Disney has some of the most beloved shows and movies of our childhoods, but rarely did we see Black characters, which is why we proudly cheer Halle as The Little Mermaid has proved to be a huge blockbuster. And while there were never enough Black characters in a Disney production,we must look back at some of the great ones that included, Black actors, shows and movies that still bring us joy.
In December 2022, Grammy Award-winning artist, H.E.R., played Belle for the live-action Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Anniversary on ABC. She showed off her incredible electric guitar skills while portraying the princess, which was a badass way to make the classic character her own!
The coming-of-age series, The Famous Jett Jackson, premiered in 1998 following Jett Jackson (played by Lee Thompson Young), an action-hero actor who moved his show from California to his hometown in North Carolina in hopes of having a regular teenage life. There was also a movie, Jet Jackson: The Movie, released in 2001 based on the show.
Wade, voiced by Tahj Mowry, from the animated series Kim Possible was the ten-year-old eyes and ears of the high school crime-fighting spy, Kim Possible. Wade was the tech genius who would create gadgets, give Kim Possible her missions, run Kim’s website and operate her Kimmunicator.
Zendaya’s first acting roles were on Disney Channel as she played Rocky Blue in Shake It Up, a background dancer for a popular local show, and K.C. Cooper in K.C. Undercover, playing a daughter adjusting to high school while being in a secret agent family. She starred in the show alongside Trinitee Stokes, Kamil McFadden, Family Matters’ Tammy Townsend, and A Different World’s Kadeem Hardison.
Disney’s sweetheart— Raven-Symone, starred alongside Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, Kiely Williams, and Sabrina Bryan in Disney’s first musical original movie, The Cheetah Girls (2003). The film series followed four high school girls working to become global superstars. The group released 3 albums and went on 3 tours. Raven left the group before the third movie was released in 2008. Unfortunately broken friendships, ensued, so we may never get a Cheetah sisters reunion.
Let it Shine (2012) is a Disney Channel Original Movie about a shy rapper played by Tyler James Williams. He wins a music contest despite coming from a family where rap music is demonized. The star-studded cast includes Courtney B. Vance, Chloe and Halle Bailey, Coco Jones, Trevor Jackson, and Algee Smith.
She has a diagnosis! Doc McStuffins premiered on Disney Junior in 2012 and ended in 2020. The seven-year-old dreams of being a doctor like her mother and in her imagination helps her toys with their illnesses and injuries. Doc McStuffins was voiced by Kiara Muhammad and Laya DeLeon Hayes. Loretta Devine voiced one of the stuffed animals on the show as well.
Tiana voiced by Anika Noni Rose was Disney’s first Black princess: Tiana. The Princess and the Frog (2009) was criticized for making the first Black princess a frog for a majority of the film, but the film did kick open the door for more Black animated characters in Disney films. The voice acting included Jenifer Lewis as Mama Odie, Oprah Winfrey as Eudora, Keith David as Dr. Facilier, and Micheal-Leon Wooley as Louis.
Jamie Foxx voices Joe Gardner in the tear-jerker film, Soul (2020). Joe is Disney Pixar’s first Black lead and won two Academy Awards in 2021 for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.
The Proud Family will push your buttons and make you wanna hug’em. The animated show focused on Penny Proud, voiced by Kyla Pratt, and her school and home life experiences as a young Black girl, trying to obey her parents, keep her cool in a chaotic yet loving household, and also have fun with her friends. The show ended in 2005, but was revived in 2022.
The Madrigal family in Encanto (2021) shines a light on Afro-Latinx families with the characters Antonio, Felix, Camilo, and Dolores. The characters were also voiced by Afro-Latinx people.
Alisha Hawthorne voiced by Uzo Aduba is Buzz Lightyear’s best friend and Izzy Hawthorne voiced by Keke Palmer is Alisha’s granddaughter in Lightyear (2022), an origin story about Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear.
The love story we never truly got to see, Chad (Corbin Bleu) and Taylor (Monique Coleman) in High School Musical (2206). In the movie series, the two are seen together from time to time, sharing a few hugs, and a proposal, but there were never separate scenes with them coming together as a couple. Although we didn’t get the ending we wanted in the movies, it’s so sweet that they’re still great friends today.
Our favorite Hollywood twins, Tia and Tamera Mowry starred in Sister, Sister (1994). The show also had a fabulous cast with Jackée Harry as Lisa Landry, Tim Reid as Ray Campbell, and Marques Houston as Roger.
Trina McGee-Davis played Angela, Topanga’s best friend in college, and Shawn’s love interest in Boy Meets World (1993). Unfortunately, Trina revealed in 2020 that she experienced racial mistreatment by her co-stars and staff, and in 2022 said that she was told to “turn down” her Blackness while on the set of the show.
A musical prodigy, Chyna Parks, attending a school for children with advanced talents was played by China Ann McClain in A.N.T. Farm (2011). Her older brother, Cameron Parks, was played by Carlon Jeffrey.
This show was only on television for 3 seasons, but Tahj Mowry, brother of Tia and Tamera Mowry, played T.J. Henderson in Smart Guy (1997). The show follows the genius: T.J. The little smarty suddenly moves from fourth grade to high school.
The cast may be lions, hyenas, and birds, but some of them are voiced by Black people in The Lion King (1994). The 1994 voice cast had James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, Robert Guillaume as Rafiki, Madge Sinclair as Sarabi, Jason Weaver as Simba, and Niketa Calame as Nala. The 2019 cast is also mostly Black voice actors including Beyoncé and Donald Glover.
Stop running in his lobby! Phill Lewis was the strict Tipton Hotel manager in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005) and The Suite Life on Deck (2008).
