17 Disney Characters If They Were Real Life People

Artist Jirka Väätäinen has been stirring some buzz over the Internet with his real-life Disney characters. This crazy talented 25-year-old graphic designer from Finland has introduced us to our beloved Disney characters growing up as real people. Unlike when Disney tries to do their best to cast famous actors to play cartoon characters come to life, these works of art stay true to the actual cartoon. Though we adored Emma Watson as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, she will fade in comparison when you see how this dude recreated her. These portraits are even more magical than meeting the characters at Walt Disney World when you were a child.

When creating his Disney-inspired images, Väätäinen said he tried to make the characters appear “more real” while “staying somewhat true to the unrealistic quirks in their original designs.”

“I have always been interested in character design,” he said, “as well as the way people look and what makes them unique in their appearance.”

Boy, did he really hit the nail on the head with these portrayals. They are too accurate for words. These recreations will either capture our hearts as the princesses and princes that we loved or terrify us as the villains that have evolved from their 2-D form.

17 Ariel

Ariel from The Little Mermaid is trademarked by her red hair and playful nature. Longing to be a human, this animated gif has really brought her back to life. Her beautiful voice singing songs of the siren is enough to revive the life of Eric who washes up on shore after a shipwreck. Ariel is one of the most curious Disney princesses as she jumps through so many hoops to explore the human world and be among them. Ironically, now everyone wants to be a mermaid with the trending costume mermaid fins and sexy seashells for bikini tops. Sometimes the grass is just greener on the other side because us humans just want to disappear into a fantasy sea world and forget the real world on land. At least she made redheaded girls feel good about themselves since she was the first princess that wasn't blonde or brunette.

16 Ursula

Ursula as the villain in The Little Mermaid is an overweight, rough-on-the-eyes sea woman with octopus arms for legs . (She's not hot enough to be called a mermaid). Her two eel sidekicks are even more eerie than she is. Banished from Triton's palace, she holds resentment and bitterness. She seeks revenge on Triton by luring Ariel into an opportunity to become a human. The opportunity is of course set up to fail and she succeeds and taking Ariel's voice unable to communicate. Now that we see what Ursula looks like in real life, I think we all know an Ursula in real life. She is probably that nosy lady that works right next to your cubicle who always seems to be making remarks about how she used to be "young, pretty and single once." Though she was probably never attractive to begin with, you humor her and just hope that she doesn't ask anymore prying questions.

15 Prince Adam/Beast

Now this guy didn't get sexy until the very end of the movie when he transforms from being a beast. Dan Stevens looks much like this depiction of the Beast turned into Prince Adam. Long before Belle came into the picture, Prince Adam was cursed by a witch for not showing any compassion towards her when she disguised herself as a beggar. As punishment, she turned him into an ugly, vile creature but only offered him one way out: if he were to find true love before all the petals on her rose fell, then he would turn back into his regular self. Lucky for him, Belle was able to see past his looks (or lack thereof). It took much adversity to overcome, but he turned out to be a stud in the end. The scene where the beast transforms into Prince Adam is possibly the most luminous moments in Disney 2D history.

14 Gaston

Gaston is that bro at the dive bar who is always trying to one up the next alpha male in the room. Everyone knows someone like Gaston in real life. Some meat head that doesn't take the hint when you turn him down politely for the first time and now you just can't help but be rude. Unlike most Disney villains, Gaston is actually a well-liked man in the small French town. This makes him even more dangerous because he has the entire village on his side when it comes time to fight the Beast. Since his objective is to marry Belle simply because she is the most beautiful girl in town, he doesn't think twice before sending an angry mob to the castle. Though he is not terribly forward thinking, his hunter mentality makes it seem like he is always on a conquest. This includes stepping on anyone's toes to get what he is aiming for.

13 Peter Pan

Peter Pan has been a symbol of youth and the rejection of growing up. He is a magical yet arrogant boy who will never grow up no matter how many years he accumulates. Like many abstractions, he is both enchanting and terrifying. He is daring and takes on risks that could have much at stake to lose. He has no fears, no desire for security or safety, and has no memory so he doesn't understand change or loss. His emptiness and un-fulfillment of maturity development leave him unsympathetic towards others. In a way, Peter Pan is an anti-hero as the protagonist. In the Disney movie, he is portrayed as an innocent boy representing eternal youth. In the book, he represents something more sinister. Throughout the novel, he insists that mothers are bad people and does not shy away from heinous acts such as killing.

12 Tinkerbell

Tinkerbell is the tiny little fairy companion of Peter Pan who is a beautiful girl with a voice like a bell and a very sharp tongue. As his companion, she travels with him on his exploits throughout Neverland. She is mischievous and causes pain and suffering on any girl that wins Peter's affections. She loves Peter intensely and has bouts of major jealousy. She has no problem causing trouble to anyone who gets in the way of that relationship. She is like that ex-girlfriend of your current boyfriend who just can't seem to find their way out of the picture and move on with their life. Sassy and feisty, she gets hot-tempered when she meets Wendy for the first time and goes out of her way to make her life a living hell.

11 Elsa

Elsa is known as the Snow Queen of Arendelle and is a complicated and misunderstood character. Though everyone in Arendelle thinks of her as the villain, the audience that is actually watching the movie grows to love Elsa. She is not really a villain, she is just scared to show the world who she really is. She relates to anyone who feels isolated in their own communities and struggles with the desire to display their talents or to yield to the judgment of the people that surround them. If you really read between the lines, Frozen isn't just a movie for kids, it is a representation of our current society. This movie teaches us that people who are thought of as dangerous and crazy are those who have the most unique talents. The true testament to that is the scene where she sings Let It Go with the trademark verse, "I don't care what they are going to say."

10 Hercules

Adapted from Greek mythology, Disney uses the legendary Hercules as its textbook hero. Born from Gods but turned into a mortal, Hercules has to spend his entire life on a quest to become a superhero. Only those who are part god, part mortal can attain that status. In order to rejoin his family on Mount Olympus, he has to jump through multiple hoops to become a God. As a result, he is born with a superhuman strength that he cannot control and it alienates him from other boys his own age. Unlike other masculine Disney leads, he is naive and shy compared to his more cockier counterparts. As he learns lessons throughout the movie while training on a physical level, he also picks up ancient wisdom of good morals. By the end, he chooses to remain a human rather than a god. Either way, he has it made.

9 Hades

As frightening as this real-life depiction of Hades is, you have to admit that he was one of the most comical Disney villains of all time. His sarcastic one-liners and used car salesman antics give him the status of the funniest bad guy that we can't help but love. In fact, you almost have to feel bad for him because he didn't choose to be Lord of the Underworld because Zeus gave him that assignment. His motivations are deep-rooted in jealousy. All the other gods get to party on Mount Olympus while he is literally stuck in Hell with the dead. His redemption is that he is witty, hilariously prone to temper loss and full of internal and external strengths. You have to cut the dude some slack. Living eternally in the land of the dead tends to negatively affect your sense of morality and ethics.

8 Megara

Megara is a sharp departure from the typical Disney heroine. Not only is she independent and spunky, but she is snarky and cynical. In a rare situation, she starts out by working for the villain, Hades but crosses to the other side of the protagonist. Even after she meets Hercules, she swears off men because she was given a brief history of her past: she was hurt badly by an ex-boyfriend. This is what prompts her to work for Hades because she doesn't care about the fate of men and is willing to exploit them. Unlike the Disney princesses like Ariel and Belle, she is a commoner. Right off the bat when Hercules meets her, she could use his help but politely declines like "no thanks, I got this." After finally letting her guard down, she falls for Hercules. As well as she should.

7 Aladdin

You have to love how this depiction of Aladdin even has dirt on his vest. Unlike the cartoon, this real life art really sheds light on how Aladdin would really appear in real life. Living as a "street rate," he would not be clean and without dirt covering his body. Unlike the princes that have preceded him, Aladdin is poor. This is the first Disney movie that realistically portrays social injustices and social disadvantages in our society. It does give inspiration with a rags to riches story as he meets up with the genie to turn into a prince. He transforms into a Prince Ali to win the affections of Princess Jasmine, only to find out that he was just pretending to be something that he is not. Though he does manage to catch a break from his destitute life by having a genie grant him three wishes, he longs for the days for when he could be his true authentic self.

6 Jasmine

Princess Jasmine is the beautiful yet stubborn daughter of the Sultan. He is trying to marry her off to a suitable partner of royal blood, but without any avail. She shows her rebellious and independent streak by wanting to marry for love rather than wealth and status. She shows an ungrateful selfish side by claiming not to want to be a princess, where most girls would covet that title. Though she is the only heir and the people don't have a ruler without her, she abandons her responsibilities and storms out of the palace disguised as a beggar woman. She gets a rude awakening when she steals an apple to help a starving boy only to face the angry shop owner who attempts to cut her hand off. Aladdin sweeps in for the rescue and their romance blossoms from there.

5 Jafar

Jafar is possibly one of the most sinister villains out of all the Disney villains. He is the royal vizier of the Sultan and a powerful sorcerer. As the Sultan's right-hand man, he is conniving and manipulative. He knows what to say and what tricks to pull in order for the Sultan to bend to his will. He is tall and thin and his robes and overall shape are ominous. His eyes appear like they are perpetually closed and there are bags under them. His facial expression is always frowning and his beard is twisted (which Jasmine points out later). With an appearance like that, it is obvious that he is up to no good. On a quest for the lamp that contains the genie, he makes a very swift enemy out of Aladdin and their power struggles ensue throughout the entire plot.

4 Pocahontas

Pocahontas has received much praise for being one of the first non-Caucasian Disney princesses. It is safe to say that Disney executives wanted a fresh plot that conveyed some of American history (but had to keep it PG when portraying the brutality of the white men posed on Native Americans). She is a member of the Potohatan tribe that was native to Virginia. It is said throughout the movie that her mother, the wife of the chief died. She inherited her mother's strong spirit and frequently calls upon the wind to summon that entity. Since she is the only person in that entire tribe that is not xenophobic towards the white men, she befriends John Smith and the two begin a whirlwind affair. She even ends up saving him at the end before her father was about to give him the ax.

3 John Smith

John Smith is a settler with a pioneer spirit mixed with a heart of gold. He is a handsome, young English explorer, adventurer, and soldier who is already a legend when he first appears. He has a reputation for his exploits of previous Native American tribes described as successes in "fighting savages." At the beginning of the film, he just assumes that this trip will be the exact same experience as other voyages he has taken to the New World. He is proved wrong once he meets Pocahontas and his views towards natives drastically change for the better. He is shown to have some prejudiced views about Native Americans which Pocahontas quickly corrects. He forms an allegiance with the natives through Pocahontas and falls in love with her.

2 Cruella de Vil

The pre-renaissance Disney villains are especially nasty because most of them are evil for no reason. I mean, come on. This woman tortures and kills little puppies just for fun. Who does that? She is a fashionista. She just wants as many dead animals as possible so she can build her fur coat empire out of them. It is hard to say whether her motivations are for starting a new trend, testing a new prototype design, or just for personal use. Though her reasons for wanting to slay puppies are ambiguous, her cruelty and ruthlessness outweigh any rationale. She must have built her wealth on fur coats since she appears to be rich. If there was ever a worse villain, hands down it is this bad bi*** right here.

1 Belle

Yes, Emma Watson did an amazing performance as Belle from the newly released Beauty and the Beast. However, even she pales in comparison to this real-life depiction of Belle. Larger than life eyes and straight chestnut hair with a curious but nervous energy is what is captured in this artwork. Since she is studious and has ambitions to leave her small town in France, she is praised for being one of the first strong female leads. Girls who watched her growing up were taught to embrace their intelligence in individuality. It is quoted in the song from the townspeople: Now, it's no wonder that her name means 'beauty'; Her looks have got no parallel. But behind that fair façade, I'm afraid she's rather odd-very different from the rest of us… She's nothing like the rest of us, Yes, different from the rest of us is Belle! Anyone who comes from a small town can relate to wanting bigger and better things.