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New sources claim that reports that Disney canceled the beloved pixie from Peter Pan were rumors fuelled by “the far right.”
Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increasingly polarized view of The Walt Disney Company and its decisions, whether regarding its theme parks (be it Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort) or even the characters in its movies, television shows, and series.
From the company’s direction when it comes to casting—think of the controversy with Halle Bailey being cast as Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid live-action remake or the stunning Yara Shahidi being cast as Tinker Bell in Peter Pan and Wendy (though admittedly, the second movie left a lot to be desired)—audiences have had a lot to say about The Walt Disney Company.
Cinderella Castle, Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World / Credit: Greg Park, Unsplash
Recently, rumors swirled that the beloved pixie Tinker Bell had been removed from the parks because, as an unnamed Disney executive shared, she had become “problematic.”
The executive had reportedly shared,
Tinkerbell, unfortunately, has become a problematic image for our guests; specifically, young girls. Specifically, in terms of the portrayal of an unrealistic body image as well as dependency of approval and/or attention from Peter Pan, as seen in previous incarnations of the character. We feel these traits are no longer representative of our inclusive focused values and thus, are currently in process of redesigning an updated Tinkerbell for modern audiences.
🤦♀️ pic.twitter.com/QJzNIcKSK3
— SassyAss 🇺🇸💚 (@turner060901) May 15, 2024
Unsurprisingly, fans were incredibly unhappy with this development, and many took to criticizing Disney for its “wokeness” and condemning the action. Some even went so far as to draw a connection to the decline of mental health in populations since “woke destroys everything.”
However, Disney officially commented on the matter, according to TMZ, writing, “Tinker Bell is a beloved character, and she continues to appear in all of our parks around the world.”
The outlet explained the rumor began with an NYT story that explained Disney did internal research that showed Tinker Bell was no longer holding up to contemporary standards of representation for television and film characters.
Between the NYT story and plan Disney’s response to why Tinker Bell no longer had a meet ‘n’ greet, many understandably assumed the character could be removed from the parks indefinitely.
Character meet ‘n’ greets at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, Walt Disney World Resort / Credit: Disney
However, TMZ reported that in addition to the initial rumor, it was fueled further by sources described as “conservative,” who amplified the speculation, causing it to quickly proliferate across various online platforms. The dissemination of this information led to a widespread frenzy and heightened interest from Disney fans all around the world.
This said, those who were worried they would soon stop seeing Tinker Bell at the parks can rest assured that this is not the case. They will still get to see their magical pixie dust-carrying fairy dotting around the Magic Kingdom.
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