Nickelodeon’s new princess Nella is seriously so badass, and where was she when we were kids?
We are literally THRILLED to let you know that there is a new princess in town for little girls to look up to, and she breaks the outdated, damsel-in-distress mold in so very many ways.
Drumroll please: Nickeloden has a new princess named Nella, a pint-sized, ethnically ambiguous girl who transforms from a princess into a knight!
The series is appropriately titled Nella the Princess Knight, and it premieres today. According to Nickelodeon Group President Cyma Zarghami, Nella embodies everything that a “real child” is. “This is hopefully representative of what our country actually does look like. I think that we are telling authentic stories about real kids and real families — even though they’re animated and fantasy-based. We’re really trying to reflect what kids see every day…real kids who look like you and me,” Zarghami told People Magazine.
It seems like such a simple and obvious thing to do; show characters who are true to life, yet a large proportion of animated content continues to miss the mark on this.
Shall we look at the trailer and see what Nella is made of?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE2HiwuLIrQ?feature=oembed
Damn, “badass” is right! And if you’re wondering who brought Nella to life, her voice comes from 12-year-old actress Akira Golz. And of course, she’s a huge fan of Nella. “She’s totally unconventional. She has the real qualities of a princess, like grace and compassion, but also the courage and determination of a knight,” Golz told People.
And even though this show might be too young for us now, that’s not gonna stop us from checking out some of Nella’s journey! Because it’s amazing to see a huge institution like Nickelodeon really embrace girl power and diversity.
"I hope Nella teaches young girls to have confidence, be inclusive, and have compassion for others," Golz said in the same interview.
We couldn’t be happier that Nickelodeon is putting this show out into the world, and anticipate that it will have a warm reception by little girls everywhere. And older girls. And maybe even boys as well! Because diversity means all-inclusive.
