STYLE

When I first saw the trailer for A Wrinkle in Time—the flick from Disney (on DVD now) that tells the inspiring story of Meg Murry, an average girl who discovers extraordinary strength—I got chills. I felt this weird mix of both newness and nostalgia: The story itself felt familiar (I read the book at least a dozen times), but the breathtaking beauty of the magical Mrs. trio—brought to life onscreen by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling—was something I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams.

It’s fitting that this film is just as groundbreaking as its source material. Back in 1962, when it was first published, both Meg and the author who brought her to life, Madeleine L’Engle, challenged the norms of the science fiction genre: Meg was the first young, female protagonist to appear, while L’Engle led the emergence and acceptance of other women authors in sci-fi.

Fifty-six years later, the film will make its director, Ava DuVernay, the first African American woman to solo-direct a movie with a budget over $100 million (and only the fourth woman to ever do so). She called on female collaborators to write and produce; she hired a diverse cast and a diverse crew; she chose an actress of color (the stellar Storm Reid) to play Meg.

And then she went and lit up Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who.

Mystical centaurs in disguise, the members of the Mrs. trio mostly appear as elderly women in the book (lots of layers and spectacles and what you’d expect for quirky crones). But in the film, these *actual* stars—who sacrificed themselves as supernovas in the battle against evil—finally get to shine. In technicolor trends and hyper-hued hair, the three witches are the external embodiment of all that is bright and light and beautiful. They are fierce and multi-faceted; they are kaleidoscopes of color in a world of conformity.

Sure, they glow with goodness from within—but they also dare to dazzle on the outside, too. In bedecked brows and shimmery skin and loud, electric lipstick, their message is clear: It’s beautiful to be bold, and it’s essential to be yourself.

Who's your favorite character from A Wrinkle in Time? 

A version of this story originally appeared in the April/May 2018 issue of Girls' Life magazine. 

by Kelsey Haywood Lucas | 6/18/2018