{"id":23469,"date":"2022-07-15T08:30:32","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T12:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2022-07-18T09:26:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T13:26:00","slug":"mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Mickey Mouse Funhouse Drives Inclusion with New Character Fig"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those who are deaf and hard of hearing have been underrepresented in media for many years. Though they have been portrayed in some high-profile titles as of late\u2014e.g., CODA<\/em>\u2014GLAAD\u2019s Where We Are on TV<\/em> report for the 2021\u201322 season found that series regular characters with disabilities decreased to 2.8 percent.<\/p>\n

Disney Junior is doing its part in increasing representation, however, with the introduction of Mickey Mouse Funhouse<\/em>\u2019s first deaf character, a small gnome named Fig, making a move in the right direction with the help of writer Kate Moran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe character of Fig came about because I have several cousins who are deaf and hard of hearing,\u201d Moran says. \u201cWhen we were kids, as hard as it was for me to find representation that I<\/em> could relate to on-screen, my cousins never saw anyone like them ever. So, I always knew I wanted to write stories, and I had promised them early on that, in my world, in my stories, there would be characters like us.\u201d<\/p>\n

When writing for Mickey Mouse Funhouse<\/em>, Moran notes that Fig\u2019s storylines are not necessarily centered on his deafness. \u201cMy focus was on making Fig an interesting character with agency and independence, who happens<\/em> to be deaf,\u201d she says. And she certainly achieved making Fig an interesting character. Being deaf in a children\u2019s show is noteworthy enough, but Fig is also a drummer and music enthusiast.<\/p>\n

The inspiration for Fig\u2019s musicality came from Moran being a fan of two deaf drummers. One suffered profound hearing loss later in life and another was born deaf, but both play the drums in a similar way through feeling the vibrations of the percussive beats.<\/p>\n

Of course, a major part of a deaf person\u2019s life is the way in which they communicate with the world around them\u2014namely, through sign language. \u201cOur characters only have four fingers, so that can be very challenging,\u201d Moran points out. Consultant Delbert Whetter, a deaf producer who is part of RespectAbility\u2019s entertainment media consulting team, would review the scripts and animation to ensure the American Sign Language (ASL) was correct\u2014or rather, as correct as can be, given the circumstances. \u201cHe made sure that the ASL would read properly on-screen and made adjustments [to account] for the fact that they only have four fingers,\u201d Moran says.<\/p>\n

Even with the use of ASL, it can be difficult to communicate with hearing people, who often do not know any sign language. Therefore, it was important to make sure \u201cthat [Fig\u2019s] sister Olive is there to help work as a translator, which is very common when you have a hearing sibling,\u201d Moran notes.<\/p>\n

Moran, Whetter and others on the team did their best to portray Fig and his experience of deafness as authentically as possible in order to properly depict the very normal existence of deaf people. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to portray the wider spectrum of what is normal,\u201d Moran says. \u201cWhen we walk out of doors, it\u2019s a big world.\u201d In children\u2019s worlds, specifically, they don\u2019t always get to meet people who are different from them, as some may have to attend certain types of classes or even completely different schools, she notes. Her goal is to show children that \u201cthey have these differences, but they\u2019re just like you. They\u2019re normal, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

When children see representation on screen, whether it is representative of them specifically or not, it helps broaden their world view. \u201cHopefully, children have some understanding when they do meet somebody who is deaf or hard of hearing,\u201d Moran says. \u201cThey can understand, \u2018Oh, OK, I saw Fig on Funhouse<\/em>, and Mickey and Minnie have a deaf friend. I know what deafness is.\u2019 And this will encourage them to still attempt to communicate and make friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

While various diversity and inclusion initiatives have made headlines the past few years, Moran notes, \u201cI really want to push for making sure that when we do talk about diversity and inclusion, we remember to include people who have different abilities as well and neurodivergents. That\u2019s also a part of the bigger world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moran is helping the industry make a step in the right direction. With Fig (and his sister Olive) set to appear in more episodes of Mickey Mouse Funhouse<\/em>, children will be more exposed to those that are different from them, and deaf and hard-of-hearing children will see themselves represented on-screen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kate Moran, who writes for Disney Junior’s Mickey Mouse Funhouse, talks about introducing the show’s first deaf character and the importance of increasing representation of those with different abilities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":23470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,21],"tags":[112,6588,5687],"class_list":["post-23469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-disney-junior","tag-kate-moran","tag-mickey-mouse-funhouse","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nMickey Mouse Funhouse Drives Inclusion with New Character Fig - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mickey Mouse Funhouse Drives Inclusion with New Character Fig - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kate Moran, who writes for Disney Junior's Mickey Mouse Funhouse, talks about introducing the show's first deaf character and the importance of increasing representation of those with different abilities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-15T12:30:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-18T13:26:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2017\/07\/DisneyJunior-MickeyMouseFunhouse-0722.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"338\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series\/\",\"name\":\"Mickey Mouse Funhouse Drives Inclusion with New Character Fig - TVKIDS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-15T12:30:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-18T13:26:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/mickey-minnie-meet-deaf-friend-fig-in-new-disney-junior-series\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mickey Mouse Funhouse Drives Inclusion with New Character Fig\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/\",\"name\":\"TVKIDS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\",\"name\":\"Jamie Stalcup\",\"description\":\"Jamie Stalcup is the executive editor of World Screen. 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