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I learned about the last imperial Russian family in AP European History, and since them I've been an avid researcher on the Romanovs! I've watched many documentaries and film adaptions based on the last royal family of Russia (favorite is the 1971 film Nicholas and Alexandra). I really wanted to make a Romanov-related drawing, and wanted to make it unique. I was just watching some Disney crossover clips right around this time, and I thought.. why not combine Disney and historical figures together? And so I decided to have Disney characters from different films portray the Romanov family.
So I got a common portrait of the Romanov family together and based my drawing off of their poses (with some edits, of course).
The hardest task was picking the right characters to portray the different members of the family... but it really only took a day. I picked very carefully and actually have my reasons behind picking each character.
Prince Edward (from Enchanted) is Tsar Nicholas II -- I wanted to use a refined Disney male, not too old and not too young. I thought Edward would make a decent Nicholas because he isn't as young as many Disney heroes. However, after I finished the drawing, I regret choosing Edward. He doesn't even look like he could be a father. But it was too late to change because I had already scanned the image. If I could change, I would have replaced him with Tarzan's father at the beginning of the film.
Mary Darling (from Peter Pan) is Tsarina Alexandra (Alix of Hesse) -- Both Mary and Alix were contemporaries (they both lived in the Victorian and Edwardian periods). They also have similar hair styles that reflected the time periods. Actually, Mary was the first character to come to mind when deciding who should portray Alexandra. They are both moms, and old enough to look like moms as well.
Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) is Grand Duchess Olga -- Belle was another first that came to mind when deciding who should portray Olga. Olga was about 18 when the photo was taken, and Belle is around that age. Plus, with Olga being the eldest and most mature, I thought she and Belle would match in personality as well. In Nicholas and Alexandra, Olga was very sensible. Her character reminded me so much about Belle, so that's how Belle came to be my first choice.
Aurora (from Sleeping Beauty) is Grand Duchess Tatiana -- In Nicholas and Alexandra, I thought Tatiana to be rather vain.. and to be honest, I think Aurora is a little vain, too. Plus, Tatiana was considered the prettiest of the Romanov princesses, so I thought Aurora would be well-suited to play Tatiana because she was given the gift of beauty when she was a baby. Plus, Aurora is a bit of a mother's girl, just like Tatiana, who was the Tsarina's favorite daughter. Tatiana was also 16 when the photo was taken, thus she shared the same age with Aurora.
Ariel (from The Little Mermaid) is Grand Duchess Maria -- Originally, I wanted Eilonwy to portray Maria.. but she never seemed like Maria to me. I thought Ariel would make a good Maria but they both liked to fantasize, especially about marriage. Maria was 14 in this photo, while Ariel is 16, so there isn't a big age difference.
Wendy (from Peter Pan) is Grand Duchess Anastasia -- Choosing Anastasia was tough because I thought many people would compare her to Don Bluth's Anastasia. But Anastasia was about 12 when this photo was taken, so naturally someone around that age had to portray her. I chose Wendy, as they were contemporaries. However, as I was cleaning up the drawing before scanning, I began to regret choosing Wendy to portray Anastasia. I was THIS CLOSE to replacing Wendy with Alice, who I thought would be a better Anastasia because they were both pranksters. But, I decided to keep Wendy because I couldn't bring myself to erase her. It was as if she belonged in the drawing.
Arthur/Wart (from The Sword and the Stone) is Tsarevich Alexei. I decided Arthur should portray Alexei because he is clumsy and easily falls alot.. and since Alexei was carefully watched to prevent him from falling, I thought Arthur could easily pull off playing the Tsarevich, who was always doted on. Plus, there weren't many young Disney boys to choose from. Alexei was about 9 in this photo, and Arthur is around 11.
All Characters (C) Disney.
Poses based off a Romanov portrait taken in 1913.
Clothes based off various Romanov pictures.
Background found on google, of the Peterhof Palace.
Took nearly 2 months to finish this entire piece. -___-"
So I got a common portrait of the Romanov family together and based my drawing off of their poses (with some edits, of course).
The hardest task was picking the right characters to portray the different members of the family... but it really only took a day. I picked very carefully and actually have my reasons behind picking each character.
Prince Edward (from Enchanted) is Tsar Nicholas II -- I wanted to use a refined Disney male, not too old and not too young. I thought Edward would make a decent Nicholas because he isn't as young as many Disney heroes. However, after I finished the drawing, I regret choosing Edward. He doesn't even look like he could be a father. But it was too late to change because I had already scanned the image. If I could change, I would have replaced him with Tarzan's father at the beginning of the film.
Mary Darling (from Peter Pan) is Tsarina Alexandra (Alix of Hesse) -- Both Mary and Alix were contemporaries (they both lived in the Victorian and Edwardian periods). They also have similar hair styles that reflected the time periods. Actually, Mary was the first character to come to mind when deciding who should portray Alexandra. They are both moms, and old enough to look like moms as well.
Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) is Grand Duchess Olga -- Belle was another first that came to mind when deciding who should portray Olga. Olga was about 18 when the photo was taken, and Belle is around that age. Plus, with Olga being the eldest and most mature, I thought she and Belle would match in personality as well. In Nicholas and Alexandra, Olga was very sensible. Her character reminded me so much about Belle, so that's how Belle came to be my first choice.
Aurora (from Sleeping Beauty) is Grand Duchess Tatiana -- In Nicholas and Alexandra, I thought Tatiana to be rather vain.. and to be honest, I think Aurora is a little vain, too. Plus, Tatiana was considered the prettiest of the Romanov princesses, so I thought Aurora would be well-suited to play Tatiana because she was given the gift of beauty when she was a baby. Plus, Aurora is a bit of a mother's girl, just like Tatiana, who was the Tsarina's favorite daughter. Tatiana was also 16 when the photo was taken, thus she shared the same age with Aurora.
Ariel (from The Little Mermaid) is Grand Duchess Maria -- Originally, I wanted Eilonwy to portray Maria.. but she never seemed like Maria to me. I thought Ariel would make a good Maria but they both liked to fantasize, especially about marriage. Maria was 14 in this photo, while Ariel is 16, so there isn't a big age difference.
Wendy (from Peter Pan) is Grand Duchess Anastasia -- Choosing Anastasia was tough because I thought many people would compare her to Don Bluth's Anastasia. But Anastasia was about 12 when this photo was taken, so naturally someone around that age had to portray her. I chose Wendy, as they were contemporaries. However, as I was cleaning up the drawing before scanning, I began to regret choosing Wendy to portray Anastasia. I was THIS CLOSE to replacing Wendy with Alice, who I thought would be a better Anastasia because they were both pranksters. But, I decided to keep Wendy because I couldn't bring myself to erase her. It was as if she belonged in the drawing.
Arthur/Wart (from The Sword and the Stone) is Tsarevich Alexei. I decided Arthur should portray Alexei because he is clumsy and easily falls alot.. and since Alexei was carefully watched to prevent him from falling, I thought Arthur could easily pull off playing the Tsarevich, who was always doted on. Plus, there weren't many young Disney boys to choose from. Alexei was about 9 in this photo, and Arthur is around 11.
All Characters (C) Disney.
Poses based off a Romanov portrait taken in 1913.
Clothes based off various Romanov pictures.
Background found on google, of the Peterhof Palace.
Took nearly 2 months to finish this entire piece. -___-"
Image size
834x589px 869.93 KB
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Comments13
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Beautiful work