Disney and Pixar merged have created a total of 62 animated feature length films. Of that number, only 15 center poc characters. That's just less than 25% of the total percentage of films being about/ or led by a person of color.

As the largest entertainment company in the world, this is incredibly disappointing. With the recasting of Ariel as Halle Bailey for the live action 'Little Mermaid', and Rachel Zegler's upcoming roll as Snow White, I want to discuss the issue with the insertion of people of color into pre-exisiting narratives - especially in the context of fairytale characters.

Mulan is another film that Disney has created a live action version of. The very thought of casting any actress who was not of East Asian descent would be wrong. Mulan's ethnicity is an important, integral part of her character - you cannot erase it. So why doesn't this apply to white characters in the same way? Don't get me wrong - the prevalence of writing for and casting white characters is definitely an issue within the industry, but this doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with intending for a character to be of a certain ethnicity. I've written about how I think colorblind casting is a fallacy here, and this is certainly another example of that.

Stories should consciously include race, not exclude it. Simply because it is an important facet of a person - you cannot ignore it.

Casting a person of color for the role of Snow White doesn't make sense. She is intended to be white. In fact, an important character feature is how pale she is. Ariel originated as a Danish character - the choice to cast a person of color for this role is more flexible, as her ethnicity is not as large of an issue in the story. You could even argue that it makes sense as an adaptive choice as the ocean she lives in resembles somewhere tropical, instead of frigid.

We need more representation, and it's becoming exhausting begging for it.

Below is a list of all 15 films, and a total of two original shorts that feature people of color.

Encanto

Wish

Pocahontas

Moana

Mulan

Turning Red

Raya and the Last Dragon

Lilo & Stitch

Soul

Coco

Emperors New Groove/ Kronk's New Groove

Aladdin

UP

Princess and the Frog

Big Hero Six

Special Mention:

This isn’t being included in the main list because both characters are non-human. Ember is definitely modelled off of a a first generation immigrant, and we know this from the documentary Korean-American director, Peter Sohn created while making the film.

Elementals