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Disney gave us a colorful bunch of friends to grow up with. Some were bold, expressive, and charismatic. Others were quiet, deep thinkers, carrying a world of emotions in their kind hearts. But as different as they were on the inside, most of them were very similar on the outside.

So artist Wyethe Smallish decided to try and see what they would look like if they were built differently. "I have my own body image issues that I work on, and a major way that I do that is through my art," Wyethe told Bored Panda. "So as a therapeutic exercise I wanted to alter some characters I really loved growing up."

But what started as a personal project has already touched hundreds of thousands of people—after Wyethe shared her works on social media, they quickly went viral, receiving tons of praise from people who really appreciate such a refreshing take on their beloved characters.

More info: website | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter

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Ariel

Ariel

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Mulan

Mulan

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The Disney Princess franchise is comprised of thirteen princesses and a number of associated heroines. Regardless of any actual title(s) they have, each official Disney princess is properly addressed (within the franchise) with the title of "Princess" preceding their name.

They are: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Moana, and Raya.

"Growing up as a little girl, I always looked up to [Disney's] princesses and admired [their] stories," Wyethe said.

"I noticed that they all had the exact same body proportions, and that made it harder for me to relate to them as I grew up."

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Princess Aurora

Princess Aurora

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Jasmine

Jasmine

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Rapunzel

Rapunzel

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Having said that, Wyethe really enjoys the Disney character design. "It is a gorgeous style!"

However, she believes that, "as a society in this day and age, body representation not only makes the image more relatable, but it also helps with body acceptance and body appreciation."

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Jasmine

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Cinderella

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Princess Tiana

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"Overall there has been an enormous amount of positivity and appreciation for these illustrations," Wyethe added. "I receive messages every day saying how these images have helped heal their inner child. That makes it so worthwhile to me."

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But we should remember that there's more to her art than this series. "While I do appreciate the love I have gotten from these drawings, as an artist this is not what I focus on. I may make more videos from time to time, but I have no desire to pursue this any further than a therapeutic exercise."

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Mulan

Mulan

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Jasmine

Jasmine

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Princess Aurora

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Princess Tiana

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The classic Disney movies have long been criticized for the problematic messages they transmit to impressionable girls, including the idea that you need a man to be happy, that you should wait around until you meet the man of your dreams, and that, once you marry the prince, you will live happily ever after.

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But the image of feminine physical perfection often takes center stage when it comes to criticism towards the studio. For example, in their paper 'Mirror, mirror on the wall: Whose figure is the fairest of them all?', anthropologist Toe Aung of Pennsylvania State University and independent researcher Leah Williams said, "Disney princesses have extremely small waist-to-hip ratios that are nearly impossible to achieve naturally."

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Princess Tiana

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Rapunzel

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Elsa

Elsa

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Ariel

Ariel

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Aung and Williams argue that such characters "might heighten or reinforce our preference for lower waist-to-hip ratios, and the perception that physically attractive individuals with lower waist-to-hip ratios possess morally favorable qualities."

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So instead of building girls' self-esteem, the way these princesses look might actually bring the opposite result in the long run.

#18

Cinderella

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U r lovely and beautiful 🫶️‍
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ok. Please don’t downvote me, but for her to have small breasts and not a lot ofwaist is good to me. Because she was so young. But her waist, of course, like her stomach, could be somewhat bigger so she isn’t so thin. She is still kinda thin, but for a teenager who hasn’t had much food and been worked a lot, being a bit thinner is expected. But the second one looks amazing! It looks so much like me to be honest. I think my breast are just slightly bigger, because I matured so early. I’m 13, 14. I mean, the original isn’t as bad as the Ariel originals. Sheesh. Why is Ariel so incredibly thin.

Andrew Keane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A great example of why the original characters are designed that way. There is a clearer silhouette and more simple shape helps the lead animator, the inbetween animator, the clean up artist and the cell painter to create a consistent animation. That’s the reasoning behind it.

AP
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that does make some sense. less paint to have to use is cheaper

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Cappuccino
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I dont know about this one.. She didnt eat properly and did all the house work. I feel like she would be skinny and muscular.

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Rapunzel

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Belle

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Meg

Meg

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But since beauty is a subjective trait, Aung and Williams focused on a measurable quality: the female characters' waist-to-hip ratio.

Using screenshots, they determined the "minimum waist and maximum hip widths" for 11 official Disney princesses, and the main characters of the phenomenally popular Frozen as well as seven Disney villains, including Maleficent from The Sleeping Beauty and Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

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Meg

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Princess Aurora

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Princess Tiana

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They found the median waist-to-hip ratio of the characters was a ridiculously low 0.535, meaning their waist measurement is just 53 percent of their hip measurement.

That is far below the 0.7 that is widely accepted as ideal and, surprisingly, even lower than that of the traditional Barbie doll, which is 0.56.

Such an hourglass figure is "nearly impossible to achieve naturally," the researchers highlighted.

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Belle And Adam

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#33

Princess Kida Atlantis

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People really loved Wyethe's Disney series

And even requested a few other characters for her to transform

Image credits: fartscapade

Image credits: fartscapade

Image credits: fartscapade

Image credits: fartscapade

Image credits: fartscapade

Image credits: fartscapade