Disney’s plus-size protagonist is a lazy bit of activism

Bravo, Disney! After decades of doe-eyed, stick insect skinny princesses, the animation giant has finally, finally, decided to create a plus-size female protagonist.

Reflect is being released as part of Disney’s “collection of innovative short films”. It follows the story of a young ballerina, Bianca, who is “battling her own reflection”. Well done, Disney. You’re only half a century late.

Since Snow White was plucked from the genius brain of some man in 1937 – an unconscious icon for little girls everywhere – Disney has failed, year after year, to provide what little girls need to see.

And no, that’s not a waist like a sand timer and unreasonably large eyes. It’s gumption, strength, and importantly: different shades of women. Some shy, some confident. Some flawed, some likable. Because hey, not all women are princesses, Walt. And we’re not all the same.

It has to be said that in recent years, Disney has improved itself with plots like Moana giving definite boss b**** vibes, plus the protagonist also having a slightly stockier build than we’re used to. Elsa in Frozen is a feminist: the first Disney princess to own her own kingdom without some hammer-jawed divvy at her side. And Tangled isn’t all about romance. Brave isn’t at all. Mulan is about as feminist as it gets when it comes to character arc and storyline.

But however feminist these protagonists appear, they still embody Disney’s version of beautiful. Little girls will still be left with a sinking feeling that perhaps they are never going to be able to be like Elsa, because they have normal eyes, imperfect skin and their own very human shape.

Until now, that is – with Disney’s “experimental” series featuring one plus-size woman in almost a century of skinny. I’m not sure what the experiment is, to be honest. Many other companies embraced calls for plus-sized representation years ago: clothing brands, skincare companies, you name it.

Plus-sized representation shouldn’t be “innovation” in 2022. Unfortunately, even for a company that is responsible for forming millions of little girls’ opinions of themselves, and little boys’ opinions of what respectable women look like, apparently skinny is still the norm.

Indeed, the short film feels like a very slow reaction – almost a decade late – to a 2014 petition signed by over 22,000 people calling for Disney to make its next princess plus-size. What were you waiting for, Disney? Lizzo? And why not make it a huge, stonking feature length film? It seems Disney are dipping their toes in the waters of representation, to see if revenue will back them to swim.

Reflect is a lazy bit of activism, if you ask me. Disney’s slow reaction to the petition – and the modern world – makes me think they were scared that a film without their idea of a skinny-hot woman (yes, even an animated one) in it wouldn’t be watched. It was a bit silly of Disney if they thought their mass $185bill company would suddenly crumble into nothingness if it upped a few dress sizes. Perhaps they were worried that little boys would switch off, or that they would be called “woke” by Donald Trump.

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Well, if Disney isn’t proactive in making proper films with aesthetically diverse female characters, children might be inclined to switch off from normal looking girls in real life. Because by only showing heroines that are thin and pretty, it tells little boys and girls that girls who don’t look like that don’t matter.

It says that you can never be fat and significant: if you’re a woman, take up as little space in the world as possible, because if you’re too big, you’re an inconvenience. This is the narrative that’s been peddelled by Disney since year dot. So this is not a giant step – more of a timid shuffle in the right direction.

Never mind Bianca, the plus-size experimental ballerina: the fight is certainly not over when it comes to Disney battling its own reflection. Disney needs to fight that battle every day for decades if they wish to untangle the reductive tropes they’ve draped young girls under since World War II.