When you were a kid, did you ever watch a Disney movie and secretly think something like "Golly, Aladdin and Hercules would make the hottest couple?" Of course you did, but that was the one thing your guidance counselor told you to never act upon. Now that I'm 22 years young and 5'11" of hazardous midsection, I'm free to fantasize about whatever my deviant brain can conjure. However, thinking about something is never as delicious as seeing it, which is why I commissioned the cover photo for this article from a friend who can draw with a computer mouse. You try finding a good Disney image that isn't copyrighted to smithereens. Back to the story, one steamy night in 2014 I encountered a section of the Internet that specialized in making the impossible possible: Taking footage of male characters from Disney movies and editing the clips to convey that these men are in a romantic relationship with one another, and that they sometimes engage in deeply passionate or hypersexual foreplay. Oh, now do I have your attention? Good. It's called Disney slash, and it's the topic of this article. So hop on my carpet and fasten your tassel because I'm about to show you a whole new world.
My audience consists of my mom's friends, so I'm letting them know in case they missed it somehow: I'm sure many of you are familiar with the concept of shipping. It's a phrase used to advocate a proposed relationship between two characters in popular entertainment regardless of how much sense it makes. For example, lots of people are shipping Poe and Finn from the latest Star Wars movie, calling the match "StormPilot." It's a reasonable pairing, they're clearly meant for each other. I ship it. Other matches are less logical and sometimes weird, such as Kevin and Double D from the Cartoon Network show "Ed, Edd n Eddy." You can find that one on your own, I don't want to put it here. Proponents of shipped couples will try to prove the shipping is righteous by pulling screenshots of the two characters in action or giving each other "the look." Imagining these couples isn't enough for some people, and they end up making fanart, writing fanfiction or just refusing to let it die. In the case of Disney slash, there are quite a lot of YouTube videos that have been made for you and me to look at when no one's looking. If you saw my search history you'd wish I was watching naked ladies.
The best way to explain Disney slash is by showing some examples. Now is probably a good time to mention that this article is NSFW, as the YouTube videos I'm going to share are about as graphic as you can get using only edited clips from Disney movies. But let's be real, not many people are reading my articles, and those people wouldn't be reading these at work, right? This multi-editor project uploaded by Littlemissvid1 is a good introduction to the genre. It encapsulates a common trend of slash in which popular male characters flirt and get rude with each other, such as Tulio and Captain Phoebus. I especially admire the storyline for John Smith and Prince Eric, showing the lengths, or in this case, the leagues some men will go for love. The what-if scenarios people create are one of the many appeals of slash. Consider this video by a company of slashers under the channel Cσme tσ the dαrk side. Although I don't agree with the abusive nature of these relationships and most certainly do not ship them under the circumstances, I felt amongst other things more emotional turbulence in those four minutes than I did during the first four minutes of "Up." I don't like the way Jafar is looking at Tulio. I don't know how I feel about sexualizing Disney characters because those movies were intended for children. If I were a younger and even more innocent Bobby and I saw Prince Eric "under the he," I might have a difficult time processing that. I mean, I still do sometimes, depending on the artist.
The emotional magnitude of slash and other similar crossovers is infectious and overwhelming. You absolutely must watch, nay, experience this upload by xNightshadex. Although it is technically Non-Disney not-slash, you can't tell me that video doesn't elicit some emotions in you. Also recognize whether you like it or not that some of these videos contain the finest editing in existence. I'm serious. At first I indulged in slash and slash-esque content because I thought it was kind of funny that certain folks watched Disney movies and thought "Wow these frames of the kid from 'Treasure Planet' looking distressed go well with these clips of Hades. I'm gonna make them kiss." But it's so much more than that. It's an entire community of creators producing quality fan-fictitious content and expanding on the Disney universe to develop emotional relationships that the late Walt Disney could not achieve in life. Poor guy.
Don't you dare remark that your childhood has been destroyed after seeing these videos. This a beautiful take on the Disney universe, a thriving collection of what-ifs being made possible by a hard-working community of writers, artists, editors and creators. If anything, your life has changed for the better by exploring this section of the Internet. That really goes for most forms of shipping. It's very weird, some would say unnatural, gross and pointless, but the Internet's a weird place, and as long as it's not hurting anyone, do whatever you gotta do. If that means drawing a picture of Garfield and Timon having a picnic, (you know I ship it), so be it. And if you have a secret couple you've always wanted to see, start letting people know, because there's a good chance it has a web presence and there are others who share your problem. Make sure your SafeSearch is turned on if you go spelunking in Google Images, though. Or not, if you're looking for something raw. I'm still hoping to one day find someone who will ship Pikachu and the Energizer Bunny with me. Keep it clean, though.
