Credit: Disney Parks BlogDisney has been the subject of much backlash over the years due to the lack of characters of color, especially princesses. Fans rejoiced in 2009 when Princess and the Frog was released, only to be met with outrage and disappointment that Tiana spent most of the time as a frog.
Since then, Disney hasn’t incorporated many other characters of color (2020’s Soul also feature a black main character who spends most of the film as an anthropomorphic shape), and recently seems to have gone out of their way to cast light-skinned actresses to portray their characters throughout the Parks. Recently there was backlash due to a light-skinned Tiana meeting in Disneyland and outrage over Pocahontas and Moana parade performers that looked white. Disney also just announced the cast of the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch film, which was also accused of white-washing Nani by casting a non-native Hawaiian and light-skinned actress.
While the lasted Disney animated film, Wish (2023), has been praised for including an Afro-Spaniard main character in Asha it’s simultaneously receiving criticism for including yet another light-skinned princess character. Twitter user @QlownBrat took to the social media platform to proclaim they “can’t wait for us to get a princess that doesn’t pass the paper bag test” in response to a Tweet including Asha and Halle Bailey’s live-action Ariel.
I can't wait for us to get a princess that doesn't pass the paper bag test tho 💀💀💀 https://t.co/EQv3JN3sHy
— ⭐️Sasha Alex 💧🃏⚢ (@QlownBrat) April 27, 2023
The paper bag test is a reference to the color of a brown paper bag, with the Tweet essentially asking for Disney to include darker-skinned princesses in their films. The responding comments mention that Asha looks more like a member of the Madrigal family from Encanto (2021), with @spiceeyysugar saying “she looks Colombian…yeah i’d also love a black character that’s unambiguously black.” While Disney has started to create more stories about other cultures and ethnicities, like Coco (2017), Moana (2016), Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), and Encanto, as of yet, there is no full-length animated Disney film featuring a black main character who spends the whole movie as a human.
Even in their live-action remakes, Disney has opted for controversial “color blind” casting choices in The Little Mermaid (2023) with Halle Bailey and the upcoming live-action Snow White (2024) with Rachel Zegler (who’s of Colombian descent), but the actresses themselves are still fairly light-skinned. As Disney continues to grow, fans are starting to demand more representation from the entertainment and animation giant. With such a heavy focus on live-action remakes and failing animated films, Disney may have a lot of work to do in the future in order to keep fans interested.
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