of the lovable movie The Little Mermaid is seen peeking through calm, blue waters. Her white eyes fixed on the horizon as she glares on with a crooked smile and her six sisters lurking in the backdrop looking quite as evil. Another has imagined Snow White and Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame as zombies. There are also portrayals of Jasmine, Belle or the Frozen sisters – Elsa and Anna as plus-size models, which are promoted with taglines of healthy body types demolishing the skinny princess notion. A gender-bender trend with the princesses is seen with Belle and the Beast interchanging gender roles or Pocahontas depicted as a macho warrior, wearing his mother’s necklace. In yet another avatar, they are also shown as Kinnaras, with the top half of the princesses intact and the lower half strutting around like ponies.
Simona Bonafini is another artist who illustrates all Disney characters as social media-savvy individuals getting with pop culture, clicking selfies and uploading them on Instagram. On her Tumblr blog, you will find drawings like the adventurous Mulan accepting Beaman’s challenge and clicking a selfie when she finally accomplishes the task. This Italian artist also drew Pocahontas and John Smith as the famous travelling couple picture, with Smith reaching out to hold her hand while she looks onward. At the bottom of the post, a line from the song Colours of the Wind reads – “If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you’ll learn things you never knew, you never knew.” The inspiration for her artwork series, which has 24 such illustrations till date, came from the question – “What would have happen if Disney personas had Instagram?"
And so each picture she draws has comments from fellow fairytale folk with apt hashtags. The drawing is also made to look like a screen grab from a timeline. “Selfies taken in the mirror made me imagine the Queen in Snow White and her magic mirror. I then began the series and quickly roped in all the other characters.” In 2012, Bonafini began working as an illustrator and when she realised her potential she moved on to publishing her artwork on the Internet. “I imagined them (Disney characters) as real people and this made me retell all these tales through images, hashtags and comments,” she says.
So what will we see next? A fashion-impaired Cruella De Vil, an evil Bambi or a female Mufasa? Let the imagination run wild!
1. An Affair To Remember
A love affair that could not be concealed on the walls of Melbourne's Hosier Lane. Snow White and Cinderella caught in a tight embrace.
Pic credit - Ornella D'Souza
2. Disney's Walking Dead
Snow White feasting on a juicy human brain. But she is not alone... The Genie from Aladdin, Pinocchio, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse and Bambi have all become zombies!
Pic Credit - leagueof1.deviantart.com
3. Switched
Gender bender art with the Beast and the Beauty interchanging roles.
Pic credit - Sakimichan
4. Insta savvy
Italian artist Simona Bonafini likes to imagine Disney characters with their own Instagram handles. In this illustration Pocahontas and John Smith re-enact the famous travelling boyfriend-girlfriend duo.
Credit - @simonabonafiniartwork
5. Shoe appreciation post
Bonafini has sketched Cinderella with her glass slippers, all ready for the ball. She even thanked the fairy godmother in her Insta post.
Credit - @simonabonafiniartwork
6. The favourite sea princess
Artist Laura Gurbanova's favourite pastime is to sketch Ariel. "Anytime I want to start a new series of Disney princesses, I am always starting with Ariel," she exclaims. Here Ariel is pictured in a Levis' t-shirt in Gurbanova's work with 'Princesses and brands'.
Credit - @laura_gurbanova
7. Branding princesses
Keeping with Gurbanova's idea of associating each princess with a brand, here is the Princess of Agrabah - Jasmine posing with the Adidas logo in the backdrop.
Credit - @laura_gurbanova