Will the next Disney princess have a damsel of her own? Disney directors say it’s possible.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, “Moana” Directors Ron Clements and John Musker bring hope to LGBT fans wishing for representation by an official Disney princess.
“It seems like the possibilities are pretty open at this point,” Clements said when asked about future plans for an LGBT princess.
Musker added: “It would be driven by a director or a directorial team that really wanted to push that and if [Disney Animation’s Chief Creative Officer] John Lasseter liked the idea, but I would say we haven’t ever really [had] restrictions placed on what we’ve done.”
He mentioned that the two directors have no control over what Disney does, but the pair is known for exploring “new territory.”
“Moana” was a new twist on the classic Disney princess. The namesake hero is Disney’s first Polynesian princess, which the directors describe as a “badass.” The pair also directed “The Princess and the Frog,” which made Tiana the first black princess in the Disney movieverse.
However, PinkNews points out that an LGBT princess may be a long ways away.
“Industry insiders say the likelihood of prominent gay characters appearing in Disney or Marvel films is remote for financial reasons, rather than creative ones,” they wrote.
“As Disney blockbusters and related merchandise are marketed across the entire world, they must pass compliance standards in countries with homophobic laws that ban any depiction of homosexuality.”
Live-action Disney film “Beauty and the Beast” had a “gay moment” which prompted markets around the world to threaten to ban the film, most notably Kuwait and Malaysia which followed through with their bans.