The folkloric history behind the Peter Pan franchise extends back to the early 1900s when the first live rendition debuted in England. In the sequential decades, the adventurous fantasy story about the daring boy who donned a green leotard while flying effortlessly through the skies of Neverland riveted fans of the fictional tale as supporting characters of the protagonist such as Captain Hook, Wendy, The Lost Boys, and Tinkerbell became a fixture in show business and a fundamental part of American literature.
Disney's first on-screen adaptation of the classic came in 1953 with the release of a motion picture starring Bobby Driscoll as Peter Pan, Hans Conried as Captain Hook, and Kathryn Beaumont as Wendy. Peter Pan's fairy, Tinkerbell, did not speak in this film. Instead, she was presented as an animated character with a minimal presence. However, when Julia Roberts was cast in the role of Tinkerbell in perhaps the most beloved version of Peter Pan called Hook (1991), the on-screen time that she shared with the late Robin Williams was critical to the overall story arch, as she had several lines including the classic scene where she taught the adult version of Peter Pan how to fly again. In April, Disney will present a reimagined version of the epic fairytale with a full-length movie on their streaming service called Peter Pan & Wendy. Although Disney has been upfront about its all-inclusive agenda, supporters of the traditional storyline clashed online shortly after the release of the official trailer when actress Yara Shahidi graced the screen as Tinkerbell. Primarily known for her co-starring role in Black-ish, Yara is of African American, Native American Indian, and Iranian descent. While it's certainly an impression that aligns with initiative of Disney's CEO to rebrand with content featuring women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, the original likeness of the main characters is something that many supporters of the classic tales don't want to see drastically altered. Therefore, moments after the trailer for Peter Pan & Wendy went viral, with over 2 million views in 48 hours, fans took to Twitter and battled it out over the casting choice for Tinkerbell, accusing Disney of "Blackwashing" a cherished charter similar to how Halle Bailey was tabbed as the new Ariel in the upcoming live-action version of The Little Mermaid.
"So instead of giving poc their own movies or making new movies with poc characters, they decided to just make white characters black for some reason to be like heey we are so accepting we support everyone.. this is so weird, other then princess and the frog there isnt any other," Tweeted a commentator.
"ngl i’ve been seeing a lot of race swapping white characters to black but how come we never see them swap them to an asian character or a middle eastern one? a latin one or polynesian ?? like it’s not just white or black," added another Twitter user.
The casting of Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell doesn't represent the only noticeable change in the outward appearances of the main characters that have traditionally been presented as Caucasian since the inception of the franchise. In the upcoming Peter Pan & Wendy film. Peter will be portrayed by an East Indian-British actor, Alexander Molony, and the fan favorite "Lost Boys" will feature female representation with two Black actresses.
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Source: YouTube
