Jewish Disney princess lights up holiday season

The Hanukkah episode is available on the Disney Channel and the DisneyNow app.

By HANNAH BROWN
Disney characters attend the 25th anniversary of Disneyland Paris at the park in Marne-la-Vallee, near Paris, France, March 25, 2017 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Disney characters attend the 25th anniversary of Disneyland Paris at the park in Marne-la-Vallee, near Paris, France, March 25, 2017
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Festival of Lights will shine brightly for Disney fans as the company's first Jewish princess makes her appearance on Disney Junior’s series, Elena of Avalor, during a Hanukkah-themed episode.
The Hanukkah episode is available on the Disney Channel and the DisneyNow app. It features Princess Rebecca, a princess from a Latino kingdom, who is voiced by Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Sigler is a Jewish actress who starred as Meadow Soprano in the HBO series The Sopranos and played herself on Entourage.
When Walt Disney Television Animation News announced the news on Twitter, Sigler tweeted, “I am so excited to voice Disney’s first Jewish princess.”

Elena of Avalor tells the story of a teen princess who saved her kingdom, Avalor, from an evil sorceress and now must rule. Elena of Avalor’s third series began airing in October.
In the episode, “Festival of Lights,” Rebecca and her family are returning home to observe Hanukkah when their ship is wrecked and have to take shelter in Avalor. Elena invites them to stay in her palace and encourages them to teach her about their traditions. Rebecca, who has olive skin and dark hair, shows them how to light a hanukkiah. She also presents them with chocolate coins and a dreidel. Her grandmother, Miriam or “Bubbie,” voiced by Tovah Felshuh, explains about the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days.

There have been many Disney princesses in the past from different cultures, including the Chinese Mulan, the Native American Pocahontas, the Pacific-Islander Moana and the African-American Tiana.
Craig Gerber, the creator and executive producer of the series, told the website Remezcla, “We decided to focus on Hanukkah and a part of the culture that we hadn’t yet represented on the show."


Related Tags
jewish actors