“I am a firm proponent of the fact that children need to see themselves in fantasy. They need to know that they exist in the whimsical, that they exist in magic. That they are worthy of the crown.” – Anika Noni Rose
Anika Noni Rose, the woman who brought Princess Tiana to life in Disney’s Princess and the Frog, sent Halle Bailey and Yara Shahidi some praise for landing their roles in Disney’s upcoming live-action films The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan & Wendy.
“I am a firm proponent of the fact that children need to see themselves in fantasy. They need to know that they exist in the whimsical, that they exist in magic. That they are worthy of the crown,” she said to Shadow And Act’s Trey Mangum. “It’s really important that they know that. It’s important that we see ourselves that way and it’s important that our children’s peers get to see them that way because it changes the DNA in children in the way that they are able to move through the world and it changes the way that their peers expect to see them.”
Rose broke ground by giving the world Disney’s first Black princess, Bailey and Shahidi follow in her footsteps taking on iconic and beloved roles of Ariel (Bailey, pictured above) and Tinker Bell (Shahidi, pictured below).
“It is my deep hope that it allows children who see us within their fantasy–whether it’s our children or other children–expect to see us in all facets of life, and that is how it should be, because we are in all facets of life, and we can be in all facets of life,” she continued.
Click here to watch Rose’s full interview with Shadow and Act.
Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid is scheduled to begin filming within the coming weeks, and Disney’s Peter Pan and Wendy is still in pre-production and casting. We at Inside the Magic will continue to update our readers when more information from each project comes to light.
Are you excited to see Halle Bailey in The Little Mermaid and Yara Shahidi in Peter Pan and Wendy? Let us know in the comments!