Artist NIA’s character designs give Xena and Gabrielle the animated Disney look.
We’ve seen Disney Princesses recast as horror villains and Avatar: The Last Airbender characters, but artist NIA has brought a Warrior Princess into the Disney pantheon. A Xena: Warrior Princess fan, NIA has redesigned Xena and Gabrielle into animated Disney style. NIA’s Xena looks ready to take on the Greek gods and belt out powerful songs, with Gabrielle at her side.
NIA writes about the inspiration for her redesigns on her Tumblr. “Animation isn’t really my strong suit, but I’ve been thinking about something like this for quite a while,” says NIA. “[The style is] taken mostly from Disney’s Hercules (what else would be more appropriate) with some elements from the wonderful horror that is Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus.”
The Escapist spoke with NIA about her love for Xena: Warrior Princess. “She was one of my first strong female role models growing up,” says NIA. “Her show was considered too ‘adult’ for me to watch, but when no one was around I’d flip on over to whatever channel she was on just to see tall, dark and gorgeous kick ass onscreen.” NIA believes now is a great time to bring the characters back. She says, “Although at the time I didn’t understand the significance of her character in popular culture, my recent interest in reviving her is simply because right now we just don’t have those well rounded leading female characters that were so prominent in the ’90s. We need more Xenas & Gabrielles, Buffys, and Dana Scullys on the big and small screens for little girls to admire.”
Xena: Warrior Princess aired in syndication from 1995 until 2001. Comic books, novel adaptations, and video games based on the series have been published since its end, but fans have hoped since the series’ finale for a live-action revival. Lucy Lawless, who plays Xena, revealed on Twitter in 2013 that a fan campaign was sparking some discussions.
Had an interesting call from a chap who wants to re-invigorate the #Xena brand. You guys may have started something.— Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) May 23, 2013
But there's a lot of red tape around #XWP so don't get your knickers in a twist. It may come back in a different form.— Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) May 23, 2013
The “red tape” comes from ownership over the rights to Xena: Warrior Princess. Lawless told Huffington Post in 2012 that a development of a Xena movie was troubled by a “glitch in the paperwork in ownership.” Whether the series is revived or not, fans will likely continue to clamor to see the cast brought back together again in some format.
You can see more of NIA’s work on Tumblr or follow her on Twitter. She also accepts commissions for artwork. Personally, I think NIA’s designs beat the armor off the art in Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus. I’d love to see her take on Callisto, Joxer, and Autolycus!
Source: NIA on Tumblr
