Photographer Meticulously Re-creates Classic Disney Princess Movie Moments With Dolls (Exclusive)

Brian McCarty likes playing with dolls. And the results are epic.

The photographer has become famous for his work with toys over the past two decades, filling books and exhibit halls with elaborately staged images of action figures, dolls and other playthings. His latest subject matter: Disney Princesses, the toons replaced by toys. McCarty, with an assist from the Mouse House, has painstakingly re-created three classic scenes from Disney animated films: Merida tearing through the woods on her mount, Angus, in Brave; a wistful Tiana on the balcony in The Princess and the Frog; and Rapunzel and Flynn admiring the floating lanterns in Tangled.

“I had already seen the movies before the project began,” McCarty tells Yahoo Movies. “This shoot gave me an excuse to dive back in and re-immerse myself in these incredible stories from a different point of view. I was most interested in studying the key moments we recreated. What were they feeling? What were the circumstances that led them to this turning point in their lives? Why were these moments so important? I watched each scene dozens of times.”

Here, for the first time, you can see McCarty’s new work (which will be displayed for the public at New York’s Toy Fair to celebrate Disney’s “Dream Big, Princess” campaign) as well as a glimpse into his creative process.