Rosario Monachino
The Peter Pan live-action trailer has received more than 132,000 dislikes on YouTube in less than 24 hours after sharing its first look at Tinker Bell.
Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy follows Wendy Darling (Ever Gabo Anderson) and Peter Pan (Alexander Molony) as they travel to Neverland with her two brothers.
While there they face off against the evil Captain Hook (Jude Law) – who is Peter Pan’s archenemy.
The upcoming adaptation has been in the works since 2016 and finally, fans have been given their first glimpse of the film.
However, it has been met with mixed responses.
Watch the Peter Pan & Wendy trailer below…
The movie will be dropping on Disney+ on April 28 and the trailer shows off its great visuals, while also teasing fans with action sequences.
Although the trailer has been up for less than a day, it has already racked up more than 132,000 dislikes versus 25,000 likes from YouTube viewers.
Many viewers are outraged over the casting of Black actress Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell.
Fans are upset because the character was white and blonde in the original Disney animated movie – which had become synonymous with Tinker Bell’s design.
Viewers have now called out the film for ‘race swapping’ the character.
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One fan writes: “So in Peter Pan and Wendy, Tinker Bell is race swapped. Surprised, no not really because it’s the only thing Disney Studios is known for now.
“Clearly it’s not good storytelling or competent writing, all they do now is meet quotas and pander.”
Another says: “So instead of giving people of colour their own movies or making new movies with POC characters, they decided to just make white characters Black for some reason to be like, ‘Hey, we are so accepting we support everyone’.”
A third adds: “Disney formula: Remake every beloved classic into a mid and forgettable live-action version filled with their woke identity politics checklist.”
While someone comments: “Black Tinker Bell, Black Little Mermaid. Some writers to Disney: Shouldn’t we make original characters and original scripts instead?
“Disney: Nah let’s spend millions of cash on redoing old animation to live action.”
Another fan points out that there is a Black fairy who is part of Peter Pan lore and the film should’ve introduced her too, rather than reimagining Tinker Bell.
They pen: “I don’t like this, there was already a fairy like that before, her name was Iridessa the fairy of light and she was my favourite.”
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However, many fans are praising Disney for casting the first Black Tinker Bell in the new remake.
Little Mermaid actress Halle Bailey responded to the announcement: “Love!”
While one fan writes: “And that my people is how you end Black History Month!
“Yara you continue to make us proud academically and on the screen whatever you do you do with grace I love you.”
“My pretty pretty Tinker Bell! I love this for USSSSSSSSSSSS,” another adds.
While a third fan quips: “You’ve always been filled with magic.”
One of the Tinker Bell fans anticipated the potential backlash over a Black woman playing a fictional cartoon fairy, commenting: “Oh s***! America is going to fall apart again.”
Fans are also praising the film for casting Native American actress Alyssa Wapanatâhk in the role of Tiger Lily.
Previous live-action adaptations have been accused of whitewashing the character after white actress Rooney Mara played the role in the 2015 film Pan.
Wapanatâhk defended the upcoming film, claiming that the writers put in a lot of work to get Native American characters right.
Speaking to Natureviewpoint, the actress explains: “When I first read that script, I could see the change.
“The first time they told me that there was a cultural consultant team, I thought I need to be part of that team you know, all hands on deck.”
Peter Pan & Wendy will be available to stream on Disney+ from April 28.
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