Agree or Disagree: Disney first Plus Size Princess

men with status:

• all white
• all men with status (kings, lords, michelin star chef, rich men)
• all older
• their fatness is a symbol of their status in society
• their fatness is celebrated on screen, showing them eating: big daddy is obsessed with tiana’s cooking, king hubert is shown eating from a banquet table (and having a fight with a fish as a sword), auguste gusteau is a celebrated chef)

comedic men:

• role is comedic
• marked out by their “weirdness” (black nerd, dirt-obsessed with strange accent, quirky inventor, calm spiritual, the “otherness” of the moc)
• racial stereotyping and depiction as humour: the overt racism of the native chief from peter pan, chien po drawn to imitate the buddha, the stereotype of rich arab men who enjoy leisure activities
• many of these characters are fathers or father figures

male villains/antagonists:

• characterised by greed, gullony, cruelty
• other “ugliness” associated (big noses, bad teeth, glasses)
• goofiness
• sense of failure, clumsiness, bumbling
• often ‘sidekick villain’

old women (with overlaps):

• comedic value
• often respected by characters in their media, but not because of their role (except mrs finster as a principal)
• caregivers, family-orientated
• comedy from being involved in actions not associate with age
• the woc have the “magic person of colour” thing going on; grandma fa with her luck charms, mama odie with her magic
• their age acts as an “excuse” for their fatness: fatness in older women, especially mother/grandmother figures is seen as comforting, soft, and allowances are made for older characters “not trying” when it comes to their appearance

female villains/antagonists:

• wrathful temper
• “ugly”
• their vanity used to mock them (ursula, queen of hearts)
• shown as controlling, often having “minions” to do their deeds for them

children:

• lilo is not fat, but by disney standards she is not the usual thin, so i’ve included her as relevant
• these characters are main characters in their media, although both share the spotlight (lilo/stitch, russel/carl)
• russell’s fatness is played for light laughs
• but largely they are saved from being demonised for their fatness by their innocence, or their fatness is deemed cute. they are also not given other “uglifying” features, like odd-shaped noses or bad teeth

wall-e:

• the fat characters in wall-e don’t fit into the above categories so neatly
• captain b is a hero of the story
• john and mary have a romance b-plot and are heroes during the climax
• but context has to be considered: every human character in wall-e is fat, and fatness is shown as the result of a terrible apocalypse-type situation.
• the physical comedy of fatness is also used, although there’s some explanation of “bone loss”, the fatness is still the visual gag
• even so, fat characters are shown to be pushing and overcoming their physical limitations in order to save the day; captain b when standing for the first time in however long, his fight with the autopilot; john/mary’s gradual decreased dependency on technology, and their work in the climax to save the children from getting hurt as the ship tilts

i’m not sure how to conclude this post, which was really just a thought that ran away with me. disney has long built villains around fatness, and to say that critique of disney along the likes of sexism, body image or anti-fatness are unnecessary or worthwhile is short-sighted. laughing or cringing at the idea of a “plus size princess” feeds into this idea that fat people are not worthy of lead roles or romantic plots, especially fat women. wanting a media largely consumed by children to be more inclusive is not “thinking too hard”.