Protests Target Disney

[PatriceA]

I. Will. NEVER. Look. At. Merida. The. Same. Way. Again

I didn’t think to notice that because I only let myself read the books, so I only know what they look like from stuff my friends will post.

Don’t blame me, blame Disney for the new version.

 

[Kit15]

Is it bad that I already knew about this?

I haven’t seen Brave, but I really dislike this redesign. It looks bad, and I really dislike that they took her arrows away. She looks older and more sexualized than the original, and it all just rubs me the wrong way.

People have protested about princess redesigns in the past, too. They redesigned all of the princesses a while ago, and people protested that Mulan’s redesign was so much paler than she was in the movie (in fact, she was even paler than Snow White’s redesign). Eventually, Disney did back down and make Mulan more normal-colored.

I can’t even get past the stray hairs flying all over the place on the new designs. I didn’t even notice Mulan at the time.

I’ve never been angry about any redesigns though I do finding myself liking them less and less. Cinderella hasn’t had her original hair color for as long as I can remember. It’s not like there are no ACTUAL blondes in the lineup.

 

[Joe_5859]

I can’t even get past the stray hairs flying all over the place on the new designs. I didn’t even notice Mulan at the time.

I’ve never been angry about any redesigns though I do finding myself liking them less and less. Cinderella hasn’t had her original hair color for as long as I can remember. It’s not like there are no ACTUAL blondes in the lineup.

Okay, I’m curious. What was Cinderella’s original hair color?

 

[Kit15]

Okay, I’m curious. What was Cinderella’s original hair color?

More like a light rusty brunette to a strawberry blonde depending on your screen. (Making her still an “actual blonde” but more in the same way Ariel and Merida are very different types of redheads). But most of the promotional art shows her as a golden blonde like Aurora or Rapunzel.

 

[Joe_5859]

More like a light rusty brunette to a strawberry blonde depending on your screen. (Making her still an “actual blonde” but more in the same way Ariel and Merida are very different types of redheads). But most of the promotional art shows her as a golden blonde like Aurora or Rapunzel.

Thanks. I did not realize that. You’re right, there’s no dearth of blondes. I have a hard enough time telling Aurora and Cinderella apart. You’d think they’d want to make them more different, not less so.

 

[bluerose]

Not to add to the thread derailment, but they’ve changed Cinderella’s hair style, too. Yup, she has bangs. Look at the new stuff coming out. Blond with bangs. Leave the originals alone!

 

[Razanir]

Thanks. I did not realize that. You’re right, there’s no dearth of blondes. I have a hard enough time telling Aurora and Cinderella apart. You’d think they’d want to make them more different, not less so.

They at least have different-colored dresses. Aurora’s pink, Cinderella’s blue, Belle’s yellow, Tiana’s green, Rapunzel’s purple…

 

[Kamaduck]

All I dislike is, if she looks that way in the movie and was dressed a certain way then that’s the way she should remain. As a kid, I wanted toys that looked like the characters in a movie or TV show. If they looked different, why should I want them? I wanted my heroes and villains to look like they appeared.

Now if they did a new movie with an older Merida in different clothes, I’d still want the doll to look like what I saw in that movie as well.

Best,
Ed

That’s a fair enough critique. There are many reasons that this redesign is annoying.

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

I don’t think that’s true. The branding of the original character was firmly established. Any girl watching the movie and seeing the new look would be instantly confused. “But mom. That’s not how she’s supposed to look like.”

I mean, Brave came out last year. This is purely a money ploy.

Speaking as an assistant art director, you don’t change the look of a character from an animated film. It’s all carefully planned, not “Oops. She doesn’t look like our other princesses.” My point is - she’s not supposed to, and the movies and toys that came out at the time will not match.

Peace,
Ed

Honestly, I thought you were going to be happy that they took away the power that her bow represented. You’re not?

 

[Bobby_Jim]

Did people get this upset when ABC redesigned Darrin? Little bit lighter hair, higher forehead, more pear-shaped face. Maybe that was before Disney owned ABC but still worth a protest…

 

[PatriceA]

Did people get this upset when ABC redesigned Darrin? Little bit lighter hair, higher forehead, more pear-shaped face. Maybe that was before Disney owned ABC but still worth a protest…

You mean as in Bewitched? That’s a different situation. The actor that played Darrin quit and they had to find a replacement or else. This is purely a way to make more money and they sexualized the character to do so.

 

[Kit15]

You mean as in Bewitched? That’s a different situation. The actor that played Darrin quit and they had to find a replacement or else. This is purely a way to make more money and they sexualized the character to do so.

Also was there more than one Bewitched series besides the movie? I was alive and remember when Disney took over ABC. I was not alive when the only Bewitched I know of aired the first time.

 

[CompSciGuy]

False. Belle and Mulan are the best.

I wasn’t aware that Belle was a princess… If I remember correctly she was a bookish peasant girl.

 

[Kamaduck]

I hear Disney has pulled the redesign from their site. Huzzah.

Looks like the protests worked.

 

[PatriceA]

Also was there more than one Bewitched series besides the movie? I was alive and remember when Disney took over ABC. I was not alive when the only Bewitched I know of aired the first time.

Only one Bewitched series, two different actors played Darrin though during its run and they didn’t look anything alike.

 

[Joe_5859]

I wasn’t aware that Belle was a princess… If I remember correctly she was a bookish peasant girl.

But then she married Beast, who was a prince, thus making her a princess.

It’s the same story with Cinderella and Tiana. They are princesses by marriage, not by birth.

 

[Joe_5859]

Incidentally, yesterday I came across a story that said this whole thing was totally blown out of proportion. The “redesign” was really just for a specific set of merchandise. There is no plan to revamp her character across the board.

 

[PatriceA]

Incidentally, yesterday I came across a story that said this whole thing was totally blown out of proportion. The “redesign” was really just for a specific set of merchandise. There is no plan to revamp her character across the board.

And what is this “specific set of merchandise”? That could make a really big difference in the discussion.

 

[Joe_5859]

And what is this “specific set of merchandise”? That could make a really big difference in the discussion.

According to this article, it appears it was for her “coronation” as the 11th Disney Princess ™.

Here’s the statement coming from Disney:

“The artwork used on Merida’s official social media sites has always been the imagery from the movie. We routinely use different art styles with our characters and this rendition of Merida in her party dress was a special one-time effort to commemorate her coronation. Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world.”

Many of the articles are saying Disney “pulled” the new image from their website and put the old one back up, but Disney is saying they never changed the image to begin with.

I’m inclined to believe the Disney rep. My daughter has princess stuff all over the place. It’s not uncommon for any of the Disney princesses to appear in different art forms here or there. It’s just what they do. It doesn’t mean they are going to go back and expunge all the old images, though. The original image will always be the standard.

 

[PatriceA]

According to this article, it appears it was for her “coronation” as the 11th Disney Princess ™.

Here’s the statement coming from Disney:

“The artwork used on Merida’s official social media sites has always been the imagery from the movie. We routinely use different art styles with our characters and this rendition of Merida in her party dress was a special one-time effort to commemorate her coronation. Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world.”

Many of the articles are saying Disney “pulled” the new image from their website and put the old one back up, but Disney is saying they never changed the image to begin with.

I’m inclined to believe the Disney rep. My daughter has princess stuff all over the place. It’s not uncommon for any of the Disney princesses to appear in different art forms here or there. It’s just what they do. It doesn’t mean they are going to go back and expunge all the old images, though. The original image will always be the standard.

Its interesting though in the article that the character’s creator even calls the new designs “atrocious” and “blatantly sexist.”

I’m on the other side of the Disney obsession. We had a TON of the stuff, more than any Barbie merchandise. Mostly it was the dress up kits though, not the actual dolls and usually it was something from Belle or Mulan.

If she was still that age, looking at the Target site, I wouldn’t buy her the sparkle version of the character.