For me this is a very simple article to write and I’m amazed it hasn’t been at the forefront of Disney’s mind since the demand for more diverse stories started.
Of course Disney started off with princesses and stories of “far away lands” which are actually just… Europe. Now these princesses which Disney started off with were very passive characters who didn’t think about anything but getting married and being what we think of the stereotypical “house wife”. Princesses like Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty are the ones now being reimagined as more active characters, despite the original renditions being closer to the fairytales depiction of these characters and their stories (minus some of the gruesome bits).
Then the new wave came in with princesses like Mulan and Jasmine. These ladies were courageous, diverse but they still fell for the guy by the end of the film. This is what a lot of people consider to be the best years for Disney princesses, because there was diversity that didn’t feel forced. Disney wasn’t trying to appease anyone by making diverse characters, and this helped make the stories more enjoyable!
Now, I feel, that Disney is falling off. All it’s major releases at the moment are remakes of its earlier best sellers, so now every time you see the head line “Disney is remaking a live action remake of BLANK” you roll your eyes and groan because that’s not what we want! Yes we are in a time where we crave nostalgia, hence the reason why so many hit movies and shows are themed around the 80s and 90s. But we want a time when Disney films were amazing, not a remake of the films that were amazing.
After recently watching Onward (2020) in the cinema, it was an ok and enjoyable film, but the inclusion felt forced! Obviously it’s not racial inclusion because the film is quite literally about trolls but the disabled and LGBT+ inclusion was included. Now don’t get me wrong, I want inclusion, but not when it’s shoved in and feels so in your face that it’s out of place.
So, what is the easy way for Disney to get the inclusion it wants? Just tell stories! Simple as that. Mulan is a real Chinese folk tale, in fact all the best Disney princesses are from old folk tales, the most recent being Moana. The disabled and LGBT+ community can be included in this too, there are plenty of famous stories about queer and disabled icons. All Disney have to do is go back to storytelling in its purest form, take a folktale or and icon, take out the gruesome bits and make it wholesome!
For example, after some simple googling, I have already found some incredible tales from around the world; the Japanese Momotarō, the African Adventures of the Jackal (and if they want to make sequels there are the adventures of his older and younger sons) or The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch. Now yes some of these are gruesome tales, but like I said so are stories like Cinderella and Rapunzel in the original brothers grim tales. Take these stories and make them a little more child friendly (but consult the people who’s story it is, don’t just use random people who have no emotional connection to the stories)
There are plenty of true stories about LGBT+ aristocracy, as well as folklore from many countries where two females or two males fall in love with each other. Furthermore, there are plenty of deities and demons which aren’t gendered and can be used to tell stories for non binary people. Also I don’t know if you know about an eastern folklore tale about the moon which originated as it being male but slowly became female over time through various tales but there’s and easy trans story for you Disney.
Finally, the one story that I truly believe would create a wonderful story for the disabled community is the story of Burial 9 in what is now northern Vietnam. The man found in this grave from 4000 years ago was supposedly paralysed from the waist down by the time he reached adolescence but he was looked after by his tribe, contrary to the beliefs of many. This was real person that you can create a story around in order to create an amazing role model for children with disabilities.
It is so easy for Disney to have the diversity and representation they want and need! It took me only a few Googles to find a wealth of folklore from around the world, I genuinely wonder what sort of incredible stories could be made into beautiful films given the proper research.
Sophias film blog 