“Princess Gothic”: If Tim Burton had designed the Disney Princesses
Artificial Intelligence brings a Burton-esque touch to the classic Disney Princess lineup
Tim Burton is a visionary director, producer, writer, artist, and animator. He directed Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Batman, and — along with Henry Selick — brought The Nightmare Before Christmas to life. Many of Tim Burton’s works are Gothic, and he helped to resurrect the subculture.
Tim Burton actually started his career as an animator at Disney in the early 80s, and his style is clearly visible in his early work Frankenweenie. Despite creating films that are entertaining for all ages — like Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure — Tim Burton’s brand of dark whimsy wasn’t a fit for the bright cheerful designs of traditional Disney movies at the time.
Although he returned for Nightmare, Alice in Wonderland, and even more recently Dumbo, Tim Burton has stated he’ll never make Disney movies again.
In honor of Halloween, I decided to see how the Disney Princesses might look if Tim Burton had designed them
To do this, I used Jasper Art. Part of the Jasper AI content hub, Jasper Art is an artificial intelligence design platform that allows you to create images using machine learning algorithms. All you have to do is have the idea, a concept in your mind that you can clearly explain, and the AI does the rest.
Try it out for yourself:
I hoped Tim Burton’s style would give the Princesses an eerie quality that would set them apart from conventional Disney fare. The results — as you can see from the images included in this post — capture Tim Burton’s playful sense of the macabre while maintaining the charm and innocence of the originals.
Using AI to reimagine the Disney Princess Lineup
With some artful prompt engineering (that’s what we call the instructions and text descriptions we give the AI), Jasper AI has used its algorithms to reinterpret the Disney Princesses in a style that is distinctly Burtonesque.
Burton’s distinctive visual style is dark and offbeat. He focuses on outsiders and the odd. Burton’s characters often have an exaggerated or distorted appearance.
When you look at these images, you can see Tim Burton’s trademark style is clearly visible— the gaunt lanky characters figures with large eyes and exaggerated features, the heavy shadows and muted colors, and the eerie eccentricity that is characteristic of his work.
“Let it Gothic”
It’s also refreshing to see the Disney princesses not have to look sweet or perfect, but appear as strange outsiders with their own obsessions, inner turmoils, drives, and ambitions. They may be haunted, but it’s a liberating and otherworldly escape from the clichéd Disney Princess formula of royal responsibilities. A Disney Gothic princess is more likely to be a witchey woman than not, but without all that villainous baggage. Freaky and free.
It’s really fascinating to see how Jasper AI has been able to replicate Tim Burton’s style so faithfully. And it’s also amusing to imagine what these characters would look like if Burton had actually designed them himself.
So, if you’re a fan of Tim Burton or the Disney Princesses, be sure to check out these images. I’m sure you’ll be as spooked by Jasper AI’s work as I am.
Rapunzel — Tangled
Queen Anna — Frozen
Princess Elsa — Frozen
Mulan
Ariel — The Little Mermaid
Cinderella
Jasmine — Aladdin
Moana
Merida — Brave
Belle — Beauty and the Beast
Princess Tiana — The Princess and the Frog
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White
And just for laughs, Jack Skellington with a Princess Makeover
I’ve also recently used Jasper to make redesigns of the Princesses to help show what greater diversity and inclusion might look like in the future of Disney characters. I was impressed by the results, and people seemed to really enjoy seeing the Disney Princesses in a whole new way, so please check it out below!
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Jim the AI Whisperer offers advanced training in how to use AI generators like Dall-E and OpenAI to create original content for your site and stunning visuals. If you’re interested in learning more, please feel free to contact me.
