Disney Envisions Princesses To Have Diverse Black Roots With Collaborative Dolls
Disney princesses are among the very first figures that young girls look up to. However, this means many children grow up believing that a single look is the ideal, and they end up chasing an image that doesn’t represent their heritage.
Disney has flipped the script in recent years, introducing more diverse characters like Tiana, Moana, and Halle Bailey as the new Ariel. Now, it has worked with Black-owned photography studio CreativeSoul—founded by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt—to transform their inspiring portraits into special-edition art dolls.
The upcoming CreativeSoul Doll Collection recaptures classic princesses through a more diverse lens, illustrating the African diaspora with vibrant colors and textures, as well as naturally-textured hair. Gowns have been enlivened with ethnic fabrics and adornments as a nod to rich Black culture.
Mirroring the couple’s own photography series of Afrocentric Disney princesses, the range of Tiana, Snow White, Rapunzel, and Cinderella dolls are pictured in power poses to depict the beauty and strength of diversity, beaming new ideals for youth of color.
Disney noticed the duo’s work one day and reached out to create the dolls together, the couple shares with PetaPixel. The Bethencourts were involved throughout the process of developing the dolls, from selecting the characters’ skin tones, hair textures, molds, fabrics, and accessories to photographing them.
“Our mission has always been to bring bold inspiring images of people of color to life,” Kahran Bethencourt expresses in a news release.
“We are both excited and proud of this project and hope that through the lens of photography, it will help further empower young girls of color and show they can be a princess too,” says Regis Bethencourt.
The regal dolls will retail for US$59.99, and will go on sale from February 3 at the shopDisney website, Walt Disney World Resort, and Disneyland Resort. To mark the launch, the couple will be present at Walt Disney World Resort’s EPCOT International Festival of the Arts for book and doll signings from February 3 to 5. Photographic prints of the original human models—including a bonus image depicting Elsa—will also be on display.
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[via PetaPixel and Walt Disney World News, images via various sources]
