It sure is a good thing that the princesses who live such charmed lives in Disney movies don't have to spend their ever-afters in the real world. Because, as Jon Cozart -- a University of Texas sophomore who's had several YouTube hits already -- notes in his latest viral video, the "After Ever After" can be pretty grim.
Focusing on four Disney princesses -- "The Little Mermaid's" Ariel, "Aladdin's" Jasmine, "Beauty and the Beast's" Belle and the title character of "Pocahontas" -- Cozart's video splits the screen into four images of himself singing and humming every part of the song from background to lead vocal. It's a synchronous delight to hear him crooning his own background vocals, but it's the lyrics -- with music riffed on from each film -- that actually hit hard.
For Ariel, "Under the Sea" becomes "Thanks to BP," a caustic homage to the corporation behind the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Jasmine is stunned to discover her husband has been taken by the CIA as a possible member of the Taliban. Belle's neighbors aren't happy with her shacking up with a half-animal, and Pocahontas goes on a killing spree of her land's European invaders: "I can paint with the red colors in these men."
This is Cozart's first new video on YouTube since last July, when he racked up over 12 million hits with his "Harry Potter in 99 Seconds," and his YouTube channel Paint has several other big hitters as well. As of now, "After Ever After" is right around the 1 million views mark, but expect that to climb in subsequent days.
"Fandom is a huge thing on the Internet," Cozart, who is studying radio, television and film, told the Daily Texan last September. "Fan fiction and things like that have huge followings. Any way I can throw myself onto the wave is good for me."
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