Disney World has quietly axed one of its classic characters from doing meet-and-greets at the park, which is a move that comes after the character was flagged internally for its controversial portrayal in films.
Tinker Bell, a character from Disney's (DIS) 1953 "Peter Pan" movie, first disappeared from Disney World during the Covid pandemic, along with every other character, as closures shut down the entire resort. When the theme park reopened, Tinker Bell never returned, and now her signage has reportedly been removed from Town Square Theater at Magic Kingdom, the only location where she used to conduct meet-and-greets with fans.
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Banners at the theater now only inform guests that they can meet “Master Magician Mickey Mouse,” and the only other places to spot Tinker Bell at the resort is during the Festival of Fantasy Parade, where you can see her waving at fans on the Peter Pan float. Fans can also see her take flight over the Magic Kingdom Park after the “Happily Ever After” fireworks show.
The move from Disney comes after it confirmed her disappearance from meet-and-greets at the resort in February.
“Disney character ‘meet and greets’ do change in the Disney Parks,” wrote a planDisney representative in response to a question about Tinker Bell’s disappearance. “It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the Walt Disney World Resort website for character updates”
Tinker Bell has reportedly faced scrutiny from Disney’s Stories Matter team ahead of the debut of Disney+ in 2019. The team reportedly flagged and labeled the character to Disney executives as "potentially problematic," claiming that she is “body conscious” and “jealous of Peter Pan’s attention,” according to a 2022 report from The New York Times.
Disney’s Stories Matter team was developed to spot and correct “negative depictions of people and cultures” in Disney’s products.
“We are reviewing our offerings beyond the screen, which include products, books, music and experiences,” reads the Stories Matter homepage on Disney’s website. “While advisories for negative depictions of people and cultures may be added to some offerings, others will be reimagined. We are also investing in new ways to better reflect the rich diversity of stories in our world. This work is ongoing and will evolve as we strive toward a more inclusive tomorrow.”
Disney’s initiative to clean up its portrayal of certain characters that it deems as problematic has been under scrutiny recently. Most notably, billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who aimed and failed to land several seats on Disney’s board of directors last month, claimed that people don’t go to see Disney movies for its messaging.
“People go to watch a movie or a show to be entertained,” said Peltz in an interview with the Financial Times in April. “They don’t go to get a message.”
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