by Meghna Shanker
We all know the well known Disney Princess Rapunzel and her famous movie Tangled. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’d say you are not human! Now what if I told you that Tangled might be turned into a live-action movie? You’d be as thrilled as I am, but sadly that’s not the case. A fan account of the movie Tangled turned to TikTok and Twitter discussing who they thought would best fit the roles of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. PinkVilla This fan had picked ‘Mean Girls’ star Avantika to play Rapunzel. This shook the internet and not for the better.
Once this was posted many people had strong opinions and spoke out about their feelings in racist ways. Some go as far as saying “You aren’t white, you don’t have blonde hair.” “Are you blind your skin tone isn’t Rapunzel’s!” etc. When reading these I thought about the fact this is exactly what happened when people found Disney’s The Little Mermaid was also being turned into a live action movie which was starring Halle Bailey. People were so upset that it wasn’t a white person playing the role of Ariel.
When different races portray characters that are originally written as white, it starts discussion about racial representation in the media and the underlying issues of racism. With this being said it clearly highlights broader societal struggle with diversity and inclusivity within the areas of film. The criticism directed at non-white actors portraying traditionally white characters reveals underlying racial biases within society. It underscores a persistent resistance to seeing people of color in roles of significance or authority, even within the realm of fiction. This resistance is rooted in historical prejudices and a hesitance to embrace diversity or challenge prevailing conventions.
After one of the fans had taken down her post and sent another post explaining it was her own opinion and she never wanted Avantika to get so much hate for it, people still continued. Soon after Avantika took to Instagram shutting down the rumors by posting saying she was excited to be doing another Disney film ‘ A Crown of Wishes’ which was about a princess and was written by Roshani Chokshi. Times of India This situation just shows how people jump to conclusions before seeing what the whole story is. Just remember kindness before everything else, cause who knows what goes around comes around.
I had no idea this was even going on! I touched a little bit about a similar subject in my post. The actors never deserve the hate they receive over these decisions and it's honestly sad when they do get feedback in that way. I'm glad that the situation you spoke about with this actress is ending on a high note with another exciting and upcoming project.
-Logan Taylor
Rapunzel as a movie has always been a gem of a movie, so it's not surprising to see that the wrong kind of crowd may have latched on to it to start stuff. At the end of the day a movie should have actors who portray the character well and not have them be based off of complexion. People really need to step away from social media and get some hobbies rather than harass people for having fun.
I don't think it's a big deal either way if the actor looks like the character or not. I always wondered why this was such a point of emphasis for people as it's such a small aspect of the performance.
This was an interesting perspective on race switching in media. I've found that many of the reactions towards it are fairly unwarranted. I do in some way understand the idea of staying true to the source material, but at the same time, if it has little to know role in the plot, it really doesn't matter as much as some may think it does.
I wrote about something very similar and also used the 2023 The Little Mermaid as an example so it was interesting to read your point of view on a more specific part of this topic. I find it so crazy how fast you see someone's true biases and ideas come out with things like this. I understand wanting to have a remake be similar to your favorite movie, especially with highly popular movies like Tangled. But at the end of the day, who cares if rapunzels skin is dark and her hair is blonde I just want to see it glow magically! People are too protective about their favorite medias.