In recent years, the issue of “wokeness” has come up in all areas of society. The definition of “wokeness” seems to be ever-expanding, from politics to media to entertainment. As the most significant and most wide-reaching entertainment entity in the world, The Walt Disney Company has come under fire from conservatives for things like “woke” casting choices for its new content and also product designs.
In a viral Instagram video, currently with about two million views, Disney Princess dolls confused consumers and started another debate about so-called wokeness.
Disney’s ily 4EVER Collection Mismatches Ethnicities with Classic Disney Characters
Content creator Jenna Nicole, @jennarydleski on Instagram, posted a viral video with currently about two million views, showing five Barbie-like dolls from Disney’s ily 4EVER collection. The appearance of each doll is starkly different than the classic Disney Princess depicted in the bottom right corner of each of their boxes.
Over the image of each corresponding doll, Jenna Nicole’s video says, “That’s not Jasmine; That’s not Tiana; That’s not Snow White; That’s not Ariel; That’s not Belle.” With hashtags like #comedy, #viral, and #inclusion, it’s not quite clear if Jenna Nicole knew that these dolls are meant to represent Disney fans wearing clothes inspired by their favorite characters. Was she preying on the internet’s sensitivity to get views?
@jennarydleski
How the Comment Section was Quick to Clarify the Disney Doll’s True Purpose
Commenters were quick to reveal the motivation behind the princess dolls, to squash potentially racially charged arguing. Here are some of the comments that highlighted the true purpose of Disney’s ily 4EVeR Collection.
From @jillicious5:
The whole point of these dolls is that they are fans of the characters visiting Disney land and wearing an outfit inspired by their favorite character… it even says “inspired by” on the box
@fairytaleprince In response to @jillicious5:
That’s what I thought, they’re just dolls of people who love the character, and I love how they did them completely different!
From @_noah_lau:
This is litteraly just girls wearing an outfit inspired by the princess, not the princess herself come on?
When you can’t read the “Inspired By” line and just wanna be mad for social media clout.
From @x_mariska.k:
The whole point of these dolls is they’re “fans” of that disney princess and wear inspired outfits, basically, dolls that are just like us. We dress up as our favorite as well, right? Well, thats what these dolls are for
From @cleoxdolls:
The dolls are supposed to be inspired by the Disney princesses I had the same confusion but when you actually read the box you’ll see it
From @toasterstrudel_6:
They are not supposed to be the characters it’s supposed to be people in the character merchandise ?
What Disney has to say about their ily 4EVER Doll Collection
Disney describes it’s ily 4EVER Doll Collection as having “magic in the details.”
Inspired by the confidence and style of today’s young dreamers, Disney ily 4EVER takes its cue from the Disney Princesses. Each Disney ily 4EVER doll comes with a surprise and the fashion-forward outfits and accessories can be mixed and matched so your child can create magic all their own.
Here’s the product description for the Princess Jasmine inspired doll who is depicted with white skin and long blonde hair:
Where will your child’s imagination take them next? With this Disney ily 4EVER doll inspired by Jasmine, playtime becomes the greatest ride of all. Wearing her on point outfit inspired by Disney’s Aladdin and topped off with a Minnie Mouse ears headband and a Mickey Mouse pretend balloon with a surprise inside, she’s ready for anything your child can imagine. A day of shopping? A music festival? Or maybe the best thing of all, hanging out with your best friend. Wherever they go, she’ll always remind them to let their heart decide.
Check out the whole beautiful doll collection at the shopDisney site and decide for yourself what toys are “woke” or not.
Lana has never lost a Disney Trivia night. Maybe it’s the hundreds of times she’s been to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, her love for Disney’s ’90’s era hand-animated musicals, or the fact that she’s often likened to cartoon characters, but Disney and its magic have a special place in her heart. Her favorite Disney experiences include the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, eating Mickey Bars on the PeopleMover, and crying during the Magic Kingdom fireworks show. One day she hopes to be chosen as the rebel spy on Star Tours. When Lana isn’t Park Hopping, she’s at home… More »
