91Èȱ¬

Encanto: Lowri's dream of Disney star with glasses comes true

Lowri
Image caption,

Lowri said wearing glasses was a part of who she is

A 12-year-old girl who campaigned for Disney to create a character who wears glasses has said she is so happy they have released their smash-hit film Encanto.

Newsround first spoke to Lowri, who has worn glasses all of her life, after she wrote a letter to Disney in 2019.

A spokesperson from Disney replied to her to say: "Disney remains committed to continuing to create characters that are accessible and relatable to all children."

But Encanto's director said he was not able to tell her at the time that her wish was going to come true.

Image source, Disney
Image caption,

Encanto stars glasses-wearing Mirabel and her magical family who live in the mountains of Colombia

Lowri originally wrote the letter because she thought Disney characters with glasses were often seen as geeky instead of beautiful.

She didn't want girls who wear glasses to feel as though they weren't beautiful and had asked for the next Disney princess to wear specs.

So what does she think of Encanto main character - a young girl called Mirabel who wears glasses?

"I absolutely love Mirabel. She's so funny and just such an amazing, brave character," Lowri said to 91Èȱ¬ Radio Nottingham.

I was just so happy that, even if it wasn't from my letter or anything, young girls and boys now have a role model to look up to.

— Lowri
Media caption,

WATCH: De-Graft spoke to Lowri in 2019 about her campaign for a Disney Princess who wears glasses

Jared Bush, who wrote and directed Encanto, said on Twitter that when Lowri wrote to Disney, the company was already planning a film starring a character with glasses.

"Three years ago, Lowri wrote (to) Disney asking for a heroine with glasses. I couldn't say that her wish was already coming true," he wrote.

Lowri has since written a book about a princess who wears glasses.

Now, she says "I wouldn't really want to not wear glasses. I feel like my glasses are kind of a part of me."