Things We Saw Today: Soul and Black Characters Who Didn’t Get Their Due in Animation

As Soul heads to Disney+ on December 25th, it has brought to life many conversations about the history of Black people in animation. Especially the tendency to turn Black characters into animals and other inhuman things. It is a part of Soul as well and sadly one of the things that makes me anxious about the film.

Andrew Tejada, writing for Tor.com, breaks down the disappointment about Tiana, Disney’s first Black American princess being a frog for half the time and how it meant to Black viewers to be denied their place in animation. While that is changing, movies like Soul, in which the lead character is an inhuman blue spirit for a chunk of the film, is a reminder of times past.

Tejada writes:

“When it comes to representing people of color in animation, we need more and more stories like Moana and Hair Love and Into the Spider-Verse. These movies are shining examples of how to represent characters of color. Moreover, they all proved that you don’t need to change the physical appearance of minority leads in order for audiences to embrace them. When you craft great animated stories about characters of color living in their worlds, people will support them. And maybe, just maybe, seeing these diverse characters in theaters will help audiences understand other realities, and other kinds of experiences, by seeing what someone who doesn’t look like them goes through every day. In the divided world of 2020, we could all use more empathy and understanding.”

(via Tor, image: Disney Pixar)

• We are sending love and support to John Mulaney for checking himself into rehab. (via Page Six)
• Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s real-life friendship is probably the only good thing to come out of that Wolverine movie. (via HuffPo)

• Here is the logo for Nightmare of the Wolf. A Witcher Anime film coming 2021. pic.twitter.com/vagw48L8NS

  — NX (@NXOnNetflix) December 21, 2020

• Eddie Izzard is using she/her from now own, the flag has been planted stop being an asshole about it. (via Vulture)
• The Amber Ruffin Show: Holiday Extravaganza is apparently fantastic. (via Pajiba)

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