Disney DIY pair bring film magic to life

Disney magic is being brought to life in Belfast by two office workers.

Colin Devenny and Gilli McCready work in advertising by day, but beyond the office they recreate scenes from their favourite animated films.

They have posed as characters from the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, and the Lady and the Tramp.

Their unusual hobby was sparked in work by a red apple, which they thought would be perfect for Snow White... and so DIY Disney was born.

A hoodie turned Ms McCready into a little old lady, and a bow transformed Mr Devenny into Snow White.

'Glued to the window'

More ideas, more scenes and more fancy dress flowed.

"When it comes to costumes, the clue is in the name - DIY Disney," said Mr Devenny.

"I've accessorised this waistcoat with a hot glue gun and thumb tacks and some bull clips from a stationary shop. It's more about fun than perfection."

There's no mistaking this Disney classic

"Part of the fun is going to charity shops and reusing things," added Ms McCready.

Their photoshoots often garner attention - and none more so than when they did a scene from Maleficent.

Mr Devenny recalls wearing villain-style horns, fashioned from duct tape, and bringing a meeting in a nearby boardroom to a halt.

Beauty and the Beast recreated

"I was wearing a large black cape with a cane," he said.

"Needless to say that meeting didn't go on for much longer. They were glued to the window watching us, most of them doubled over with laughter.

"Some people ask us what we're doing, if it's a pantomime. children love it," said Ms McCready.

"We did Frozen in Victoria Square by the massive Christmas tree and all the kids were coming over to look."

Happy place

Over the past two years, the pair has masqueraded as more than 30 characters and they are gathering up the clicks and likes.

Definitely not lying, it's Pinocchio

"We put the pictures on our social media channels and we get people from all over the world commenting on them," said Ms McCready.

"We've got quite a big Asian fanbase because they're really into Disney. People love to comment and ask where it is, or what we were wearing.

"A lot of people have favourite Disney characters and we even get requests from people wanting us to do new scenes."

"We had a senior writer from Disney commenting, he gave us three thumbs up," said Mr Devenny.

The Rescuers by the river

For the pair and their photographers, Belfast is their happy fairytale place.

"If we find a photo that we like, we also need to vet how we're going to achieve the effect and where we're going to shoot it," said Mr Devenny.

"Belfast has got so many wonderful locations and it really gets you out and about in the city doing recces and going down alleyways.

"We get into all sorts of nooks and crannies within the city. "