Disney, a company that has existed with the goal of entertaining young children with breathtaking, magical, and fun films, has begun reshaping their image. The most recent example of Disney’s “cancellations” is Tinker Bell.
According to the New York Times, Tinker Bell has been labeled “body conscious” as well as jealous of the attention Wendy receives from Peter Pan in the classic Disney film, Peter Pan. To further prove this cancellation, Disney removed the once profound meet-and-greet with Tinker Bell.
A Scene in the 1953 film, Peter Pan, depicts Tinker Bell looking at her reflection in the mirror and being unhappy. In my opinion, what young girl would pay this close attention to one scene in a movie that’s over an hour long? However, if various scenes of the outdated movie regarding Tinker Bell offend viewers, the later film series centering around Tinker Bell and her group of friends, are extremely female-oriented. Each girl is independent and has their own unique set of talents that further contribute to their made-up society. So this leaves me to ask: why cancel such a beloved character that has been redeveloped to become more of a role model for young girls?
“It seems like Disney is trying to adapt to a newer society, but they’re going about it the wrong way. They’re trying to twist old characters to fit modern ideals,” said freshman Daniel Reese.
Not only that, but further Disney controversy regarding Melissa McCarthy’s makeup when playing Ursula in the live-action The Little Mermaid, has caused various online disputes.
The disagreements involving Ursula in The Little Mermaid, were centered around the original character design being heavily influenced by drag queens. Then viewers found out that the makeup artist, Peter King, in the 2023 film was not, in fact, involved with drag.
King found the comments online about his lack of experience in drag to be offensive. He argued that there was no reason he couldn’t have created a look that was just as good as what a drag queen was capable of portraying. These disputes did not cause the character to be canceled, but Disney certainly faced much criticism with the release of this movie.
“I feel the comments on whether or not he has experience in drag to be very unnecessary because his whole point was to recreate makeup for a children’s character. It’s for an audience who most likely wouldn’t even understand what a drag queen is,” said freshman Ariyana Roberts.
While I believe Peter King failed to prove his point, I do think what he said was valid. You do not need to relate to something to create art. We realize this in art class when we’re assigned to create pieces we don’t necessarily have any interest in. This, however, does not mean what is submitted will be bad. I don’t need to be a boy to draw one, it’s that simple.
“I feel like Disney is paying attention to details that only an adult would realize. They’re focusing their energy on things that aren’t relevant to young children. I don’t believe they would pay attention to these things so closely,” said freshman Emily Beaty.
What has been written in this article is, of course, my opinion. I believe Disney needs to come up with new ideas and stop being so caught up in the past. The more the company remakes or decides isn’t “appropriate” anymore, the more controversy will continue to arise with each new release and change.
