Regardless of the race of the actress the film looks like a disaster with all the shortcomings of modern Disney. I'm sure the actress they chose is fine, it's just the whole idea of miscasting characters to get twitter likes that bugs me.
This is pretty much what this is. And if box office receipts of the past five years are any indication, when movies do that so blatantly they tend to bomb. And bomb hard.
The audience is not stupid.
Disney claims they cast color blind, yet you know if it was a Latina character they were casting for they would not cast a German actress.
For a company that is supposed to be about "representation" it's strange to see them completely disregard Germans.
It is strange. And yet not without precedent from Disney of the last 10 years at their parks or their studios.
The very strict two-part rule seems to be.
1. If a story is based on traditional European literature (Hans Christian Andersen, European folktales, a long list of 19th century British authors, etc.) then the actors portraying those characters can be of any race, even if the story mentions the clearly European racial characteristics of the character (hair color, complexion, eye color, etc.).
Example #482 of this No Rules Casting concept from DCA's
Frozen at The Hyperion, portraying the most famous work of Scandinavia's most famous author Hans Christian Andersen set in a mythical Scandinavian land...
Shout out to that twink in the background! Steal that scene, my dear!
2. And yet, a five minute walk away in the same theme park, DCA had their wonderful
Tale of The Lion King show. This was based on a modern animated film created out of whole cloth by late 20th century Americans, that was based in a mythical African land where animals spoke English. There were no humans shown in The Lion King, only animals. And yet, this was the casting they mysteriously chose for that fun little show...
https:///wp-content/uploads/2019/06/06_2019__-DCA.01050b-800x400.jpg
I have no problem with mixed or opposite casting as a
fun, fresh take on an old classic that's been done normally to death in the past. I don't know anyone who has a problem with that. I remember being totally enchanted by that TV remake of Cinderella they did 25 years ago with that lovely young Black actress whose name now escapes me and a fresh diverse cast of supporting roles. Talk about fun TV! I still remember it decades later.
But there is clearly
a set of new and very strict rules Disney's casting agents and producers work by in this stuff. Especially in the theme parks.
If it's a traditional European story using European culture and peoples, then Open Casting rules automatically apply. But if it's a story based in Asia, Central or South America, or Africa using those cultures or peoples (or even animals), then Traditional Race Based Casting rules automatically apply.
It's absolutely fascinating how that must work for them and how strict it all is, but there we are.
