Disney's Bianca, plus-sized ballerina heroine, is met with mixed fan reactions - NPR

Disney introduces its archetypal plus-sized heroine successful its caller abbreviated movie Reflect. Walt Disney Animation Studios/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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Walt Disney Animation Studios/Screenshot by NPR

Disney introduces its archetypal plus-sized heroine successful its caller abbreviated movie Reflect.

Walt Disney Animation Studios/Screenshot by NPR

Disney, a institution that's some perpetually groundbreaking and perennially down the times, revealed its archetypal plus-sized heroine past month, leaving fans some frustrated and inspired.

Bianca, a young ballerina with nary spoken lines, stars successful a two-minute abbreviated titled Reflect.

The movie premiered past period arsenic portion of Short Circuit, a bid of experimental animated shorts disposable lone connected Disney+, but is gaining caller attraction connected societal media this week arsenic much and much viewers observe the content.

Bianca's struggles with self-image service arsenic the film's crippled driver

Reflect opens connected Bianca, whose creation acquisition is rapidly dampened by self-doubt aft the teacher chides "tight tummy, agelong neck" and she reviews her ain tummy successful the mirror.

The solid cracks and Bianca is swiftly sucked into a acheronian and ominous space, wherever (spoiler alert) she indispensable creation without inhibition to successfully conflict her reflection.

Director Hillary Bradfield, champion known for her enactment connected Disney films Encanto and Frozen II, says she based the movie connected her ain experiences with assemblage image.

"I consciousness similar I'm a precise assemblage affirmative idiosyncratic successful principle. But erstwhile it's connected a idiosyncratic level, it's a batch harder to beryllium assemblage positive," she says successful an interrogation that airs arsenic portion of the episode.

"Sometimes you spell to the acheronian spot to get to the bully place, and that conscionable makes the bully spot truthful overmuch much beautiful."

Fans person interpreted the film's reflector iconography arsenic a motion Bianca whitethorn beryllium struggling with assemblage dysmorphia.

The Mayo Clinic, which defines the intelligence wellness disorder arsenic the inability "to halt reasoning astir 1 oregon much perceived defects oregon flaws successful your appearance," says that those with assemblage dysmorphia often make compulsive routines, including excessive grooming and the predominant usage of mirrors.

The word has been trending connected societal media platforms this week aft Taylor Swift edited the connection "fat" disconnected of a standard successful a caller euphony video, igniting a wide-ranging societal media conversation astir eating disorders, assemblage dysmorphia and fatphobia.

Disney's 99-year past has been marked with racism, sexism and exclusivity

Disney has historically depicted plus-sized pistillate characters arsenic extras oregon villains successful crisp ocular opposition to whisper-thin princess protagonists.

Some caller heroines, including Moana and the Encanto siblings Luisa and Mirabel, person been celebrated for modeling much realistic assemblage types. But the institution has besides caught flack for others, including a 2016 abbreviated movie quality whose waist was astir thinner than her neck.

Other caller Disney Films person been praised for including characters with a scope of assemblage types, similar Luisa successful Encanto. Disney/Getty Images hide caption

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Disney/Getty Images

Other caller Disney Films person been praised for including characters with a scope of assemblage types, similar Luisa successful Encanto.

Disney/Getty Images

Always trying to support its mainstream popularity, Disney pledged successful 2020 to "consciously, purposefully and relentlessly champion the spectrum of voices and perspectives successful our world."

Some said the timing of the pledge, which was portion of its motorboat of the "Stories Matter" initiative, was a too-little-too-late attack to radical justness pursuing years of racism successful everything from its films to its taxable parkland rides.

And the contented that's aired since past mightiness champion beryllium described arsenic a give-and-take attack to representation.

Take Disney's stances connected LGBTQ+ issues for example.

The diagnostic movie Lightyear released earlier this year included an on-screen buss betwixt 2 cheery characters. Another country from the amusement Baymax featured a trans antheral buying menstrual products.

But Disney didn't rally against Florida's "Don't Say Gay" measure until employees began walking out and accusing executives of cutting queer content. And adjacent then, Disney kept donating to immoderate of the bill's sponsors.

Fan reactions to Reflect have been thoroughly mixed

Social media users person questioned Disney's intentions down Reflect, saying the two-minute magnitude didn't permission capable country for nuance, and the connection of assemblage positivity was muddled by making Bianca's self-image the superior crippled driver.

"Hey Disney, present bash abdominous characters that aren't tragic and whose stories don't revolve astir their weight?" 1 Twitter idiosyncratic posted this week.

Another dared Disney to "put the abdominous miss connected screens for 2 hours, cowards."

But for others, Bianca serves arsenic a measurement toward the close benignant of practice — oregon astatine slightest the speech starter.

"I RAN to ticker this short," a Tik Tok idiosyncratic posted alongside a video of herself successful tears.

Another recovered the movie gave her a accidental to, well, reflect.

"Growing up I was ever the biggest miss successful my ballet classes," she posted. "I would springiness thing to amusement this to my younger aforesaid and accidental it'll beryllium ok."