In article 1 of this tour, it was noted that Disney's attempt to reflect diverse cultures and races, including Western and Asian, in its characters and stories is an important strategy for Disney to develop its overseas markets. This is because the diversity of characters attracts a larger audience to those characters. Although diverse representations of Disney characters are now considered important, race relations and the representation of minority identities in Disney films have long been critically debated (Kimberlie, 23 Mar 2015). As you can see in the picture below, the main characters in Disney films are mostly white in percentage.
Before the 1990s, Disney was criticized for featuring racially stereotyped characters in its animated films. For example, the yellow skin and slanted eyes of the Siamese cat in "Lady and the Tramp" (1955) project an image of East Asians when they are portrayed in a bad light in Western society (Eve, 2014). They stereotype the image of Asians in Western society.
Later, with the advent of multiculturalism in the 1990s, minorities became more recognized in Disney films, and more complex representations, such as African-Americans, were seen. A prime example of this is "Pocahontas" (1995) (Eve, 2014). However, just as Mulan, as discussed in article 3 of this tour, is said to be Westernized and to look Chinese but
act American, Disney's multicultural representation became superficial, a composite based not on racism but on images, stereotypes, and fantasies of others (Eve, 2014).
And in The Princess and the Frog (2009), Princess Tiana, the only Black Disney princess, is introduced (Eve, 2014). She was praised as the very reality of an authentic African-American princess, not satirized and stereotyped like Mulan. However, in three-quarters of the whole film, Tiana is portrayed as a frog, and there is some criticism of Disney's reluctance to portray a black princess (Race in movies, n.d.).
Some discussions have arisen regarding the marketing of Disney Princess toys and merchandise. White princesses, especially Elsa and Cinderella have been the best sellers in Disney princess marketing merchandise, while dark-skinned princesses such as Tiana and Jasmine have been less successful (Painted-Starlight, 2018, May 31). As can be seen from the children's knapsacks pictured below, only five Caucasian princesses have been used in marketing and promotion (Painted-Starlight, 2018, May 31). There are also racial disparities in the marketing and merchandising of Disney products. The fact that the eyes on this Mulan toy are larger than those of Mulan in the movie may be strategized to be acceptable to many children.