Well, well, well. Look at this. Amidst all the politically correct virtue-shaming over cultural appropriation in the purchasing of Halloween costumes, a voice of reason emerges from Hollywood. A 17-year-old actress who was the voice of Disney’s Moana has come forward and encourages little girls – and their parents, too – to dress as her character for Halloween. I know. Bold, right?
This is where we are in the culture wars. Politics is downstream of culture is an apt declaration. The leftists dependent on identity politics to win elections and advance their political agenda know this to be true. Now a segment of the woke left in Hollywood wants to ruin the imaginary world of little girls. It may be that a 17-year-old, not so far removed from her own childhood, brings some common sense back to the debate.
For those not up on current Disney films, Moana is a Disney animated film about a young Polynesian princess, a chief’s daughter, who sails off in search of a demigod, a legend in the culture of her ancestors. She sails the open ocean and fights off monsters along her journey. She’s bold and brave and like most of today’s animated Disney princesses, not your mother’s princess. And, yes, the trend is to make the introduction of new princesses a way of introducing the audience into a different culture. I admit, I have not seen this movie, as my days of mandatory Disney film-viewing are long over.
Auli’i Cravalho is the Hawaiian-born actress who gives voice to the animated Moana. She’s not falling for the latest demands that children stop dressing up as Disney princesses and she’s encouraging them to go ahead and dress as Moana. She includes their moms in that, too. As a matter of fact, she says she searched for a costume in her size but has been unable to locate one. That seems a shame, especially given her Disney connections, but, whatever.
“I think it’s absolutely appropriate,” Cravalho, 17, tells PEOPLE. “It’s done in the spirit of love and for Disney and for the little ones who just want to dress up as their favorite heroine, I’m all for it.”
That’s exactly the right attitude. Little girls LOVE the Disney princesses. It’s a multi-billion dollar business, what with all the movie sales, costumes, games, and accessories being marketed to the kiddos. That stuff’s everywhere. I say, lighten up, liberal scolds. My son dressed up as Spiderman, Wolverine, and Batman on various years during his trick-or-treating days and I never worried that he’d grow up under the impression that those characters were alive and well in real life. Good heavens, encouraging an imagination in a young kid’s life is really important. Let them dream and play make-believe.
Back in 2016, when the movie was shown, Disney pulled a Moana costume from shelves over claims it was racist.
In 2016 — the year the animated film came out — Disney even pulled a Maui costume after customers deemed it racist. “The team behind Moana has taken great care to respect the cultures of the Pacific Islands that inspired the film, and we regret that the Maui costume has offended some,” Disney said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE at the time. “We sincerely apologize.”
So, I’m happy to read that major retailers are selling her costume again. Let the kids just be kids. Let them live in the land of make-believe as long as possible. There’s plenty of time in their lives as they grow up for reality to set in.
Let’s see if you can rock this #triviatuesday question! #Moana pic.twitter.com/F7j5X2CaJn
— Moana (@DisneyMoana) March 7, 2017
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