Featured Image Credit: Disney
Topics: TV And Film, Disney, Disney Plus
Jess Hardiman
Fans are full of praise for Disney’s first ever ‘plus-sized’ heroine in a new short film, saying the character will ‘mean so much to so many people’. Watch the trailer for the collection it's part of here:
Reflect is an animated short that was released by Disney as part of season two of its Short Circuit Experimental Films compilation.
It follows Bianca, a young ballet dancer ‘who battles her own reflection, overcoming doubt and fear by channeling her inner strength, grace and power’.
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In a clip, we see Bianca struggling with her confidence in class, her teacher reminds her: “Tight tummy! Long neck!”
Her reflection in the mirror then shatters, symbolising the broken way in which she sees herself while living with body dysmorphia.
The short film, directed by Disney animation artist Hillary Bradfield - who has worked on the likes of Encanto and Frozen 2 - dropped on Disney+ last month, and has since become a huge topic of conversation online, with many Disney fans thrilled to see such representation on screen.
One tweeted: “16 year old me needed this Disney short before I quit ballet because I didn’t want to be the fat girl in class anymore. I’m glad little ones will have this. 10/10 for Reflect!”
The character is also getting a lot of love over on TikTok, too, where many others are highlighting just how important the narrative is.
Posting clips from the film, one TikToker explained: “Disney have released a short called Reflect that covers body dysmorphia and body positivity. It follows a plus-sized ballet dancer who struggles looking at herself in the mirror whilst enjoying what she loves.
“She finds herself trapped in a state of fear and doubt, but overcomes all of this by channelling her inner strength and finding love for herself.”
In the caption, they added: “This plus size Disney ballet dancer will mean so much to so many people.”
Some also shared their own experiences to show just how much the new film ‘resonates’ with people, with one writing: “She looks exactly like me when I was her age! I was in the same situation in dance classes.”
Another added: “This resonates with me, I developed body issues when I was young in ballet. So I quit. I’m so excited for this.”
Many people even called for Bianca to get her own feature-length movie, with one saying: "SHE'S SO CUTE I hope they put her in a whole movie!"
You can watch Reflect on Disney+ now.