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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Last Edit: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:03 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:01 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - WaymanWong 02:50 am EST 01/10/18 | |
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| I feel like this is heading off-topic, so please forgive me, but I've been spending a decent amount of time in the Disney Parks over the last year, especially WDW down in Orlando. Despite Disney's huge efforts to draw guests from all racial backgrounds, I've been shocked to see how many of their shows' performers are white, even when it's utterly unimportant. For example, the cast of the Lopez/Anderson-Lopez adapted FINDING NEMO, THE MUSICAL -- where all the performers are dressed head to toe as fish and sea creatures, with only their faces exposed -- was entirely white at the last performance I attended. Same thing for the "Trolley Kids," who welcome guests to the Magic Kingdom and dance (& lip-synch) "The Trolley Song" from MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. All eight of them were white. These shows are cast out of New York City. It would be very hard for Disney to say that they have a hard time seeing quality auditions from people of color. Disney does have four roles who are consistently played by black singer actors... over at "The Festival of the Lion King." Which was developed independently from Julie Taymor's version, and relies far more on stage acrobatics and aerial dancers. Here, at the end of the reprise-rich finale, the vaguely African-esque accented performers take "Circle of Life" to church. There are literally 32 bars of a straight up gospel song. Because... you know... it's Africa. And that's what lions like to sing. Gospel. The even get to riff a "Hallelujah." I cringe every time. For what it's worth, Disney just recently put out an Equity casting notice for a performer at the Animal Kingdom park: "Anika: Female, (height) a young woman who lives in the Anandapur Indian village and spends her time as a caretaker of birds in the Caravan aviary. She is the descendent of a Maharani, a free-spirit, and the storyteller in her proud family." - GMB |
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| Link | Disney's "Festival of the Lion King" (27:51) |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: showtunesoprano 03:38 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - GrumpyMorningBoy 01:01 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| At least one of the Annas and one of the Elsas who perform the live Frozen show at Disney's California Adventure (Disneyland) are black. | |
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| Yes, and important to note that Kristoff in B'way's FROZEN is also black (nm) | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 03:54 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - showtunesoprano 03:38 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| nm means nimble matriarch | |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: HadriansMall 01:09 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - GrumpyMorningBoy 01:01 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| Interesting, GMB. Being a Californian, I visit Disneyland from time to time and the actors there are very diverse - more so than most Broadway casts I see these days. What's interesting about that to me is that (to my knowledge) the demographic of the Walt Disney World visitor skews far more white than Disneyland. Doesn't seem like a casting accident. |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:21 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - HadriansMall 01:09 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| On my last trip to Disneyland, the "newsboys" who perform at Disney's California Adventure -- roughly modeled on the NEWSIES -- were basically a Benetton ad. They were singing live and dancing their asses off, and they were good. I think Orlando's global market might bring a more diverse audience than you expect. Either way, Disney KNOWS HOW TO DO THIS STUFF. From theme parks casting to Broadway casting to film casting, it's just ridiculous to see them tripping over their toes like this. I know that Disney is a massssssive multi-national conglomerate, so it might be unfair to imagine that some benevolent fairy godmother is overseeing all the global casting operations and guaranteeing diversity, but the optics make for such needless PR problems. Disney leads the way when it chooses to. I think we're right to call them out. - GMB |
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| re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 02:07 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 02:07 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Disney admits to resorting to 'brownface' for live-action 'Aladdin' - GrumpyMorningBoy 01:21 pm EST 01/10/18 | |
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| GrumpyMorningBoy is right. In 2018, the excuse that the talent doesn't exist just doesn't wash. To its credit, Disney has been pushing for more diversity, notably in its voice-casting of its animated movies. See ''Moana'' and its Asian Pacific Islander cast, which discovered Auli'i Cravalho, a Hawaiian teen who'll soon be in NBC's ''Rise.'' But it hasn't always been like this. The original ''Aladdin'' (1992) movie was largely all-white (tho' Lea Salonga sang for Jasmine). And Roger Ebert criticized what he saw as the film's use of ethnic stereotypes, writing: "Most of the Arab characters have exaggerated facial characteristics - hooked noses, glowering brows, thick lips - but Aladdin and the princess look like white American teenagers." |
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