#Movies & TV
Thanks To This Artist, We Now Know What Disney Characters Would Look Like IRL
by Hannah Marsh
If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite Disney characters would look like if they weren’t animated, you’re not alone. A 25-year-old Australia-based, Finnish artist named Jirka Vinse Jonatan Väätäinen (@jirkavinse) started experimenting with various characters in 2011 and has since recreated almost all of our favorite animations to look like real people, and we can’t get enough.
“Since I grew up with a lot of these characters, the sense of nostalgia made it such a fascinating and fun personal project to explore,” Väätäinen told MORE. We totally agree!
Moana
Disney’s newest beloved princess has officially made it into @jirkavinse‘s lineup of drawings, and we’re more than ecstatic about it.
“I have also always been interested in character design, as well as the way people look and what makes them unique in their appearances,” Väätäinen told MORE. “I’ve been inspired by the idea of re-envisioning these characters that we all know and love, in a way I would imagine them to look like if they were ‘more real,’ while still saying somewhat true to their original character designs.”
Belle
This version of Belle is the most updated one in @jirkavinse‘s collection, and she’s absolutely gorgeous. Is it just us, or can you see a little bit of Emma Watson in there?
Meg
What would our lives have been like now if we hadn’t been exposed to Meg’s sassy attitude in Hercules? We love that he made her feistiness show through in the illustration.
Aurora
While she might more commonly be known as Sleeping Beauty, we are obsessed with the real-life awake version of Aurora. And it’s obvious through this illustration that she has gotten plenty of beauty sleep.
Elsa
This portrait of our favorite snow queen has us wanting to live alone in an ice castle loving our ice powers. And no, we won’t just ‘let it go.’
Merida
Okay, so what if we have a serious girl crush on Merida’s gorgeous locks and her killer skills as an archer? You’re lying if you say that Merida isn’t truly #goals.
Jasmine
We just stepped out of our own lives and into a real Arabian night with this drawing of a real life Jasmine! Between the outfit and the giant gold hoops, @jirkavinse absolutely nailed it.
Mulan
The IRL version of Mulan would obviously look just as fantastic saving China and bringing some serious honor to her family.
Pocahontas
This drawing of one of our favorite free-spirited princesses is giving us all of the feels. The real question is, can she also paint with all the colors of the wind?
Tiana
Seeing what the gracious and hardworking Tiana looks like in real life is truly everything we never knew we needed. @jirkavinse wasn’t just “almost there” with this drawing; he absolutely nailed it.
Snow White
Of course the first of the Disney Princesses deserves a drawing that shows off her lips as red as blood and skin as white as snow!
Alice
Sure, Alice might not ~technically~ be in the classic list of Disney princesses, but as such an iconic female, it’s no wonder she was included in the lineup.
Jane
Tarzan himself wouldn’t be able to handle how perfectly @jirkavinse captured a real-life Jane in this drawing, even all the way down to those gorgeous green eyes!
Anna
You can practically feel Anna’s spunky and joyful attitude coming through this drawing. We’d love to be BFF’s with her, and “For the first time in forever,” @jirkavinse has made it feel like a real possibility!
Wendy
No need to fly to Neverland to find out what Wendy would look like as a real person. At least in this drawing, she’ll be able to stay young forever!
Tinkerbell
This reimagination of Tinkerbell is gorgeous, and there was no magic pixie dust needed. Forever wishing for Tink’s rad style and spunky attitude to rub off on us IRL, too.
Esmerelda
As if we didn’t love Esmerelda enough already, this drawing looks like a photo of an actual IRL model!
Ariel
While we might never get over our hair not looking nearly as perfect as Ariel’s does when we get done swimming, we can’t help but swoon over her gorgeous sea-worthy drawing.
Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil might be one of our least favorite villains of any Disney movie (how could you not love those little puppies?!), but TBH, she might look even more terrifying as a real person!
Vanessa
Vanessa often gets overlooked for her darker, more menacing-looking side of Ursula. But of course, @jirkavinse made sure to appropriately include the sly, voice-stealing villain in his lineup.
Gaston
TBH, it’s hard to get Luke Evans out of our heads as the evil and arrogant Gaston now, but @jirkavinse does a pretty darn good job of distracting us!
Naveen
Not only is Prince Naveen gorgeous as an animation (are we allowed to say that?), but holy cow is he good looking as a real person, too. It probably helps that he ends up becoming a super good guy by the end of the Princess and the Frog, too!
Eric
Ugh. Eric’s flow might be even better in person than it is on the movie. And that smile…*swoon*
Charming
In garb fit for a ball, @jirkavinse truly nailed this real life depiction of Charming. TBH, we’d ignore the clock striking midnight if we got to dance with him all night!