Update: This exercise in makeup and imagination highlights domestic violence, societial expectations of women, and beauty standards. Those important issues are reflected in the updated article.
Makeup artist Shonagh Scott reimagined Disney princesses as the victims of their own tales — and we seriously can't get enough. Is it too late to change our Halloween costume?
In what Scott calls her "Happily Never After" series, Ariel, Cinderella, Aurora, Elsa, and Snow White each meet their demise in a most awesomely gruesome fashion.
First up is Ariel. Looks like Ursula finally had enough of the mermaid singing about "whatchamacallits" and combing her hair with a fork. So in Scott's vision, the red-headed beauty had her vocal cords removed by her enemy.
Then, there is Snow White. The Evil Queen didn't just want to kill her competition, she wanted her face to melt off first. In the detail, you can see the poison from the apple working its way into Snow's veins and chemically burning her face. It's a different ending that puts a harsh light on the standards of beauty to which we're all held.
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Cinderella is, by far, our favorite: The heel of her glass slipper is poking out of her cheek. The story Scott came up to accompany this image is artful: "Cinders tripped down the stairs, face-planted her shoe, & impaled her face." It certainly puts a new spin on Cinderella's perfect night with Prince Charming that is not so graceful.
When it comes to Belle, the Beast couldn't keep his temper and lashed out, literally. This look casts Belle as a victim of domestic violence in a frightening role that imagines her life if she had not been able to tame the man that Disney made her consort. Unfortunately, it is the more likely ending to a story like hers.
Kudos to Scott on both her imagination and talent. Recasting these perfect princesses as fallible women that succumb to the darker aspects of their fairy tales is a captivating, brave, and clearly gory exercise. It takes them off their pedestals and recasts them as the mere mortals, which most of us women are. We are both officially creeped out and mesmerized at the same time.
Here's to hoping she expands the collection next year.