Game of Thrones is similar to a lot of things, bearing resemblance to everything from The Lord Of The Rings to the history of the Roman Empire. But if there's one thing Game of Thrones is nothing like, it's Disney. In the world of Disney, everything has a happy ending and the good guys always win. That's the opposite of the mandate of Game of Thrones, in which the good guys usually die and the bad guys often prevail.
So, it might feel pretty strange to imagine Game of Thrones in the world of Disney, given how different the two franchises are, but that's exactly what the following artists decided to do. After all the death in the latest seasons, maybe they just felt like the series needed a little more joy. Whatever their reasons, the artists Fernando Mendonça and Anderson Mahanski decided to recreate the characters of Game of Thrones as Disney cartoons, and it is epic. In a slightly different direction, the Mexican artist Mariana Moreno reimagined the characters as Disney animals, and they are just as joyous a sight to behold.
Here are 15 Game of Thrones characters reimagined as Disney cartoons.
15 Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen would make one heck of an epic Disney Princess. Between her independent spirit, the way she rises up against odds stacked against her and her unnaturally beautiful hair that just never seems to be out of place, she fits the Disney Princess bill pretty darn flawlessly. Plus, it doesn't hurt that she has freaking dragons that she rides into battle like a kick@$$ medieval Amazonian warrior princess. So, if any character from Game of Thrones would fit in in the Disney universe, it would probably be Daenerys, given that her storyline is basically already the tale of a Disney Princess. Well, except for all the violent murders, stinging betrayals and X-rated love making, but we're not here to talk details, are we?
14 Tyrion Lannister
Aside from his voracious appetite in the bedroom and foul mouth, Tyrion actually wouldn't make such a bad Disney character either. Disney just loves working with characters who are goodhearted yet socially ostracized, and if Tyrion is anything, he's a social outcast. Although he's quick as a whip and as compassionate as they come, the simple fact that he was born a dwarf within a bigoted society ensured he'd never rise to the station a man of his ilk deserved. Yet, despite the way the people of the Seven Kingdoms constantly wage war against him, his spirit is never broken and he rises up time and again. So, make some room in the cabin, Grumpy, because Tyrion (Witty?) would make a fine addition to the Seven Dwarves.
13 Jon Snow
With all the tragedy he's faced, it would be a welcome break for Jon if he could slip into a Disney plot line for awhile. Despite the fact that the poor guy is the heir to the freaking Iron Throne, he's spent his life living as Eddard Stark's bastard, treated like scum by the very nobility he should have been ruling over as King.
Then, after taking the Black and finding a place for himself among fellow social outcasts, the woman he loves dies in his arms.
And then, when he rises in power within the ranks of the Night's Watch, he gets brutally murdered by his colleagues in an Ides of March-style assassination. Now, he's alive again thanks to Melisandre's red magic, and we sure as heck hope he gets a Disney-style ending this time around because god (the old gods and the new) knows he deserves it.
12 Cersei Lannister
Oh, Cersei was made to be a Disney villain. She's basically already Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmatians. But instead of wanting to make a coat out of a bunch of adorable puppies (which, even now, we find to be a wildly disturbing plot line for a children's movie), Cersei would rather skin her own brother. In that way, she's more similar to the Evil Queen from Snow White, who basically takes out a hit on her own stepdaughter. Heck, even Cersei's darkest fears parallel those of the Evil Queen. Most of the crazy things she does are because of a prophesy she once heard about not being the fairest in the land anymore. Instead of trying to poison her competition with an apple, though, Cersei chooses to blow Margaery up in a massive explosion. And just like the Evil Queen, her master plan failed. But in Cersei's case, it's because she blew up the wrong girl (#TeamKhaleesi).
11 Hodor and Bran
Between Hodor's innocent loyalty to the Starks and Bran's grandfatherly wisdom, these two would make pretty darn adorable Disney cartoons. Aside from their heart wrenching origin stories (one which involves incest), their plot line actually wouldn't make such a bad Disney story either.
After losing his mobility, a young man goes in search of a raven that promises him infinite wisdom, bringing along his hulking sidekick for the ride.
We could totally see Bran and Hodor dancing through the wilderness while singing optimistic songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The whole Hodor-getting-pulled-apart-by-an-army-of-dead-people thing is a little less Disney, but maybe they could skip that part and just have Hodor fall into a giant pit instead, like how they kill off most of their villains.
10 Brienne and Jaime
Well, we aren't the biggest fans of the implication of this little cartoon, but we get the artist's point. Brienne, with her unconventional looks and towering height, is often referred to as "Brienne the Beauty" by the cruel men she comes across in Westeros, and Jaime is known to be a bit of a pretty boy. So, in a twist on the infamous tale of Beauty and the Beast, the artist has reimagined Brienne as the Beast and Jaime as Belle. But if we're going by the actual plot line of Beauty and the Beast rather than the physical appearance of its characters, then Brienne would play the role of the Beauty. Just like Belle did with the Prince, she's slowly turning Jaime into a better person, who had rather beastly morals to begin with. So, in this case, "Brienne the Beauty" can be taken quite literally.
9 Arya and the Hound
Arya would make one feisty little Disney Princess. Thrust into a world of horror, murder and betrayal at a young age, she has no choice but to grow up in a very short time, learning how to fend for herself in a world that spares no compassion, even for little girls. In a Disney film, her storyline probably would have taken the form of her going off into the wilderness and either meeting a family of dwarves or building one heck of an ice castle. But in Game of Thrones, she left her friend to die, became a faceless assassin and repeatedly chants the names of the people she intends to murder. So, although she wouldn't make such a bad Disney Princess, Disney would probably have to change a few things about her storyline.
8 The Night King
In our humble opinions, the Night King is just a little too scary a villain for Disney. Like, that dude is freaking terrifying. Between his icy cold eyes and the way he, you know, commands an entire army of the dead, he takes things a little too far into the realm of horror for a Disney film, we reckon.
Disney is more about the power-hungry monarchs who get a little too drunk on their own authority or the totally redeemable demigods who might have lost their way but were actually good at heart all along (well, that's mostly just Moana, but we feel like that's the kind of greyish villain Disney will be exploring from now on).
Either way, an ice-hearted zombie king who yearns for the destruction of all living things is probably a little too dark for the Disney we all know and love.
7 Oberyn and the Mountain
Oh, how we laughed when we first saw this. This is exactly what we picture when we imagine what Game of Thrones would look like in a Disney movie. Instead of beheadings, the executioner would be giving the outlaws neck massages, and rather than Ramsay Bolton allowing his dogs to eat people alive, he'd be bringing them to prisoners as stress relievers for them to play with for the day. So, of course, in place of that infamous scene in which the Mountain brutally murders Oberyn Martell by crushing his skull, the Mountain would just play hide and seek with Oberyn, gently placing his fingers over his eyes rather than pushing them into his brain like he did in the series. In Disney, there are no unhappy endings. Instead, we get peekaboo.
6 Varys
In Game of Thrones, Varys's "little birds" are his informants who keep him updated on the activities of the political heavyweights in the Seven Kingdoms so that he can better guard against the downfall of Westeros. In Disney...well, they're just little birds. Most Disney plot lines aren't all that politically intricate, so it's not like you need a web of contacts in order to keep tabs on everyone. Usually, it's just an Evil Queen or a power hungry advisor of the Sultan. As long as you have two eyes, you can usually see what's coming next. So instead of carefully crafting his web of spies, Varys could take more time to just relax in the woods in the company of his numerous little birds.
5 Melisandre
Oh man, of all the characters in Game of Thrones, Melisandre would probably fit in the worst in a Disney movie. Despite her iridescent ruby red robes and pendant, she is one dark lady.
From her black magic to her murderous exploits to her X-rated love scenes (one of which impregnates her with a horrific shadow monster that looks nothing like Goofy), she makes the villains of Disney look like a walk in the park with Olaf.
Sure, she doesn't mean to be a villain. We know she was only trying to serve the Lord of Light and prevent the Night King from unleashing his army of the dead upon Westeros. But when you burn a little girl at the stake in your efforts to save the world, you're pretty indistinguishable from the villains you're trying to stop.
4 House Stark
Game of Thrones doesn't really need to get any more unique. The surprise beheadings, sexy dragon queens and teenager assassins kind of take care of the whole standing-out-from-the-crowd thing. But if they were to change one thing about the series to make it more intriguing, we'd be all for the writers reimagining all the characters as the animals of their respective houses. For pretty much every character in Game of Thrones, the sigil of their house animal matches their personality pretty darn well. Each family member might highlight different elements of the animal's qualities, from the way Sansa embodies the cunning of a wolf to the way Arya channels its prowling spirit, but "wolfish" is a pretty accurate description for all the Starks, which is evidenced pretty well by this picture.
3 The Lions of Lannister
Is it weird that this picture is actually kind of hard to tell apart from a regular family portrait of the Lannisters? Every lion depicted here looks almost indistinguishable from the Lannister it's supposed to represent. From Jaime's mane of golden hair to Tyrion's auburn beard to Cersei's elegant composure, we could totally see these big cats prowling around King's Landing and hunting down their enemies like gazelles on the savannah. Even Tywin's intense arched eyebrow and sinister grin perfectly mirrors the most common expression of his human counterpart. Plus, Jaime and Cersei are eyeing each other the same way Nala and Simba did in The Lion King. So, we'd say this picture is an accurate depiction of the Lannisters, down to every incestuous detail.
2 The Blood of the Dragon
Daenerys is exactly what we'd imagine a dragon would be like in human form. She's wrathful, intense and can be a little too quick to resort to burning her enemies alive, but she also embodies the elegance and nobility of a dragon, from her silver hair to her regal composure.
Plus, despite reptilian villains like Smaug, we usually tend to associate dragons with good, and if there's one thing we know about Daenerys, it's that she has a good heart.
Sure, she's been walking a bit of a morally grey path lately, but someone with a cold heart wouldn't have spent numerous seasons on television freeing slaves from their rulers. So, even if she may have been taking her family motto of "Fire and Blood" a little too literally lately, we hope she'll return to the kindheartedness she showed in earlier seasons before the end of the series.
1 House Baratheon
If you're thinking what we're thinking, it's that stags are kind of boring to look at after the epic dragons, wolves and lions of the previous pictures. But, in the defence of the Baratheons, what animal were they supposed to choose for their family crest? Once you take the big cats, fantasy reptiles and predatory canines off the table, there aren't that many jaw-dropping animals left to choose from. Plus, stags aren't that boring. Historically, they've actually taken on some pretty epic roles in the mythologies of various cultures. It's really just this picture. Their cute antlers and skinny little legs look a little funny when paired with the intensity of the motto "Ours is the Fury." Something like "We Like Grass" or "Bambi's Family" would probably have made a better pairing.