Disney Debuts First Animated Heroine to Struggle with Body Image
Disney Animation/Twitter
Reflect, a new short film on Disney+, explores the challenges young people often face with body image, and fans are praising the concept.
An episode in the latest season of Short Circuit Experimental Films, the story centers around Bianca, who feels out of place in her ballet class and worries she is lesser-than her classmates. Battling her reflection, she channels her inner strength to help overcome her self-doubt by immersing herself in dance. She eventually comes to appreciate the body that had before caused her feel unsure of herself.
Director Hillary Bradfield, who worked as a storyboard artist on Avatar: The Way of Water, says it's all about body positivity. "I feel like I'm a very body-positive person in principle," she said in the series. "But when it's on a personal level it's a lot harder to be body positive."
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Disney Animation/Twitter
"Setting the story from a dancer's perspective seemed just natural," Bradfield said. "It's part of the craft to be looking at your posture and checking things in the mirror, so it just seemed like a really good way to put her in that environment where she has to look at herself but she doesn't want to."
"When people watch the short, I hope they can feel more positively about themselves and how they look, and feel okay about the tough parts of the journey," she said. "Sometimes you go to the dark place to get to the good place and that just makes the good place that much more beautiful."
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The new programming was created to give a voice to a wider variety of people and stories — any of the artists at Disney Animation Studios can pitch an idea and have an opportunity to create their own short film.
So far, Reflect has received a lot of praise by fans who can relate to Bianca's character.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Disney+ FINALLY made a short with a Plus Size lead! It’s called Reflect and it’s part of the Short Circuit short series. Let’s just say I was SOBBING
— Coriander (@cori_ander28) October 4, 2022
"THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Disney+ FINALLY made a short with a Plus Size lead!" one fan wrote on Twitter. "Let's just say I was SOBBING."
Another commenter responded with a similar sentiment. "16 year old me needed this Disney short before I quit ballet because I didn't want to be the fat girl in class anymore," she wrote.
16 year old me needed this Disney short before I quit ballet because I didn’t want to be the fat girl in class anymore. I’m glad little ones will have this. 10/10 for Reflect! https://t.co/WAqEt3Tdpa
— Meg Potter (@MeganPotter_) October 26, 2022
"I'm glad little ones will have this," the second fan added. "10/10 for Reflect!"
President of Disney's General Entertainment Content Karey Burke told employees in March that Disney aims to have at least half of its characters come from "underrepresented groups."
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