We have searched far and wide, high and low for some real "black girl magic". The results are in, and the fact of the matter is, it doesn't exist. Well, not necessarily doesn't exist, but it is extremely rare to see. Where are the black "Harry Potters", fairies, and "Lord of the Rings?" We could only think of five movies and/or shows, where there is a black girl main character with either magical powers and/or magic surrounds her in some way. The first is Disney's Princess and the Frog. As you know, Princess Tiana, doesn't possess magic, but magic surrounds her, changes her into a frog (for the majority of the movie), and then she must seek magic from a voodoo priestess.
The second film we looked at was 'The Wiz'. This was one of four where black women characters possessed magic. This is the only film where black girl magic is everywhere. Dorothy is lost in a magical land and she encounters of course the Wicked witch of the East and West, and Glenda the good witch. All of whom are of course magical, and all of whom possess the glorious melanin.
The third is the most recent which is 'A Wrinkle in Time'. The main character Meg Murry, must use her "inner magic" to find her father. She has the help of three magical beings, two of whom are of color to help her find her father in a far away world.
Fourth is Disney's Descendants Two, with the main character Uma. Uma is the daughter of Seawitch Ursula from 'The Little Mermaid'. She of course magical powers of her own, and like her mother is an antagonist in the movie.
The last movie we can think of is the made for television movie starring our favorite set of twins. 'Twitches'. These twins possess magical powers that are released when they are reunited after being seperately adopted.
So there you have it. Have we missed any? You might be saying so there is some black girl magic. These films cover a span of 45 years. There have been 5 (maybe 6, we are sure we are missing at least one) films with magical black women.....5. That is one every 10 years. Wouldn't it be great to be able to see whimsical, magical women heroines. It would be great to see more black girl magic. In search of the magic, we found a few books that we feel would be great adaptations into movies. These include "Nana's Fridge", "Niobe" and 'Willa of the Wood.'
What are some other books with magical main characters that would be great films?
