Encanto Proves Disney Animation Has Finally Broken Its Worst Habit

screenrant.com:

Encanto has finally broken a recent Disney character animation habit. Now one of the most popular Disney movies, Encanto has been praised for its cultural representation of Latinx communities. Disney has represented a variety of cultures before, with princesses Mulan,  Pocahontas, Jasmine from Aladdin, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast inspired by locations all over the world. Yet Encanto takes diversity a step further by including a range of body and face types, skin tones, hair types, and ages in the Madrigal family.

Many Disney fans have been delighted to see Disney characters who look like them for the first time in the Colombia-inspired movie, and social media has exploded with fan art and costumed recreations from the show which celebrate Disney's expanding representation. If there's one thing that's clear from the audience reaction to the film, it's thatEncanto has struck a chord in no small part because of the cast of character's designs. This is made even more impressive given Disney's track record in this regard.

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Much of this social media success is a result of the fact that Encanto's characters have overcome Disney's recent habit of making its female characters look the same. Earlier characters like Mulan and Pocahontas were among many hand-drawn animated Disney characters based on real people, and show considerable variation in the shapes and sizes of their bodies and faces as a result. Yet more recent computer-generated characters such as Rapunzel from Tangled, Anna and Elsa from Frozen, and even police-rabbit Judy Hopps from Zootopia share the same skinny waists, rounded facial structures, large eyes, small noses, pointy chins, and light makeup.