“Cinderella” was my favorite Disney princess growing up. I had everything “Cinderella” themed: pajamas, posters, shirts, shoes, etc.
The original “Cinderella” movie was made in 1950. Between 1949 and 1950 the BIPOC community was segregated from whites by law. Brown v Board of Education declared segregation unconstitutional in 1954.
Looking back Disney failed at representing everyone in their movies.
I feel that it is hard to look at the flaws of “Cinderella”, because of the little girl inside who continues to love it. But, I do want to recognize the privilege it was of seeing this white princess on a screen.
Many little girls in the BIPOC community did not get that opportunity.
In 1957 the “Cinderella” Musical was written by Rogers and Hammerstein’s and was one of the only musicals written specifically for television. In 1997, the musical was revived and it was the first production of “Cinderella” to star a black woman. The musical featured Brandy Norwood as Cinderella, Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother, and Bernadette Peters as the Step-Mother.
Watching this musical, you can see the amount of diversity and how it really reflected the world we live in today.
The Fairy Tale Godmother did some “Bib bidi Bob bidi Boo” magic and changed Disney for the better.