Skinny Disney Characters Look Anorexic, Spur Outrage

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, August 30, 2012

Disney has paired some of its beloved characters with Barneys New York in a new ad campaign that has many furious.

Characters including Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and Daisy Duck appear in ads called "Electric Holiday" and appear to have undergone makeovers. The iconic cartoons are seen with rail-thin necks, protruding clavicles, and waif-like bodies.

Many people are criticizing the ad campaign for revamping the character's appearances in fear that the images could negatively affect children's ideas about health and body image.

The ads also feature a 3-D film for the holidays featuring the famed Disney staples as supermodels. In it, Minnie Mouse is seen in Paris where she encounters high fashion friends such as Cruella de Vil, Snow White, and many more, reported Women's Wear Daily.

On Twitter, users were in a frenzy over the Disney characters' new looks.

"I am not ok with the (literal) skinny minnie in the Disney [ad] for barneys campaign," wrote Sara. "That mouse needs a cookie."

Saira posted, "I do NOT find anorexically (sic) skinny to be beautiful! Disney needs to rethink how it will speak to the children!"

"This is unreal," posted Julia, while Austin wrote, "This is pathetic," in response to one headline that read, "Disney & Barneys New York have given Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck & co 'Skinny makeovers.'"

The Barneys ads are not the first to cause uproar over altered Disney characters. A plastic surgery center in Venezuela called Clinica Dempere gave Disney's Princess Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" a makeover complete with a pair of legs, lip enhancement, and breast augmentation.

In response to the ad, many people expressed outrage at the idea that women needed surgery in order to have their wishes come true. Others pointed out that the ads wrongly influenced very young girls who often look up to Disney princesses.