Nicole Louise, British photographer, has created a campaign for children with Down's syndrome. In it, she features the little ones in costumes of Disney characters. A wonderful act, which perfectly integrates Down syndrome into the artistic world, and invites each of its spectators into a moment of pure happiness. This campaign is called “Down with Disney”.
At Walt Disney,
If you could still receive this, we are sure you would be interested in it. You must have heard of Down syndrome. You know, it's the syndrome that hangs on babies while they're still in their mother's womb. This syndrome is vicious because it copies chromosome 21 and creates a second one. Suddenly, babies in whom he does this, will show a mental deficit and physical abnormalities from birth. What is deplorable is that in the society we are in, this disease is certainly prevalent, but obviously not enough that people no longer stare at those who have it. Because yes, contrary to what some might think very strongly, they are people, not monsters, not "weirdos".
You see Walt, the catch is that this disease changes the appearance. People with Down's syndrome as they are called, are smaller than average, they have a particular face. And apparently "normal" people just don't get used to it. Really, in your opinion, Walt, why do men manage to get used to people who aren't brown, and who don't have brown eyes, but not them? After all, they're human too.
Finally, here we are, where we are coming from is that kind and intelligent people fight every day to ensure that people affected by Down syndrome are integrated normally into our nefarious society. Unfortunately, these days they cannot do it alone. It’s appalling Walt, there are people who are afraid of them.
So today we would like to introduce Nicole Louise, an extremely human and beautifully talented British photographer. You really should have met her. She created, in 2019 (that's a long way for you, isn't it?), "Down with disney”, A campaign in which Nicole features children, boys and girls with the syndrome, disguised as Disney characters. Simba, Mulan, Vaiana, the Little Mermaid, Coco… They are all there!
What she wanted to express is that these children are children. She wanted, being a fan of your work, to give her children and their parents a breeze of freshness, a wave of happiness and positivity by integrating them into your world. She did this for them, to make them smile. So that they no longer believe that they are out of the way. It is a reality that living with this disease is complicated, even when you are a parent. They too live with it.
You should see them Walt, they are fabulous. Real stars! It feels good to see something new in front of the lens. It feels good to see something other than 1m85 mannequins. Nicole offers people with Down's syndrome a whole new perspective. It is bright, open, inclusive. He is not alarmist or condemning. Children are not retouched, it is their natural beauty, no matter how subjective it is, that appears. A perfect balance between denunciation and diversity. Nicole did not want to produce beauty for the sake of beauty, she wanted to produce beauty with reality.
You know what, we'll show you:
It's magic isn't it? The smile that forms automatically on our lips. It’s magic to see these children so happy, and to see how many people this campaign has reached. These children were able to be immersed for a few seconds in your world, and were able to taste its magic. They are no less entitled than other children to be princes and princesses, adventurers … Thanks to Nicole Louise for reminding us of this. They may be sick and not like the others, but first and foremost they are children.
Maybe it's time for modern-day Disney to incorporate pathologies like this into their characters, right? So Walt, what do you think?