When it comes to making kids movies, Disney pretty much owns the playing field. That’s largely because the movies don’t just appeal to children. Sure, the stories are generally geared more toward younger audiences, but the messages hit home for just about everyone, regardless of age.
Disney has managed to make people fall in love with everything from a magic carpet to robots to a community of cars. It’s impressive what they can do with typically inanimate objects, and their human characters are even more impactful.
There’s a character for every viewer, whether they’re on a journey of self discovery or simply trapped in a world of monsters.
Since the company primarily puts out kid-oriented movies, most of their characters are children themselves – some very young and others in their adolescent years.
In many of them, the parents have died and the kids grow up with other kinds of family. Sadly, not every deserving movie gets a sequel, and we’re left to wonder what happens to the kids after the movie ends.
Luckily, there’s the whole internet full of artists who have dreamt up what some of Disney’s most popular kids would at least look like in their adult years.
Here are the 15 Crazy Disney Characters All Grown Up.
Russell (Up)
As a kid, there are countless organizations and activities to get involved with. A popular choice for both boys and girls is joining a scout troop. It teaches survival skills, teamwork, and of course, fundraising.
Anyone who’s ever been part of a scout troop knows that earning a badge takes some work.
One of the main characters of Up, Russell, is arguably the most dedicated scout ever. Determined to help Carl Fredricksen and earn his “assisting the elderly” badge, Russell ends up on Carl’s porch when he turns his house into an airship bound for Paradise Falls.
In an imagining of Russell all grown up, he’s ditched his survival pack, but has a full sash of badges and is as proud as ever to be a Wilderness Explorer Scout.
Core Princesses
Disney has crowned so many princesses over the years that it’s easy to lose count. However, when you think of Disney royalty, some names come to mind immediately, like Cinderella and Snow White. Both are included in this grown up imagining of Disney’s leading ladies, along with Ariel, Pocahontas, and Tiana.
Most of Disney’s classic princesses were anywhere from 14 to 17 years old in their movies. So this artist aged them up to what seems like their 20s. Given that Tiana is part of the newer generation of princesses, this likely isn’t too far of a jump from her age in The Princess and the Frog, but it’s still cool to see.
With so many Disney remakes on the way, the fashions in this version could easily be done on screen.
Kim Possible
Of all of Disney’s ventures in the television world, Kim Possible was one of its most successful. The show brought fans a new kind of a hero who balanced cheerleading, school, and saving the world. The series ran from 2002-2007, and had two successful movies made.
At one point, a live-action movie was in the works, but the idea eventually morphed into what is now Kim Possible Movie: So The Drama.
However, with all the recent success of revivals, a live-action Kim Possible is once again in the works at Disney Channel. Given that it’s still a kids network, odds are pretty slim that they’ll depict an adult version of Kim and the gang.
However, if they did, it would probably look something like this, and it’d be just as awesome.
Lilo (Lilo and Stitch)
Arguably one of the most overlooked Disney movies, Lilo and Stitch told a heartwarming tale of family. Like many Disney movies, the parents weren’t in the picture, as it focused on Lilo’s sister Nani fighting to keep them together.
In the movie, Lilo is very young, and struggles to make friends, until Stitch comes along.
The movie did get a sequel, but Lilo was around the same age as in the original. So, one of the many incredible artists of the internet took on the task of imagining a fully grown version of her.
As an adult, Lilo looks just like her sister. At this point, Lilo has dropped her signature pink dress with white flowers, but not her love of photography. There’s no sign of Stitch in the photo but, being a strong alien, it’s probably safe to assume that he’s doing just fine.
Boo (Monsters, Inc.)
Next to Jack Jack of The Incredibles, Boo from Monsters, Inc. is probably the youngest featured character in the Disney universe. She hadn’t fully unlocked her vocabulary yet, but what few words she did know somehow managed to hit square in the emotions every time.
She became so loved that fans continue to hope for a Monsters, Inc. sequel focused on Boo’s adventure’s as an adult. Although, in that case, she would likely go by her real name: Mary. A number of fans have taken it upon themselves to give Disney a few ideas as to what she might look like.
In this case, Boo has grown up but not forgotten. DeviantArt user BoFeng has created an older version of Boo who is still dedicated to Mike and Sulley, although she probably has a lot more to say now.
Big Hero 6
One of Walt Disney’s mantras was to keep moving forward. As a result, audiences get a futuristic movie every few months or so.
In November 2014, we got Big Hero 6. The movie wasn’t as futuristic as, say, Tomorrowland, but it did highlight advanced robotic technology. With that came one of Disney’s most eccentric but lovable characters: Baymax.
Being a robot, Baymax himself can’t actually age. However, Hiro and his friends can, and Ureshi-San (as they’re known on Tumblr) illustrated what that might look like.
The creation will definitely leave you satisfied. Each member of the gang looks the same for the most part, retaining their core features. Given that Tadashi’s friends were already college aged students in Big Hero 6, they wouldn’t look too much different later on.
Merida
Merida was a born leader, though she never conformed to her village’s idea of how a princess “should” act. She didn’t want to have a husband chosen for her, so she competed for her own hand (and won).
More importantly, she was not going to be told she wasn’t fit to take over for her father when it was time. Being as headstrong as she was during her teenage years, she’d definitely be just as fierce as an adult.
Elliepamp envisioned this in her work on DeviantArt, illustrating a fully grown Merida. As expected, she looks like a warrior. She has the same intense determination in her eye as she did in Brave, and still has her trusty bow and arrow. Also, true to her wild soul, this adult Merida still has her signature untamed, fiery locks.
Elsa and Anna (Frozen)
It took awhile, but Frozen’s hit song “Let It Go” did eventually leave people’s heads. However, with the show officially debuting on Broadway this year, that earworm is likely going to make a triumphant return.
The beauty of Frozen was that it told a tale of true love, but not in Disney’s traditional way. Instead of the love story focusing on Princess Anna meeting her Prince, it focused on the love between Anna and her sister Elsa. In the end, it was the bond of family that saved both women.
With Frozen 2 on the way, many are hoping that the sequel continues breaking ground and focusing on the sisters being together. One artist in particular, Isaiah Stephens, imagined what the two would look like many years from now, and thankfully, they seem to be as close as ever.
Vanellope von Schweetz (Wreck-It Ralph)
When Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 hits theaters later this year, Vanellope von Schweetz will officially join the ranks of Disney princess. (Technically, she already had that title, but in this case, the other Disney princesses will confirm it.)
Vanellope has always been a little rough around the edges, and learning – well, technically remembering – that she was a princess didn’t change that fact.
It definitely tracks that she would continue to wear her comfy clothes into adulthood. Also, as Margot San depicted, Vanellope would stay true to her love for racing.
A motorcycle would be a perfect choice for a grown-up Vanellope. It’s sleek, fast, and not made of candy. Still, she pays respect to her roots with an ice cream cone painted on the side of the bike.
Mowgli (The Jungle Book)
For the most part, the live-action adaptations of Disney movies have stayed true to the original story. Realistically, if the remake of The Jungle Book had focused on an adult version of Mowgli, it would’ve felt a lot like another retelling of Tarzan.
Still, it’s fun to imagine how life in the jungle would affect Mowgli in the long run.
In Rebenke’s creation on DeviantArt, the man cub is still pretty lean as an adult, but definitely stronger. It’s only fitting – living in the trees and fighting off jungle predators requires serious muscles.
He’s still not wearing more than a loincloth-type wrap, but the good news is that Mowgli’s relationship with Shanti stood the test of time. The artist imagined the couple staying together, and they’re just as cute as they were as children.
Max Goof (A Goofy Movie)
One of Max’s defining traits in A Goofy Movie was his irritation with his dad. Max was a stereotypical teenager; he wanted his independence, and was embarrassed by his goofy (by name and reputation) dad. T
he two had a relationship full of ups and downs, which continued into An Extremely Goofy Movie, but they loved each other and made a strong duo.
Now, thanks to Pedro Fequiere, we can get a sense of what Max himself was like as a dad. As it turns out, he’s a burly dude. Adorably, Max ended up with his high school sweetheart Roxanne and they had a little girl. He’s even social media savvy, posting most of his family photos on his Instagram account.
You can check out Max’s grown up adventures here – he’s pretty well traveled.
Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)
In 2009, Disney took their typical princess outline and flipped it on its head with The Princess and the Frog.
Tiana was raised valuing hard work and determination. She did everything she could to make her dreams comes true, including kissing a frog named Naveen who claimed to be a prince.
It was against her better judgement, but she wanted to help him and thereby help herself. However, in the end, Tiana discovers that her dream wouldn’t be complete without Naveen in it.
The couple stay together for the long run in this piece which imagines their future together. It only makes sense that these two would have a successful happy ever after.
Also, having been frogs for a bit, they’re definitely not hesitant about swimming in the bayou with their daughter.
Flynn Rider (Tangled)
In terms of Disney princes, Flynn Rider is a bit unconventional. That’s because he’s not actually a prince – at least not until the end of Tangled. He started as a thief, always on the run from the kingdom guards, and often from his own cohorts. He did double-cross a lot of them.
Getting Flynn Rider’s nose right in a sketch is a difficult task. Not only did this artist perfectly recreate it, but they also aged it, and the rest of his face by several years.
Unsurprisingly, Flynn is a bit of a silver fox. He’s not sporting his signature smolder, instead it’s a full blown grin. why wouldn’t it be? He’s lived his life with his new dream: Rapunzel.
She’s aged pretty well too, only showing it in the crinkles beneath her eyes. Her hair is definitely grayer, but still as lush as ever.
The Incredibles
It’s been a long, grueling wait – 2004 feels like a lifetime ago – but Incredibles 2 is finally happening. When the news initially broke that a sequel had been given the go-ahead, a lot of fans wondered if Incredibles 2 would indeed bring fully grown versions of the Parr children.
After all, it’s been nearly 15 years, it’d been interesting to see how the family grew up together.
As it turns out, that won’t be the case. The sequel will pick up right where the original left off, literally moments later. That’s definitely not bad news– it just means a rewatch of The Incredibles needs to happen.
Still, it’s hard not to wonder what the family of supers would become in the future.
Fully grown, Dash, Violet, and Jack Jack are still, well, incredible. However, Jack Jack does look a bit like Syndrome…
Pinocchio
All Pinocchio ever wanted was to become a real boy. He made some dicey choices to accomplish that, but eventually he made everything right and the Blue Fairy rewarded him by granting his wish.
Now, Hyung86 – as they are known on DeviantArt – has taken that wish a step further. In their version, Pinocchio is now a full grown man, and a bit of a hipster at that.
True to his original fashion, this Pinocchio still wears his vest and iconic hat with the feather in it. He wasn’t great at listening to his conscience in the original movie, but it seems like he’s taken some accessorizing tips from Jiminy Cricket this time, rocking a pin similar to the one given by the fairy.
For an extra touch of Disney, Mickey’s glove was added to Pinocchio’s shirt.
Can you think of any other fan designs of aged-up Disney characters? Let us know in the comments!
