Disney's Fascination with Raven

[Kahana-ri]

I like Raven. I watch her show often and trust me I am not in the normal age demographics. She is a great actress with a talent to appeal to children and in my case some adults. Sure she is very animated, but she captures the viewer. I also agree that the best thing I notice about her is that she is true to herself. I have seen older shows with her and she was much thinner, but just not as adorable as she is now. I commend her for not failing into the stereotypical 'sizing' of many of the girls on TV.

 

[RitaZ.]

Oh snap!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I like her! Seems like a nice "kid".

It's hard to believe that she and Lindsay Lohan were roommates a while back. The reason Raven gave for the split was that they had too much stuff between the two of them. I wonder if it's because they obviously have gone in different dirrections. And I'll take Raven's direction over Lindsey's as a role model for my kids any day.

 

[goofy4tink]

Dd, 12, loves Raven. Sure, she's a bit 'perky' on the Food Network WDW special...but FeralPeg is right..it's all in the direction. If a director didn't like the 'perkiness' you can be sure it would be gone!
Last night, when we were watching the special (that I taped on Sunday) my dd said she was so glad Raven took back her last name..thought that was a much better idea than having just the one name. She also wondered what Raven was like in real life, but said she didn't think it was a big dea..that at least 'publicly' she was a good role model for teen girls. Not like Hilary or Lindsay at this point..both girls my dd used to really like, but not so much anymore. The thing I think is incredibly important is that our teen girls are watching a black, normally built teen and looking up to her. It's wonderful to see those racial lines being crossed.
But I have to agree with those stripes...what were they thinking???

 

[2buzzboys]

I don't get it either. Couldn't stand her on The Cosby Show, can't stand her now.

She was the little girl from cosby Man do I feel old. I have to agree -a little to annoying for my taste.

 

[dmslush]

I enjoy her. She has mastered physical comedy in a way that many adult actors haven't been able to do. I also enjoy the fact that she is not destroying her health to fit into an dangerously unnatural idea of what today's girls should look like.

 

[lil mermaid]

I saw her on the Food Network special and thought she was cute. I have never seen her show, but remember her from the Cosby show.

I just wish she didn't have to wear such a skin tight top!! It just didn't look right to me.

 

[momtotreasure]

My DD (13) and I have watched her for years - loved her on Cheetah Girls - the girl can sing!

Her comedy (slap-stick schtick) reminds me a little bit of Lucille Ball, who was also "over-the top" with lots of facial expressions, and wore a lot of disguises like Raven does.

I also like that she's not impossibly thin. We like the character Chelsea too. Very talented - if you watch the show much, you'd see that she too can sing and dance quite well.

Who knows what Raven's staying power will be, but for now, I enjoy watching her!

 

[Mulan'sMom]

You took the words right out of my mouth, Momtotreasure. She reminds me very much of Lucille Ball, played even broader for a tween audience. DD5 watches her every night, so I do, too. I really like her. In a previous life, I worked in TV, so I met many celebrities and far too many of them were complete jerks - I'd be disappointed to find out that Raven is, too. Strangely enough, I caught an episode of "Punk'd" that featured her. She parked her SUV near a restaurant and went in for lunch. While she was dining the cast painted her parking spot like a handicapped spot, and brought in a bus load of elderly actors in wheelchairs who pretended to be outraged that she had parked in a handicapped zone. She was very apologetic and soft spoken, even though she had no way of knowing that she was on camera.