Disney’s first trailer for their live-action Peter Pan & Wendy has received a lot of comments focused on the race of central characters.
Disney’s trailer for their latest live-action remake has brought with it the now familiar wave of online backlash against the race-swapping of a central character in what has been dubbed “Ariel 2.0” by social media users. In this case, it is the first look at African-America and Iranian actress Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell in Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy that has led to discussions about “another race swap.” However, in a completely contradictory movie, the trailer has also seen the movie being praised for the casting of Indigenous actress Alyssa Wapanatâhk in the role of Tiger Lily, a character that has often been seen as problematic in the original animated classic.
The first footage from the latest take on the J.M. Barrie story of the boy who doesn’t grow up arrived ahead of the film’s April release on Disney+, and while there were plenty looking forward to seeing the new movie it did not take long for some common complaints to surface in comments across social media. While some were quick to bemoan the arrival of yet another Disney remake, there were more barbed comments aimed at the appearance of Shahidi’s Tinkerbell, reigniting the same kind of comments that were previously aimed at Halle Bailey’s casting in the title role of The Little Mermaid.
Peter Pan & Wendy Has Received Praise for Its Tiger Lily Casting.
Disney’s live-action remakes have courted criticism for various reasons, whether that is for making changes to the original story, race or gender swapping or just for “lazily” rehashing their old movies rather than concentrating on telling new stories. When it comes to Peter Pan & Wendy, the story has been adapted so many times on both the big and small screen that it is questionable whether there is any need for this latest remake.
However, one area that this version has seemingly done what it needed to do was in the casting of what has been previously called one of the “most racist” characters in Disney animation. In the original Disney version of Peter Pan, Neverland’s “Natives” were a stereotypical depiction of the time, and even had their own song to sing called “What Makes the Red Man Red.” In this new version it is safe to assume that song will not be making an appearance, and the character of Tiger Lily has been given a dramatic make over with actress Alyssa Wapanatâhk becoming the latest incarnation of the character. Speaking previously about what Tiger Lily has become in the movie, she said:
“She is bold. She’s brave. She’s beautiful. She’s a protector. She loves with all her heart, and I think in every single scene, she’s there just because she loves so much.”
Online reactions have certainly been more positive for this than the casting of Tinkerbell, and indeed British actor Alexander Molony in the role of Peter, with praise being given for actually addressing the character’s problematic past rather than simply wiping her out of the story like many adaptations.
Peter Pan & Wendy streams on Disney+ from April 28.
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