“Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has been in talks with Disney to co-write an animated musical that would feature Disney’s first Latina film heroine. According to the New York Post, the project would be a follow-up to the 2016 Disney mega-hit, “Moana,” which Miranda co-wrote the score for.
Luis Miranda, Lin’s father confirmed to the Post that negotiations are taking place, saying “He is talking to Disney about a sequel to ‘Moana,’ but the movie would be about a Latina princess.”
Reps for Disney did not respond as of yet.
Disney has been criticized for its slow pace when it comes to including minorities in its big budget kid’s movies. Although Disney announced the addition of Elena to its princess franchise in a press release back in 2015, many voiced their concern that she was not really Latina.
According to the release, Elena, 16, is a “bold, caring, funny and clever” princess, and will be introduced in a special episode of Disney Junior’s TV series “Sofia The First” in 2016.
Disney didn’t specify that Elena is Latina, but rather “inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore.” The description immediately became reminiscent of Disney’s response to previous questions about whether “Sofia The First” was the company’s first Latina princess.
In 2012, a blogger asked Jamie Mitchell, the show’s executive producer, why Sofia’s mother had a darker complexion than the other characters. Mitchell responded, “She’s Latina.” The statement caused uproar, with many arguing that Sofia did not resemble the majority of the Latino population.
By: Maytinee Kramer
