Peter Pan & Wendy‘s own Tinker Bell, Yara Shahidi, is opening up about her experience working on the Disney live-action remake of the beloved children’s tale, particularly how she dealt with the immense backlash to her casting.
The news of the Grown-ish star being picked by Disney to bring this new version of the vivacious fairy to life was met with immediate resistance, much like what happened with Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey before her. Audiences found a problem with the characters not being cast according to their race in the original animated films, despite fairies and mermaids being mythical creatures that exist outside of any such groups.
Speaking to People, the 23-year-old stated that Disney’s commitment to “doing more than just swapping out ethnicities” is what motivated her decision to take on the character. The company’s goal, she shared, was to tell “a story that feels reflective of the times that we’re in.” As the daughter of an African-American woman and an Iranian man, Shahidi reflects the multiculturalism of American society — a reality that the media has often failed to keep up with.
Even though spaces for different faces and different voices weren’t available when movies like Peter Pan and the Little Mermaid were made, if Disney really is planning on giving each of their classics a live-action remake, it only makes sense that the Mouse House moves to fix the mistakes of its past.
For Shahidi, the best part about playing Tinker Bell was letting her hair down (figuratively speaking, since she’ll be sporting the trademark Tinker bun the whole time).
“I think as Black and Brown actors, our work worlds can be so serious. There’s a pressure to always make a statement. While I can argue that there’s something really powerful about having a Black Tinker Bell, I think this job reminded me how much I enjoy the creativity of what I do, the playfulness and that feeling of growing up.”
Peter Pan & Wendy arrives on Disney Plus April 28, 2023.