Brandy Fans Rejoice Over Her Return To An Iconic Character In Disney Plus’ New ‘Descendants’ Movie

Never mind all the bluster about Halle Bailey‘s starring role as The Little Mermaid. The real first Black Disney princess was Brandy. Back in 1997, the R&B icon starred in a made-for-TV production of Cinderella as the titular orphan alongside Whitney Houston as her fairy godmother. For years, Rodgers And Hammerstein’s Cinderella was consigned to the VHS collections of ’90s kids until making its debut on Disney+ in 2021 (Bernadette Peters played the wicked stepmother, a true triumph of casting).

But it turned out that Disney wasn’t content just to bring back the original movie. Late last year, it was announced that Brandy’s Cinderella — along with her Prince Charming, Paolo Montalban — was returning in the latest installment of the Descendants film series, which revolves around the children of Disney heroes and villains (Rita Ora is also cast to play the Queen of Hearts). Today, fans got their first look at the reunited couple in their reprised and revamped roles and caught all the feels, gushing on Twitter about the surge of nostalgia the sight brought on.

Of course, plenty of attention was lavished on a long-running gag about the genetics of the original TV movie continuing in the new one. Montalban, who plays the prince (Christopher Rupert Vwindemier Vlandamier Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James), is Filipino, while his parents, the king, and queen, were portrayed by Victor Garber and Whoopi Goldberg. Suffice it to say, it’s been a source of endless, head-scratching delight for fans of the movie for the past 26 years.

Well, the tradition apparently continues; Cinderella’s son, Chad, is portrayed by Jedidiah Goodacre, who had previously appeared in the prior movies in the series. He’s obviously, well… not Black or Filipino. This is an amusing byproduct of his casting back in 2015 when no one had any idea what the series’ king and queen would look like. Now, it’s an accidental but hilarious nod to the colorblind castings of yesteryear and fans couldn’t help but point that out.

And, of course, for those poo-poo-ing the announcement out of ignorance and bigotry, fans had plenty to say about them as well:

Descendants: The Rise of Red is set to stream on Disney +.