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Whether they believe it is for the better or worse, most Fanatics can agree that Disney has been particular and arguably intentional with its casting of beloved and established characters in the live-action remakes of its animated classics. Most significantly, the powers that be have intentionally race-swapped two previously-established white Disney princesses by casting Rachel Zegler, a Latina, as Snow White and Halle Bailey, a Black American, as Ariel/The Little Mermaid.
Credit: Disney
Read More: OpEd: ‘Little Mermaid’ will be Amazing, But ‘Diversity’ Talk is Ruining It!
Now, instead of debating whether or not the story still works or whether or not the ladies’ vocal and acting skills are worthy of their roles, all sides appear to have thrown down race as the pivotal issue. Some praise the casting as a form of social justice, while others bash it as an insincere “woke” move pandering to the mob.
Enter the Satire website, The Babylon Bee. Famous for knowing how to trigger all sides of an argument with a single post, the glorified troll site hit invested Disney Fans with a casting story of their own. They titled it, “Disney Chooses Bald Actress To Play Rapunzel In Live-Action Remake.”
“We are thrilled to have this mega-talented bald actress joining us to star in this film,” said a fictitious Guy Ritchie, who they cast as the director of this project. “She has long been an outspoken advocate for the alopecia community and we know she’ll lend her unique lived experience as a person of baldness to the iconic role of Rapunzel.”
Credit: BabylonBee
Related: ‘Little Mermaid’ Actress Responds to ‘Black Ariel’ Criticisms
“I’m all for diversity,” said made-up Disney fan Janet Cutler. “My pronouns are Xe / Xer. But this is a bit too far. Rapunzel is supposed to have hair. It’s sort of core to the entire story.”
The Bee also called in some scholars, as one does when discussing the logistics and merits behind creating a believable fairytale character, right?
“Demanding that Disney cast Rapunzel — a fictional character I might add — with an actor who has hair, is simply ableist, sexist, racist, and several other -ists,” said their version of Sandra Rice, the chair of Harvard’s Folklore and Mythology department. “Sadly, this is another example of the white cis-hetero patriarchal system that we live in.” Rice reportedly began to sob.
It should be noted that there are no plans from The Walt Disney Company at this time to make a live-action remake of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ feature film, Tangled, let alone a plan to cast a hairless heroine in a role that is entirely based around having yards and yards of magic golden hair. But it shows the ridiculousness of the casting and debate. Plus, with how much Walt Disney Studios has taken to using CGI in its “live-action” remakes, would they really expect an actress to use her real hair at all during filming?
Credit: Disney
The message seems to be that nothing is sacred to Hollywood compared to woke virtue signaling, but why are grown adults, from everyday fans to academics, so invested in a children’s story?
In matters of REAL movie progress, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, is set to be released in May 2023, while Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, starring Rachel Zegler, is scheduled for release in 2024. They are just two of the latest additions to the library that already includes and The , as well as the “Winnie the Pooh”-inspired starring , the -inspired Maleficent starring , and most recently the -released Pinocchio directed by and starring .
We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on Disney movie news and stories as more developments come to light.
