Darker portrayals of Disney characters are becoming more and more popular, even within the Disney canon (take a look at the newly-released live-action Dumbo, for example.) In fact, many of the Disney princesses themselves are based off of old folklore that was usually much darker than what the Disney canon decided to settle on. Had Disney followed the original story, we'd have a much more morbid animated canon on our hands.

We’ve compiled a list of 26 incredible and dark portrayals of popular Disney characters. Designs range from slightly humorous, to grotesque, to downright frightening. And, of course, the way these artists have decided to twist these characters into something new is just as varied.

Some of these characters call back to their folklore roots, and some are just a darker, more villainous version of the existing canon. Others are drawn in the style or outfit of their film's primary antagonist, and even a few of them are drawn in an homage to other famous horror film characters. Quite a few of these come complete with short backstories as to when these depictions deviated from the original Disney timeline. Perhaps all these new, darker, live-action versions of classic Disney films should take note.

26 Elsa

In early concepts of Frozen, Queen Elsa was actually intended to be the major antagonist of the film. Instead, filmmakers decided to make Elsa a more sympathetic character, and have her own internalized fear about her powers be the main conflict that drives the story forward. Artist No1Dawn on DeviantArt ran with the original idea of a villain Elsa and came up with a movie-poster-style design, complete with an even more frightening version of the ice monster she creates to help guard her castle in the actual film.

25 Esmeralda

Kasami-Sensei on DeviantArt has a whole gallery of incredible “Twisted” Disney Princesses. Here we see Esmeralda, the kindly, justice-seeking Romani woman from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She has the same attire and fire tricks we see her perform earlier in the film, only now with a twisted, demonic look in her eyes, as if the fire tricks are now for real. This interpretation is especially poetically just, as Esmeralda would have been sentenced to her own fiery demise at the hands of Judge Frollo if not for Quasimodo’s rescue.

24 Wendy Darling

This depiction of Wendy Darling from Peter Pan depicts her as a swashbuckling pirate who shuffled off her mortal coil at the hands of Captain Hook, only to come back to life and exact her revenge on him. This look is complete with a sickly dagger, ghostly anchor, and Hook’s own hook on her belt like some kind of trophy. Artist jeftoon01 has a whole short story to go along with it, and our write-up doesn’t even begin to do it justice.

23 Ariel

This more-humorous take on The Little Mermaid by pop-culture and horror artist Travis Falligant reimagines Ariel as the Creature from the Black Lagoon. It’s funny to think about how drastically different the story of The Little Mermaid could be if Ariel looked like anything other than a beautiful girl from the waist-up. The Ariel in Falligant’s version would have a lot more to worry about on the surface world than just not having a voice if her aquatic form was the Swamp Thing.

22 Bing Bong

After Bing Bong, is forgotten by Riley, many first-time Inside Out viewers anticipated that the imaginary friend would turn into an antagonist. Instead, his feelings of grief and loneliness are addressed by Sadness, and she comforts him in his moment of need. It’s the moment where Joy finally understands just how important Sadness can be— and how important Sadness is for Riley as well.

Artist Wednesday Wolf decided to show us their take on how Bing Bong might have ended up without Sadness being there to offer her help.

21 Cinderella

What if the Fairy Godmother wasn’t the kind, grandmotherly figure we meet in Disney’s version of Cinderella, and her transformation of Cinderella was more of a curse? Cinderella looks like a long-lost relative of the Oogie Boogie Man from of The Nightmare Before Christmas, or even of Other Mother from Coraline with those creepy button-eyes. Holding a rat-transformed Gus and standing in the ruins of her pumpkin carriage doesn’t hurt the creepiness factor either.

Unfortunately, we don’t have an official story from artist jeftoon01 about the background behind this character design, like we do some of their other “Twisted Princess” concepts. We'll just have to use our imaginations.

20 Aurora

Artist LiberLibelula on DeviantArt’s “WoW Disney” series reimagines Disney characters as various World of Warcraft race and class archetypes. In this case, Princess Aurora, also known as "Sleeping Beauty," is drawn as an Undead creature, meant to be a dark joke about how she "slept" for a hundred years. Warcraft’s playable undead races, such as the Forsaken, are not inherently evil, but it’s not uncommon for them to use or be possessed by dark magic. Some non-playable races serve or are controlled by evil masters.

This drawing of Aurora is definitely a much darker turn from the original Princess design. Her sickly skin color and long nails make her seem much more intimidating.

19 Aladdin

Aladdin is already a less-than-savory character at the start of his namesake film, but he at least has a heart of gold. That's exactly what makes him such a compelling lead for the film when it comes down to it. But what if he was more than just a ‘street rat’ trying to make ends meet? This version of Aladdin by artist AgiVega sports a much darker color scheme, and it’s fun to imagine the kind of trouble this sinister rogue could get into with three wishes from Genie.

18 Peter Pan

Portrayals of Peter Pan have ranged from childish and careless to downright negligent. This one shows him as much more mischievous-looking, akin to his behavior in the original source material and other non-Disney spinoffs. The combo of leather clothing and the sword almost makes him seem like a swashbuckling pirate himself. This is definitely a Peter Pan that brings an element of danger with him at every turn. He's not the kind of guy you want to run into, and it's no wonder Captain Hook would be fighting him for years.

Art by the incredible Genzoman.

17 Snow White

Considering Snow White’s treatment at the hands of the Evil Queen, both in the original fairy tale and the Disney film, her journey to becoming a villain herself isn’t much of a stretch. This drawing by DarkAngeL383 on DeviantArt shows Snow White exacting her revenge on the Evil Queen in the same manner the Evil Queen used to put her under the spell—poison apple. Note the little woodland friends accompanying Snow White, and the Magic Mirror looking on the scene and laughing.

16 Tinkerbell

There’s real trouble in Pixie Hollow in jeftoon01’s “Twisted Fairies” series. The artist tells the story of an attack on Pixie Hollow by Captain Hook and his band of pirates, putting Tinkerbell and all of her fairy friends in mortal danger. Tinkerbell herself didn’t come out of the attack unscathed, and now sports prosthetic wings and arm—she probably made them herself, since Tink discovers her talent for building and inventing during the Pixie Hollow series. Now she’s ready to take on Captain Hook and free Pixie Hollow.

15 Jasmine

This portrayal of Jasmine from Aladdin by artist Knyazhye shows the princess adorned in the outfit of the main antagonist, the Royal Vizier Jafar. It’s unlikely that Jasmine would have the same villainous path as Jafar, but it’s fun to see her in the red-and-black outfit with the cloak and hat, as well as the creepy golden staff used to hypnotize people. The real question we have to ask is: where is Iago? The wise-cracking parrot might have some things to say about the outfit.

14 Belle And Beast

This depiction of Belle and the Beast by artist jeftoon01 shows both of them looking sinister, and possibly even undead. Both characters possess torn clothing and glowing eyes, with Belle looking right at the viewer and warning them not to take another step. Although there’s no official artist story for this image like there are for some of the other ones, so it leaves some unanswered questions about what happened with the Beast’s curse, or what happened to Gaston and the other villagers. But we can probably guess that none of it is good.

13 Mickey Mouse

Holy zombie! This creepy image by Ry-Spirit shows us what we could expect if a zombie virus were to ever infect our beloved Disney characters. Mickey’s discolored eyes stand out from the monochromatic blue palette used in the background and on Mickey’s skin. The image is complete with scary sharp teeth and a demented look in his eye.

Mickey looks ready to pounce. This is a feral Mickey Mouse that even Donald and Goofy would fear. We wouldn’t want to come face-to-face with this mouse.

12 Rapunzel

In this incredible jeftoon01 image, Rapunzel is depicted as scarred and disheveled, as if fresh from a fight. She’s used her magic hair and frying pan against Mother Gothel and the Stabbington brothers. The muted color palate and Rapunzel’s mural paintings on the back wall are an incredible touch. We also like the look on Pascal the Chameleon’s face.

Note the Flynn Rider wanted posters on the floor, even though Flynn himself is nowhere to be seen—is this a possible turn of events if Rapunzel and Flynn Rider had never met?

11 Simba

Instagram artist dada16808 is famous for their series that merges two Disney characters together—usually the hero and villain from the same film. This drawing in particular merges Simba from The Lion King with his antagonist counterpart, his uncle Scar. The differences in eye shape and mane color are enough to set them apart while still reminding the viewer that they are family. What's particularly interesting about this piece of fan art is how it merges Simba and Scar together, demonstrating a dichotomy.

10 Maid Marian

Maid Marian is a less-mainstream Disney heroine that deserves much more recognition than she gets, so it’s a delight to see a redesign of her make it into this list. According to the backstory provided by artist jeftoon01, Maid Marian took up Robin’s bow and sword after he met his end during the escape through the moat. With the help of Friar Tuck, she seeks revenge on the Sherriff of Nottingham.

Note how she’s still in her traditional formal gown seen in the film, although it’s disheveled and torn to allow a better range of motion. It’s a small touch that we absolutely adore.

9 Megara

While Hercules is busy defeating Hades, Megara is rescued from the River Styx by Thanatos, the God of Death, and used as a vessel for his power. Hercules is unable to hurt the woman he loves, so Meg/Thanatos is able to leave the Underworld and take over the land of the living as well as Olympus. Many of the gods either flee Olympus. Others, like Hera and Aphrodite (pictured here), are taken as prisoners. This ushers in a new era of death and darkness for Greece and for Olympus.

Art by Kasami-Sensei on DeviantArt.

8 Anna And Elsa

Come play with us…

This is Elsa’s second appearance on this list, but it’s too much to resist including. Horror and pop-culture artist Travis Falligant has reimagined a young Anna and Elsa as the creepy twins from Stanley Kubrick’s horror film The Shining. The snowball on the floor between them is a nice nod both to the “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman” musical number in the Frozen film, as well as the blizzard in The Shining that traps the Torrance family in the Overlook Hotel.

7 Winnie The Pooh

Our willy-nilly silly old bear is drawn to look a bit more… realistic. It’s easy to forget how frightening bears can be when they’re not full of stuffing. The torn shirt is a nice touch, as it implies that the shirt once fit him, and perhaps Winnie the Pooh transformed into the giant creature with sharp claws and glowing eyes that we currently see. This rendition of Winnie the Pooh is a reminder that bears are more than often not your friends.

Art by KaiserFlames on DeviantArt.