Disney’s newest animated short film stars its first plus-size female lead who struggles with her reflection due to body image and self-esteem issues. The story centers around Bianca, who feels out of place in her ballet class and worries she is lesser than her classmates. The audience follows Bianca as she discovers how to face her reflection and confront her fears by using her confidence through dance. Bianca is the only plus-size student in her class of thin girls, and viewers can see her flinching when she catches a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror. She is reminded by her ballet instructor to have a “tight tummy” and a “long neck.”
Ballet dancers are expected to look a certain way, since ballerinas are typically portrayed as slim and tall, exposing them to a variety of body issues starting at such a young age. Director Bradfield set the story from a dancer’s perspective because it “just seemed natural” as “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.”
In fact, the pervasiveness of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Eating Disorders (ED) among ballet dancers is much higher than that of the general population. Bradfield addresses the issue of a young girl who struggles with body positivity, a topic that resonates with several women and young girls and has already attracted a lot of support from the general public. There have been comments such as “I wish I could have seen this when I was younger! But so happy things are changing!” and “this is very encouraging and I am glad Disney decided to include a ‘plus-sized’ heroine,” one person tweeted. Another commenter added, “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.”
However, despite Disney taking a step in the right direction, some have said the film “isn’t long enough to parse nuances of the message.” The first plus-size female lead is featured in a 5-minute movie, but due to the lack of dialogue and short running time, younger viewers might not understand the story’s message. Representation and inclusivity are crucial because everyone deserves to see a Disney princess who looks like them. Disney has recently been trying to reframe their image by releasing more content featuring diverse characters and addressing its historical racism and sexism.
There is still some controversy surrounding animators who release films with POC leads who transform into animals, such as in The Princess and the Frog, Brother Bear and more recently with the release of the film Turning Red, in which the Asian protagonist transforms into a red panda. Short films like “Reflect” are the first step in Disney’s efforts to increase inclusivity and diversity with its characters. Future generations may see a plus-size princess or an LGBTQ+ princess if Disney keeps moving in the right direction to improve its representation.
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