Turning a great piece of animation into live-action filmmaking is always a challenge and rarely a task that everyone gets it right. Disney’s effort to adapt the 2002s Lilo and Stitch For example, its transformation into a live-action movie is already tickling everyone and it hasn’t even gone into production yet.
not just because Lilo and Stitch one of the most loved Disney animated films; It’s also one of the only Disney classics starring darker, non-white characters. But fans are angry that the studio has already dropped the ball when it comes to the racial makeup of the live-action cast, especially after major roles were announced this week.
Lilo and Stitch It tells the story of Lilo, a Hawaiian teenager, and her older sister, Nani. Nani tries to prove to Child Welfare Services that she’s fit to be Lilo’s guardian after the sisters’ parents die, but the stray Lilo can’t help but cause trouble. In the middle of this drama, things get even more chaotic when Experiment 626, aka Stitch, crashes onto an island from outer space and Lilo adopts him as his disastrous rebel dog – whereas Stitch is actually an alien criminal without anyone knowing. leakage.
Six-year-old Hawaiian actress Maia Kealoha will play Lilo in the upcoming live-action movie. The cast, which was announced last week, was given a reception. positive; he Pleasantand he bears resemblance to the feisty Lilo.
But the main thing is the actress who plays Nani. Lilo and Stitch lovers revolted. Sydney Agudong, 22, will play Lilo’s older sister in the movie. While Nani is dark-skinned and strong in the animated version, Agudong appears to be comparatively lighter-skinned and slimmer than her character. The cast created an instant uproar, with some critics denouncing Disney for seemingly acquitting an iconic non-white female lead in a homogeneous canon.
Scream is more intersectional than it seems. Agudong is biracial; Born and raised in Hawaii to a white mother and a half Filipino, half Hawaiian father. While Agudong identifies himself as Hawaiian – rightly so – his mixed-race heritage plays a part in why fans aren’t happy with the cast. This is in line with the long history of multiethnic peoples marginalized by groups that should be allowed to claim to be a part of themselves because they do not “wholly” belong to these groups. But the colorism prevalent in Hollywood continues to favor multiracial or otherwise fair-skinned actors, and Agudong undoubtedly benefits.
Still, Hawaiian Indians took to the internet to defend Agudong against those who tried to dismiss the actor, arguing that it was irresponsible to try to qualify his native status.
But the real issue is not Agudong’s ethnicity; Agudong is Hawaiian no matter how you slice it. That Disney had a chance to star in a dark-skinned woman in a highly anticipated movie and didn’t.
Following the news that Agudong would become Nani, Kahiau Machado would play Nani’s boyfriend, David, who is also a dark-skinned Hawaiian. Machado, though from Hawaii, looks lighter than its animated counterpart. Worse still, there are tweets claiming he did it. anti-black or otherwise racist feelings about him deleted social media accounts. Obviously, that didn’t help Machado win over the already skeptical Disney fans who were viewing this movie.
Lilo and Stitch currently experiencing the opposite problem The Little Mermaid has suffered. The upcoming live shot of 1989’s classic star Black singer Halle Bailey as the red-haired celebrity Ariel is fouling internet racists. However, inclusive casting is not a problem; In fact, it should be encouraged.
Dark-skinned men and women, even so, are often sent to supporting cast in Hollywood movies. And on the contrary Lilo and StitchThe Hawaiian heritage of its characters plays a major role in the film itself, The Little Mermaid about fish people with no real ethnicity. Of course people will be upset, especially in an industry that is famous for being fair skinned. (By the way, remember when Emma Stone literally played a Hawaiian woman in a movie. Aloha?)
Agudong and Machado could be great in the movie whose date has not been determined yet. They also don’t deserve the harassment they see on their public social media pages. But the consensus doesn’t seem to change the fact that their performance is a missed opportunity for a great representation and possibly just another win for colorism.
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