Trading in dreams: the US company that promised to make Australian children Disney stars – for a fee

Hopeful children and their parents were drawn to auditions at a Perth hotel by a Facebook ad that implied the event might be a gateway to work with Disney. Photograph: cool D’zine room/Getty Images

It’s many a tween’s dream: to be plucked from obscurity and transformed into a sparkling young Disney star – the next Selena Gomez, Hilary Duff or Zac Efron.

Earlier this month, it seemed Perth’s junior theatrical talent pool was being offered just such an opportunity, with parents in Western Australia’s capital blitzed on Facebook in a campaign asking: “Does your child dream of being a YouTuber or on Disney+? Kids aged 4-18 will be auditioning for TV shows in Perth.”