A new Disney princess has graced us with her presence.
The entertainment giant announced its plans for “Moana,” a Disney Pixar film to air in theaters next November, to feature a young, Polynesian princess named Moana Waialiki.
Moana’s journey begins with her curiosity about why sailors stopped traveling across the South Pacific Ocean 3,000 years ago.
She’s determined to “complete her ancestors’ quest” and meets Maui, a demigod played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, during her travels.
Will the world allow this new addition to the Disney Princess squad to sail into their hearts, or is she simply a failed attempt to relate to people of color?
Disney’s given us a Space Mountain roller coaster ride of political correctness during its existence.
There’s the live action and animated movie “Song of the South,” a film so blatantly painted in racist puffery that Disney has refused to sell copies of it in the United States — even though its hit song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1947.
We also have the painful, historically inaccurate “Pocahontas” that actually turns colonialism into some warped version of a “Romeo and Juliet” romance.
And in today’s millennia, we have hits like “The Princess and the Frog,” which have actually made great headway for creating role models for children of color, albeit a few errors.
So this next film, despite not even making it to theaters yet, will hang on the weighted scales of political correctness as the world begins to analyze Disney’s intentions.
If we’re being honest here, Disney’s going to be critiqued no matter what it does.
But there are ways for the company to avoid extensive injury and backlash.
What we on the Editorial Board are afraid of is the meaning behind these animations set in “ancient times in far away places.”
Moana, born navigator that she is, lives in Oceania, an ancient world of the South Pacific.
What’s concerning are movies involving people of color that act as incorrect historical ‘origin’ stories and the complete absence of these characters in Disney films set in modern times.
Yes, Disney has started to create a racially diverse group of princesses for young girls to admire.
Yet, with movies like “Inside Out,” we have an entirely white cast of family members.
How hard would it have been to make them people of color?
The 2014 Hollywood Diversity Report: Making Sense of the Disconnect found that films with 21 to 30 percent non-white diversity earned the highest revenue.
Not only is it ethically sound to include a diverse cast, it’s economically logical.
Disney creates singular, separate movies for people of color (which are necessary and appropriate), but all other Disney movies contain a large assortment of white characters.
And this is just unacceptable.
The media still has trouble coming to terms with telling a story about someone who isn’t white.
Kids today who will see films like “Moana” and others after it are likely to be exposed to cultural backgrounds and historical legends around the world we didn’t learn about as children.
This makes these depictions so much more important to those who watch these films without any context.
Can you imagine if some country bumpkin watched “Mulan” and thought it was an actual and accurate representation of all of Asia?
We’re not here to tell you Disney is the atrocious blemish of Western media consumption. That’s Banksy’s job.
We’re just rooting for the best outcome.
At this point, we’re only able to guess if “Moana” will be as inclusive and exemplary as we want it to be. Until then, we’ll anticipate its arrival in theaters with the rest of the world.
Then we’ll really see if Disney can not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk.
Or in Moana’s case, sail the sail.
