Do characters even need to look like “real” people? 

Though Jasmine’s redesign may or may not look like something someone from Agrabah would “really” wear, it brings up an excellent question: do characters really need to look like where they are from? The fictionalized version of Pocahontas that was presented in the 1995 film of the same name bears almost no resemblance to the actual historical figure. So then why bother changing the iconic look of this character in the name of cultural accuracy? Even if her look now is just a little bit closer to a culturally and period accurate style of dress, it seems strange to mash up a "real" look with a fictional one together in a way that doesn’t really reflect either accurately.

Unfortunately, Jasmine’s new redesign is similarly confusing. We know the land of Agrabah is loosely based on Saudi Arabia (though Epcot travelers may associate Jasmine and Aladdin more with Morocco, which is on a different continent) but if we look at what women were wearing in the third century on the Arabian peninsula, this new outfit strikes out again, especially as women's garb before the seventh century in this part of the world wasn't particularly well-documented. Which leads us back again to our initial query: do fictional characters need to look "real"? If someone wants to know what a woman in the third century dressed like, they can visit a museum or do a Google search.

Image: Laura W

However, even though there are some questions about what women during this time period wore in this part of the world, we know exactly what Princess Jasmine looks like. However, with all these alterations, she's looking less and less like the classic Disney character many have grown up with and seems to be morphing into another strange hybrid that blends fact and fiction in a way that doesn't really pay homage to either.

Does the integrity of the original character design trump the historical realities of the period and culture being represented in the film? Should it? These aren't questions we can really answer, but they are definitely worth pondering, especially as Disney parks move into the future. 

Are more Disney Princess redesigns on the way?

Image: Laura W

Right now, only three Disney characters have gotten substantial redesigns in the past few months, and nothing has been announced regarding future changes to character designs. However, if we had to guess, we'd say that Disney is probably working on reimagining a whole new look for the entire princess line, and we'll probably see updates come to other characters in the coming months as well (a leaked photo shows an updated look for Elsa with a slightly sparklier cape, though there's no way to know whether this photo was just a test or something else). While more recent princesses like Rapunzel and Merida probably won't get as dramatic of an update as Jasmine, Mulan, or Pocahontas, it seems very likely that Disney is going to continue to create new looks for its most iconic characters in the coming months.

How do you feel about these recent character look changes? Do you appreciate Disney's attempt to make these characters a bit more representative of their respective cultures with new outfits, or would you rather Disney left the classic looks of these characters alone? Let us know what you think in the comments!