From my middle school days to high school days, my dad took me to Walt Disney World every Christmas and New Years. We used to go to Epcot Center and go on attractions such as Test Track and Mission: Space. I remember meeting Mulan and Mushu at the China Pavilion at World Showcase. It was always really cool to meet Mulan because she was Asian and it was always nice to see a face that’s similar to mine in the parks. Photo from flickr
In Disneyland, there’s a show called “Mickey and The Magical Map” in which they showcase some of the parts of different Disney movies that may be underappreciated in the parks. Pocahontas rises up from the stage singing “Just Around the Riverbend”. It was clearly obvious that the performer that is playing her is a white woman that simply used a lot of bronzer. This show does upset me a lot because of this reason. One time a showing of the same show, Sebastian from “The Little Mermaid” was whitewashed and it’s clearly obvious that the guy cannot sing in a Caribbean accent. The Disney Parks cast hundreds of performers each year, yet they don’t do a good job casting the right people for their roles.
Performers of color who are in the entertainment industry are less likely to be cast in bigger roles than white people. It’s discouraging when you’re passionate about singing and dancing but casting agents say you aren’t good enough because of your facial features. Photos from Tumblr
There have been some improvements on this issue such as the casting call description to play Elena at the Disney Parks. If you are auditioning, you must be bilingual. So, when a guest speaks in Spanish, she must be able to speak back. In Frozen: A Musical Spectacular at Disney’s California Adventure, the actors are color-blind cast. A color-blind casting means that the performers are chosen for their portrayal of the character without taking ethnicity to account. One of the coolest things that Disneyland Paris did was having Miguel, the protagonist of the new Pixar film, “Coco” be a puppet instead of an actor. Edit from Tumblr
Children of color want to see and feel wonderful in their skin when they see or meet those characters. People of color want to feel comfortable in their own appearances. That’s why these characters such as Tiana, Moana, Pocahontas, and Mulan matter so much. People want to see a part of them in these characters, and be able to relate and feel ethnically and culturally represented. Over time, I hope Disney realizes representation matters to the future generations that will enjoy the Disney Parks. As Walt Disney said “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious.”