Disney’s recent attempts to “modernize” its classic fairy tale films are not acts of empowerment – they are acts of cultural desecration and ethnic erasure. These stories were never broken and didn’t need fixing. Yet, the company continues to strip them of their original cultural and ethnic roots, revise beloved characters beyond recognition, and alienate the very audience that made Disney a global powerhouse in the first place. There’s a reason these movies are called classics. Stories like Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty have endured because they speak to timeless human experiences such as love, hope, suffering, sacrifice, transformation, and wonder.

These tales were also rooted in specific European folklore and were respectfully adapted by Disney’s early artists to reflect the original cultures that inspired them. That authenticity is part of what made them magical. Now, instead of celebrating that legacy, Disney appears intent on rewriting it and stripping it of its origins instead. Casting decisions at Disney and beyond are also now made based on modern trends and politics rather than respect for historical, ethnic and cultural roots. The Little Mermaid, a story from Danish folklore, was “reimagined” with a Black actress in the role of Ariel. Snow White, whose European German identity is literally defined by “skin white as snow,” was played by Latina actress Rachel Zegler who is half Colombian and also played Puerto Rican protagonist Maria in West Side Story.

Neither of these actresses accurately represent nor resemble the ethnic group from which the story originates. Even the classic songs are either eliminated or reinterpreted. But why does any of this matter? Because cultural, historical and ethnic origins matter and their inclusion in stories needs to be consistent for everyone. No one would consider casting White actors in roles like Mulan, Pocahontas, Moana, or Aladdin. Nor should they. These adaptations work because they retain both their magical qualities and their realistic elements. Successful storytelling works when it retains magical elements central to telling the story, such as magic carpets, genies, and fairy godmothers, and when it also conserves the realistic elements which give it anthropological context, such as the real cultures, time periods and ethnic groups from which the story originates.

If representation matters, then that needs to be universally and consistently applied and matter for everyone or no one at all. Disney and Hollywood claim that casting which is inaccurate to real people, time periods and culturally rooted stories is about inclusion and empowerment. However, true inclusion comes from creating original characters and stories that celebrate a range of cultures authentically, not from rewriting someone else’s heritage or replacing their representation and calling it progress. Classic Disney films and original stories were painstakingly crafted with original music, scripts, animation, and character design which honored their cultural and ethnic origins.

They weren’t just “products of their time,” they were timeless works of art that will be enjoyed by every age and future generation for as long as humans exist, and that is a profound, powerful legacy to have and one which I am sure would make Walt Disney proud. Hollywood and Disney’s most recent strategy, however, instead seems to be using storytelling and casting as a way to promote messaging and values that aren’t relevant to the story they’re telling. They want an audience to develop an emotional connection with a story while stripping it of its relevant cultural, historical, and ethnic origins, which are what allow the story to make sense within its setting and context in the first place.

The result is media which irritates the fan base, performs poorly, and produces a piece demeaningly stripped of its ethnic and cultural origins. The bottom line is that ethnic representation and historical continuity actually matter for everyone – including White people and European history, folklore and cultures. This is not about racial loyalty, it is about mutual respect for heritage, no matter whose it is. It is not progressive, ethical or respectful to erase or debase one culture or ethnic group in the name of uplifting another, strip a story of its ethnic or cultural origins, or change original characters as they were intended by their creators. Our solution is not to rewrite the past, it is to invest in the future – create original characters and build new worlds.

Progress does not come at the expense of legacy, authenticity or any ethic group’s erasure from their own heritage. If Disney and Hollywood truly want to empower their audience, then start by listening to us – stop erasing White people from their own stories based on and rooted in European folklore, histories, and cultures. Instead, create original content which consistently respects its ethnic, historical and cultural origins, no matter what they are. We are hungry for compelling and authentic content which respects, reflects and honors its ethnic, historical and cultural foundations – if only you would listen.

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