Disney is loved for its candy coated fairytales and glamorous role models for young girls, all stemming from their Disney Princess franchise. Each princess has her thing, her talent, her story. And with these diverse storylines and characteristics, young girls have an array of women to relate to and look up to. How has Disney progressed through the years, if at all?
Jasmine was the first princess of color and a huge deal to brown girls. Not only was her skin tone dark like theirs, but she had clearly ethnic features, including a sloped nose, and she emphasized the beauty of non-eurocentric characteristics, femininity, and independence. One question commonly brought up about Jasmine is her ethnicity. The movie is undoubtedly based on Middle Eastern folklore and Arab culture, with its origins coming from the tale 1001 Arabian Nights. However, many have pointed out the confusing splotches of South Asian culture, and the casting of half Indian Naomi Scott as Jasmine in the live-action adaptation of Aladdin only added to that confusion. While Aladdin remains a beloved classic, the idea that minority groups should not be treated as interchangeable is certainly a valid criticism of its portrayals.
Similar criticisms have been brought up about Mulan and Princess Tiana. Mulan was loved in the United States but absolutely loathed in China, where its inaccurate adaptation of the original tale was too much for audiences to bear. Tiana seemed to have all the boxes checked. She was hardworking, beautiful, relatable, and intelligent as can be, prepped to be a perfect picture of representation. Then, Disney turned her into a frog for half of the movie. The trope of turning black characters into an animal/abstract being for the majority of their movies is weirdly common (seriously, this is a real thing), and one that has made certain black audiences feel as if their characters didn’t “deserve” a full movie to themselves. The more you think about it, the more disturbing it gets.
Of course, Disney’s Pocahontas has increasingly garnered controversy over its questionable accuracy, and that is really hard to argue against; it’s an outdated embellishment of a story and definitely not a fair representation of Native culture in any way, shape, or form.
Many of these movies mean something to the people they represent, while others remain detested by their respective communities. However, Disney has undoubtedly grown more culturally aware over the years and has made an effort towards increasing its inclusivity, which is something not every film studio can boast. Moana was a beautiful portrayal of Polynesian culture, giving audiences a strong and relatable young warrior protagonist with much to show in regards to her identity. In March of 2021, Raya and The Last Dragon seeks to represent Southeast Asian culture to its fullest extent. It is important to not paint Disney with a rose-colored gloss; while it seems that Disney is slowly trekking the right path, this does not make it immune to
criticism. However, it certainly is exciting to think about the fact that little girls of all ethnicities may soon have a crown of their own to bear.