Disney fans got treated to a full-circle moment this week, and it happened during the Disney Princess concert celebration at D23 Day. Brandy, Anika Noni Rose, and Halle Bailey, three women who each redefined what a Disney princess could look like, shared the stage together during “Disney Princess: The Ultimate Concert Celebration” at Disneyland Resort, and the internet has not stopped talking about it since.
The event brought together a star-studded lineup of women who’ve voiced or portrayed Disney princesses over the decades, including Jodi Benson, Paige O’Hara, Lea Salonga, Susan Egan, Auliʻi Cravalho, and Catherine Laga’aia. But it was Brandy, Rose, and Bailey standing together that hit differently for a lot of Black fans watching at home.
According to TheGrio, Brandy’s princess legacy began back in 1997 when she became the first Black actress to play Cinderella in Disney’s landmark television adaptation, starring alongside the late Whitney Houston as her Fairy Godmother. More than a decade later, Rose broke ground of her own as the voice of Tiana in 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog,” becoming Disney Animation’s first Black princess. Bailey carried that legacy into a new era in 2023, starring as Ariel in the live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.”
Seeing all three of them together on one stage meant something bigger than a typical reunion moment. Together, they represent nearly three decades of expanded representation for little Black girls who grew up wanting to see themselves reflected in fairy tales, and social media users made sure that significance didn’t go unnoticed.
Posts calling the moment “Black Girl Magic” quickly flooded timelines, with many fans pointing to what felt like a symbolic passing of the torch from Brandy to Rose to Bailey. Others reflected on watching three generations of Black Disney royalty celebrated together in real time, praising Disney for finally giving these women the recognition they’ve long deserved.
It’s worth remembering the road each of them had to walk to get here. Brandy’s “Cinderella” broke barriers for an entire generation of millennials who rarely saw themselves centered in a fairy tale. Rose’s Tiana became a cultural touchstone in her own right, even as fans spent years pushing for the character to get more on-screen attention and merchandise. Bailey, meanwhile, endured a wave of racist backlash ahead of “The Little Mermaid’s” release, only for the film to debut to critical acclaim and emotional reactions from young Black girls finally seeing a mermaid who looked like them.
Thursday night’s celebration served as a reminder that these milestones don’t exist in isolation; they build on each other. While the broader Disney Princess concert lineup spanned generations of beloved performers, for many Black fans, seeing Brandy, Rose, and Bailey together wasn’t just a nostalgic throwback. It was a celebration of how far representation in these stories has come, and a nod to the doors each woman helped open for the next.
The special will be available to stream on Disney+, giving fans another chance to relive the moment for themselves.
The post Disney Dream Come True! Brandy, Anika Noni Rose & Halle Bailey Unite For The First Time To Serve Black Princess Perfection At D23 appeared first on Bossip.
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