Disney and horror films are two things that most people wouldn’t think would go together. And in a practical sense, they don’t—unless you’re talking about horror as it pertains to something like the Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror. Fortunately for us, Swedish artist Daniel Björk has creatively found a way to combine these two aspects of pop culture by turning classic horror films on their heads: by reimagining them as iconic Disney films.
Before you raise your eyebrows at how something like Cinderella or The Jungle Book could be turned into an ’80s horror reimagining, we recommend you check out Björk’s Instagram account where he’s been posting updates. Every single one of his mashups are great, primarily because Björk doesn’t just try to insert the horror film into the Disney property. He completely changes the aesthetic. A classic moment from The Lion King, for example, becomes “the facehug of life” instead of “the circle of life” in reference to popular Alien film. And France’s prim, proper Aristocats becomes Stephen King’s Pet Semetary—because dead cats are the cats who know where it’s at!
Depending on the film, each drawing is either a recognizable scene from the Disney film or the image used for the original theatrical poster. And Björk even adds horror-specific tag lines that also give a wink to the Disney film that he’s homaging.
Even the most innocent of horror movies—something like Little Shop of Horrors—manages to work with Björk’s style. Honestly, Alice in Wonderland is already a little out there, so is it really that hard to imagine what it would be like if Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole led her to a flesh-eating plant instead of a Mad Hatter?
Personally, we’re huge fans of these “Wolt Fisty” productions and wouldn’t mind seeing them in real life. Of course, we don’t think Disney would be too happy about their wholesome content being turned into vivid horror images, but at least we can display our love of these mashups if we so desire: Björk has added most of his creations to his online store, allowing us to show off our cultured tastes if we so desire. And hey, we’re just saying… if the artist wants to reimagine some other classic properties, like Star Wars or Harry Potter, we wouldn’t be opposed to seeing what he could come up with.
Featured Image: Kickpunch.se/Daniel Bjork