Petition for Disney to make a "special needs" princess.

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**Grey Templar**

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/couple-petition-disney-for-a-down-syndrome-princess-101172954612.html

Disney princesses come from different races, even different species, if you count mermaids.

But one California couple believes that heroes or heroines with special needs are underrepresented, and so they’re petitioning Walt Disney Studios to create a Disney princess with Down Syndrome.

Keston Ott-Dahl and her wife Andrea are mothers to 15-month old Delaney. The couple keeps a blog DelaneySkye.com which chronicles the experiences of raising a child with Down Syndrome and offers a place for other parents to leave personal stories.

Otto-Dahl calls herself a huge Disney fan and admits that her daughter is “mesmerized” by princesses. But she wants the company to create a new character that special needs children can look up to, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

“I would love for Disney to make in their animated films … heroes, princes and princesses of all abilities so people like Delaney will feel included and more people with have compassion,” Otto-Dahl told the Sentinel.

Disney has featured characters with limited abilities like Nemo with his smaller fin, Quasimodo of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The petition commends Disney for great storytelling, but Otto-Dahl says there’s a lack of characters that represent disabled people:

“Disney does a great job of depicting right from wrong. It has long providing wonderful moral lessons that teach our children to be good people — but sadly, the company comes up short in one critical area. Its movies have almost no representation of disabled people, those often bullied and looked down upon by their fellow children. What wonderful lessons of diversity, compassion, and acceptance Disney could teach our kids if they promoted disabled characters as heroes and heroines in their beloved movies!”

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. The petition was posted earlier this month and to date has garnered over 42,000 of its 45,000 goal. According to the National Down Syndrome Society, one in every 691 babies is born with the chromosomal condition and over 400,000 individuals are living with Down Syndrome in the U.S.

While I'm sure the idea comes with good intentions, this is just a bad idea all around.

There is no way a special needs hero/heroine would not end up being offensive. Don't touch this with a 10,000 foot pole Disney!

What's Dakka think?

**cincydooley**

I think it's a terrible idea.

I'd be fine if they had a physically disabled princess if they could create the story organically enough that it didn't feel....in poor taste. I don't believe they can do that with a princess with a severe mental disability.

From a business standpoint, I just can't see it making any money, either.

**jreilly89**

I like the sentiment, but I agree, this is a REALLY hot issue. It's like releasing Joe, the butch lesbian princess, or Sam, the in transition princess. It's coming from the right place, but I think it just would send the wrong message and offend A LOT of people. I think most people who take care of/know someone with special needs will find this really insensitive, that special needs is just a joke.

Bottom line: don't go there, Disney. Stick to messing with Star Wars.

**doktor_g**

Ok. I think its ok idea. Marketable and good for a multimillion dollar sense for a fortune 500 conglomerate.

text removed.
Reds8n

**cincydooley**

The better solution would be to make a reoccurring character on a show like Doc McStuffins or Sophia the 1st that has downs syndrome and gets regular screen time.

As a full fledged Disney princess, it's simply a trainwreck of an idea in about 8 different ways.

**Pyeatt**

Disney princesses come from different races, even different species, if you count mermaids.

But one California couple believes that heroes or heroines with special needs are underrepresented, and so they’re petitioning Walt Disney Studios to create a Disney princess with Down Syndrome.

Keston Ott-Dahl and her wife Andrea are mothers to 15-month old Delaney. The couple keeps a blog DelaneySkye.com which chronicles the experiences of raising a child with Down Syndrome and offers a place for other parents to leave personal stories.

Otto-Dahl calls herself a huge Disney fan and admits that her daughter is “mesmerized” by princesses. But she wants the company to create a new character that special needs children can look up to, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

“I would love for Disney to make in their animated films … heroes, princes and princesses of all abilities so people like Delaney will feel included and more people with have compassion,” Otto-Dahl told the Sentinel.

Disney has featured characters with limited abilities like Nemo with his smaller fin, Quasimodo of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The petition commends Disney for great storytelling, but Otto-Dahl says there’s a lack of characters that represent disabled people:

“Disney does a great job of depicting right from wrong. It has long providing wonderful moral lessons that teach our children to be good people — but sadly, the company comes up short in one critical area. Its movies have almost no representation of disabled people, those often bullied and looked down upon by their fellow children. What wonderful lessons of diversity, compassion, and acceptance Disney could teach our kids if they promoted disabled characters as heroes and heroines in their beloved movies!”

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. The petition was posted earlier this month and to date has garnered over 42,000 of its 45,000 goal. According to the National Down Syndrome Society, one in every 691 babies is born with the chromosomal condition and over 400,000 individuals are living with Down Syndrome in the U.S.

.... Have they seen Brave?

**cincydooley**

doktor_g wrote:
Ok. I think its ok idea. Marketable and good for a multimillion dollar sense for a fortune 500 conglomerate.

I don't even think it's marketable. I mean, really, is there a market large enough to warrant it?

I say no.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Their website is..... off-puttingly self congratulatory.....

**hotsauceman1**

Wait, I thought October was Breast Cancer Awareness.
Also....Why? How would she be a hero? What would be do? If they have special needs......I give up, im going to go ponder if mermaids are humans or not

**Co'tor Shas**

I wouldn't mind if it was a natural thing, like getting in an accident, but only not if it is only to get a disabled princess.

**Relapse**

It seems like a day with not a lot going on if this is the news being put out.

**H.B.M.C.**

Tokenism neither solves anything nor helps anyone.

**Fafnir**

I present to you all, Princess Bleh

**Aesop the God Awful**

I actually think it's a great idea, but it should be perfectly executed, or not executed at all.

**Rusty Trombone**

What...Snow White wasn't close enough?

**d-usa**

cincydooley wrote:
The better solution would be to make a reoccurring character on a show like Doc McStuffins or Sophia the 1st that has downs syndrome and gets regular screen time.

As a full fledged Disney princess, it's simply a trainwreck of an idea in about 8 different ways.

That would most likely be the best solution.

**Bromsy**

I don't see this working out well.

**Mr. Burning**

cincydooley wrote:

Their website is..... off-puttingly self congratulatory.....

It smacks of me me me. which this petition seems to be about.

**Gitzbitah**

I suppose it isn't Disney, but Pixar gave us a hero with severely limited capabilites with WALL-E. Admittedly, he was an insane robot, who's limited brain capacity had been warped by hundreds of years of improvised maintenance and a steady diet of musical theater, but I think the results would be similar on screen.
I'm also having a very hard time imagining a fully realized Downs syndrome princess. We'd be far more likely to get a Princess missing a limb or being on the heavy side before Disney took that plunge.

**KingCracker**

cincydooley wrote:I think it's a terrible idea.

I'd be fine if they had a physically disabled princess if they could create the story organically enough that it didn't feel....in poor taste. I don't believe they can do that with a princess with a severe mental disability.

From a business standpoint, I just can't see it making any money, either.

I agree.

Pyeatt wrote:
Disney princesses come from different races, even different species, if you count mermaids.

But one California couple believes that heroes or heroines with special needs are underrepresented, and so they’re petitioning Walt Disney Studios to create a Disney princess with Down Syndrome.

Keston Ott-Dahl and her wife Andrea are mothers to 15-month old Delaney. The couple keeps a blog DelaneySkye.com which chronicles the experiences of raising a child with Down Syndrome and offers a place for other parents to leave personal stories.

Otto-Dahl calls herself a huge Disney fan and admits that her daughter is “mesmerized” by princesses. But she wants the company to create a new character that special needs children can look up to, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

“I would love for Disney to make in their animated films … heroes, princes and princesses of all abilities so people like Delaney will feel included and more people with have compassion,” Otto-Dahl told the Sentinel.

Disney has featured characters with limited abilities like Nemo with his smaller fin, Quasimodo of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The petition commends Disney for great storytelling, but Otto-Dahl says there’s a lack of characters that represent disabled people:

“Disney does a great job of depicting right from wrong. It has long providing wonderful moral lessons that teach our children to be good people — but sadly, the company comes up short in one critical area. Its movies have almost no representation of disabled people, those often bullied and looked down upon by their fellow children. What wonderful lessons of diversity, compassion, and acceptance Disney could teach our kids if they promoted disabled characters as heroes and heroines in their beloved movies!”

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. The petition was posted earlier this month and to date has garnered over 42,000 of its 45,000 goal. According to the National Down Syndrome Society, one in every 691 babies is born with the chromosomal condition and over 400,000 individuals are living with Down Syndrome in the U.S.

.... Have they seen Brave?

I laughed.

**Dreadclaw69**

What we really need is a Disney character who gets to choose the preferred pronouns we use to speak to that individual with. Oh, and a character with headmates.

Maybe we can call it Tumblrella.

**Ouze**

If you want to be technical, Dr. Donald Blake, the human form of Thor back when I read comics, was both handicapped, and a Disney Princess.

I don't know if he is still the human alter-ego of Thor.

**Frazzled**

Actually I could see a marketable concept, but not with Down Syndrome.

Put princess in a wheelchair and she becomes a superhero type. Some thing like that or someone blind. just don't make this a story about them becoming "whole," maybe coming to terms with themselves. This could be a hit.

Quick someone give me money!

**Mr. Burning**

Frazzled wrote:
Actually I could see a marketable concept, but not with Down Syndrome.

Put princess in a wheelchair and she becomes a superhero type. Some thing like that or someone blind. just don't make this a story about them becoming "whole," maybe coming to terms with themselves. This could be a hit.

Quick someone give me money!

Got to have a level of disability where they can sing - There needs to be a catchy song.

**Alpharius**

Tough call indeed.

Full disclosure - my youngest daughter is autistic, and I just can't see how this would end well at all for Disney.

As previously noted, it would be more beneficial to have special needs individuals appear on screen as major characters with a decent amount of screen time.

But other than that...

**cincydooley**

Mr. Burning wrote:
cincydooley wrote:

Their website is..... off-puttingly self congratulatory.....

It smacks of me me me. which this petition seems to be about.

Yeah....I found it really bothersome. The "media" section with all the articles that talks about them really turned me off.

Like I said before, I think its a great idea to have these characters represented in kids shows (and honestly, I'm surprised it isn't already happening more often), but I think it's very hard to make them lead characters due to the limitations in what you can do.

Obviously, we have some really great examples from TV shows like Glee (Downs), Breaking Bad(Cerebral Palsy), and Parenthood(autism).

Making one a full fledged Disney Princess would just be really, really, prohibitively hard to do.

**SlaveToDorkness**

Please,Oh please, make it a Princess with Tourette's Syndrome.
That'd make the musical numbers worth watching!

"Sooooomeday,when I can....BIG HAIRY BALLSACK.... fiiiind a waaaaay....STINKY POOPFACE!!!!!!"

**Frazzled**

Alpharius wrote:
Tough call indeed.

Full disclosure - my youngest daughter is autistic, and I just can't see how this would end well at all for Disney.

As previously noted, it would be more beneficial to have special needs individuals appear on screen as major characters with a decent amount of screen time.

But other than that...

Works for me. although I'm getting into the concept of a batgirl type good girl for the next Despicable Me/Mega Mind....

Of course who did Book of Life. The main heroine is...well dead...through most of it.

**LordofHats**

My first thought is; I like Timmy and Jimmy in South Park. Episodes centered on them do stand out in my mind. Yet, I can't help but feel that the reason Timmy and Jimmy work is that they're recurring characters. Would anyone really want to watch a show about either of them?

It sounds kind of harsh, but I think the reality is that no one really wants to watch something about someone with sever disabilities (at least of the nature in the OP). The only thing I can think of where this worked is Forest Gump, but then we've got every movie Adam Sandler has ever been in completely washing that movie out.

**Hulksmash**

SlaveToDorkness wrote:
Please,Oh please, make it a Princess with Tourette's Syndrome.
That'd make the musical numbers worth watching!

"Sooooomeday,when I can....BIG HAIRY BALLSACK.... fiiiind a waaaaay....STINKY POOPFACE!!!!!!"

I genuinely laughed out loud here at work. I got some looks....

**Frazzled**

I think Tropic Thunder had a view on this...