#AnimationInReality

Imagine Disney characters on the steps of the Met, on the screens of movie theaters, and on the pages of Vogue.

The art by freelance photographer and illustrator Gregory Masouras began to imitate life at the same moment that his life began to imitate art.

“I bought a new smartphone, and while I was checking out the camera, taking pictures from all over Athens, I came across a cloud that looked like the Batman logo. The moment I started editing that photo, the idea for my personal project #AnimationInReality was born in my mind!” Masouras told Vogue.

Beginning the series in 2014, his illustrations, which typically integrate fashion photography and Disney characters, quickly gained traction through his Instagram account that now has over 135,000 followers, including Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell and Harper’s BAZAAR.

Transforming Kim Kardashian’s perfume campaign into Princess Jasmine’s photoshoot and Jennifer Lawrence’s American Vogue cover into Rapunzel’s September issue, Masouras’s art has even attracted the likes of the fashion industry and his celebrity muses.

"I've come to realize the effect [the project] has and I'm really happy for the support and encouragement that I receive from important people from around the world. But to me it's still a personal project [and that] is the only thing that hasn't changed!" he told Yatzer.

Although most of Masouras’s work is published on Instagram as singular photos, he also has six series within his project #AnimationInReality. Most recently, Masouras combined Disney characters with his five favorite Oscar-nominated movies in a series called “Disney Characters vs the Oscars.”

In regard to his inspiration, Masouras told Yatzer, “Sometimes I am inspired by the character/aura of the celebrity, sometimes by his/her style that matches the cartoon, and there are also the times that I focus on humor and spontaneity!”

#AnimationInReality bridges reality and fantasy through imagery—like Disney graphics—that is typically associated with children. However, Masouras hopes to rewrite the rules on the relationship between age and creativity.

“Ultimately, my purpose would be the liberation of adult imagination by using tools that were, up to now, reserved for younger audiences.”