In 1995, Pixar transformed animation forever with Toy Story. The first fully computer generated animated movie was a monster success that would inspire an entirely new format for the genre. Since then, Pixar has provided Disney with some box office smashes that have even earned Oscars. Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, Wall-E, Up, Inside Out, the list goes on. The characters have become mainstays of the Disney theme parks and sold billions of dollars in merchandising.
Fans have loved to do artwork that pays tribute to these characters and how fun they are. However, other fans take a much darker view of the characters. They focus on how some of these movies can have troubling aspects and just enhance them to make the characters truly terrifying. Even the cutest Pixar guys can look very dark and disturbing in the right circumstances. Here are 17 redesigns of Pixar characters guaranteed to make sure you never see them in the same light.
17 Red Dead Woody
It’s not just the image itself that’s troubling but the circumstances around it. Red Dead Redemption II has been hailed as a gripping dark Western. Several gamers have found ways to dress main character Arthur like Woody in his bright outfit. Which means the normally bright and chipper sheriff is now in this brutal and violent Western world. This image sells him as RDR’s John Masterson and it’s disturbing to imagine Woody in a Rockstar world.
16 Choosing A Darker Path
Brave feels more like a pure Disney movie than a Pixar one. Merida’s quest to prove herself as a warrior is inspiring and she’s even seen as a Disney princess. This drawing sells the idea Merida’s quest turned out much differently. She’s a warrior clearly scarred both inside and out, and seems to have taken on a darker path in her life. Her mother appears to still be trapped in a bear form at Merida’s command as she patrols the forests. It shows that this gal could have become a villain rather than a hero.
15 Nightmare Fuel
The early part of Monsters Inc feature monsters that scare little kids so their screams can fuel their world. We don’t really see Sully on the scary side and it seems unlikely he could pull it off given what a nice guy he is. This image ruins that idea. It showcases just how frightening the sight of a seven foot tall blue furred horned beast would be to a little kid. This is not the fun Sully fans know but a horrific monster guaranteed to make any kid scream for hours on end.
14 Darker Emotions
The genius of this pic is that it does little but add black and white to the usual Inside Out poster. Yet that instantly transforms the film from a lovable warm-hearted comedy to something far more sinister. In particular, it looks like little girl Riley is being affected by these emotions in different ways and they’re actually driving her mad. It’s a stark reminder that not all emotions are good and makes the movie far more troubling.
13 Here’s Woody!
An infamous Japanese toy has Woody with a creepy and leery expression which led to fans on the Internet posing him in odd ways. That face would fit this image perfectly as Woody is put into Jack Nicholson’s role in The Shining. Seeing the cheerful Woody snarling at whoever is behind the door with an evil sneer is disturbing in more ways than one.
12 An Evil Green
Since the first Toy Story movie, fans have loved the quirky green aliens. From their triple eyes to the whacky voices, they come off very lovable. But in this image, they’re reimagined as inhabitants of Mars who are true warriors. Instead of funny, they come off sinister and ready for war. They appear to being led by Tars Tarkas, the warrior from John Carter to show these aliens can be a vicious invading force.
11 A Different Kind of Undead
In the beloved Coco, Miguel is a young boy who manages to cross into the Land of the Dead. He handles himself well with the skeletal figures and finds himself enjoying this unique afterlife. But this drawing pictures Miguel as a vampire, making him a different type of undead. That he still looks like he’s enjoying himself with fangs and the outfit just makes it more troubling to sell how scary an undead kid truly is.
10 Incredibly Dark
A big plot point in The Incredibles 2 features Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl brainwashed to become bad guys. It doesn’t last long but it sells how much damage Incredible could do as a villain. This image enhances it with Incredible looking more dark and reminding one of a monstrous Incredible Hulk. The red eyes don’t help as this would be an incredibly terrifying look for the hero.
9 Outlaw Woody
Woody of Toy Story was a true cowboy sheriff and designed to be a symbol of law and order. Having him voiced by the beloved Tom Hanks sure helped. But this image imagines Woody going to the other side as an outlaw. He still has his traditional outfit but the cape and mask make him look like a Clint Eastwood character. It’s a sinister vibe showing how Woody could have been a different type of Old West character.
8 Toy Harder
Human versions of the Toy Story crew are already a bit freaky to imagine. In this case, Buzz, Woody, and Jessie appear to be in the middle of an invasion by those little green aliens. Woody is a true cowboy, Buzz is taking off to fire off real laser beams, and Jessie looks ready to slice up anything in her path. On the one hand, it’s a cool image of the trio but it’s also troubling to see them in the middle of this chaos.
7 Eye See You
A big plot point of Monsters University was how Mike spent his life dreaming of becoming a “master scarer.” Sadly, Mike has to accept the fact that he just isn’t that frightening as little kids actually find him cute. If he’d looked like this, Mike sure could have lived up to his dream. This looks utterly horrifying with the huge eye, the massive gaping teeth and tongue hanging out. This appearance would have made Mike the biggest scarer on the block.
6 Sour Sulley
In Monsters Inc, Sully is a lovable teddy bear of a guy who comes off very friendly thanks to John Goodman’s voice. Even when he tries to be scary, he’s still nice. This image showcases how terrifying Sully could actually be. It enhances his size and his huge maw as he looks ready to rip someone’s head off. The glowing red eyes add to it as he doesn’t look very cuddly here.
5 Finding Frights
Finding Nemo has been one of Pixar’s most loved hits as kids never get tired of watching dedicated dad Marlin and forgetful fish Dory search the ocean for the missing Nemo. It’s a great light hearted tale yet this image shows it could be much darker. Here, Marlin and Dory are given the monstrous teeth of some of the predator fish in the ocean. It looks more like they’re hunting Nemo and he’d be better off not being found.
4 Dark Emotions
The point of Inside Out is how the emotions handle things in their own way. Sadness and Fear are obviously tough parts of the mind who have to deal with some complex issues. However, this drawing takes a much darker view but showing them are truly warped creatures. What makes it more disturbing is the fact that some folks do suffer from issues of depression making you think this is how the emotions in their head may look.
3 Bing Bad
Hands down the most emotional moment of Inside Out is when the lovable imaginary friend Bing Bong sacrifices himself to help Joy out. His fading away brought tears to people’s eyes. Well, they might have been screams if Bing looked like this. Instead of lovable, his pink trunk and face are terrifying and the way his form appears to “run” off is also creepy. This would have been one scary imaginary friend.
2 No Doll
Merida is well loved among Pixar ladies to the point she’s now a Disney princess. But something about her lush red locks and freckled face lends itself to some scary fan art. In this case, Merida is designed to look like Chucky from the Child’s Play movies. It’s pretty darn freaky with her wild grin and the knife and hard to be brave when someone sees this figure coming at them.
1 Zombie Buzz
Every now and then someone decided to do a “zombies in space” story. Zombies are already scary enough so mixing them into a setting where you can’t run away adds to the horror. Here, Buzz Lightyear is shown as having already fallen to a mysterious zombie force and looking all the worse for it. It’s freaky to imagine the heroic space hero discovering an even darker place beyond infinity.