If an interracial couple wanted to have a theme wedding, a Princess and the Frog wedding might be at the top of the list. Press photo credit: Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland

One commenter on the lightning rod of an article about Prince Naveen brought up the point that one reason she loves The Princess and the Frog is because the movie represents mixed relationships as she is a mixed-race child. I completely get that. That’s one thing that made me argue in favor of the film and of Naveen not being made as a black character. One way of looking at Naveen and Tiana’s relationship is that they represent what is now very common in America and most of the world: interracial relationships.

One the one hand, having a black prince would be very good for Disney, seeing how they have yet to make a black prince. But if we’re looking at the movie as, again, something that children can learn from, children can take from this movie that love is colorblind.

That sounds cliché, but it’s true. Tiana and Naveen act as role models for those who are either in interracial relationships or are products of interracial relationships. Also, the film can teach adults watching the film that love between two members of two different races is achievable and beautiful.

If Disney decides to make a sequel, I think these points will be driven home even further because it’s almost inevitable that a sequel would have to deal with their child or children. Showing a happy family life would not only make a great story, but it would also be encouraging for the audience, mixed-race and otherwise.

And, as I’ve addressed in another post, Naveen and Tiana represent the type of interracial relationship where there’s two minorities together. These types of interracial relationships are generally not seen on television or film, and when they are, it’s momentous. You can click here for more on what I wrote on that subject (as well as some picture examples), but even though Naveen is of a fictional background, his relationship with Tiana is something that helps champion the cause of minority interracial relationships.

I’ve started getting a bit more personal on this site as of late, so to keep the trend going, let me divulge a personal story that might help better explain both this and other articles I write on this site. As a person, I love all cultures, but because I love all cultures, I like for them to be portrayed in the correct fashion. This was part of the genesis of that Prince Naveen posts I’ve linked to. I addressed the pro-side of his character and I decided that I needed to address the con-side of his character since both do have validity in terms of how race is perceived and represented in the media, especially since children’s movies are usually taken for face value.

In fact, my pro-Naveen post,  “Color and a name aren’t everything” was actually written out of anger because of all the negativity surrounding the film. I felt that the movie should be given a chance since it was a big thing; the first black princess movie isn’t something to sneeze at. However, after the movie’s release, I started taking a look at the other side of the argument, and saw that while a black princess film is huge, a black princess and black prince film would have been even bigger. So that, and some knowledge I acquired from my black history course in college, went into the post explaining the ramifications of Prince Naveen not being black meant for some in the black community.

However, just because I wrote the piece about Naveen’s race doesn’t mean I don’t like him or that I don’t think he should  be in the film. I love the film, and gave it a glowing review. (I also want to meet Tiana and Naveen at Disney World, so that shows how much I like these characters.)

My argument was based on media history as I understand it and the story behind Disney’s creation of Naveen. My actual viewpoint on Naveen is this: He’s bound to be a contentious character in some black American circles, but while that might be so, it doesn’t mean he can’t be used as a vehicle to spark an interest in cultures outside one’s own. He can be used as a character that helps mixed-race children feel more at ease with themselves because, like their parents, Naveen married someone outside of his race. His marrying Tiana can even teach men who are wary of black women that a black woman isn’t synonymous with the stereotype of a black woman; in fact, most of us act like Tiana. The film gives me hope that I might be able to find someone who loves me, regardless of race, because in the long run, race has nothing to do with love. There’s a lot of stuff that Naveen could be a catalyst for, most of it being positive. So in short:I’m a Naveen fan, but I recognize that there are two sides to the Naveen argument, both being valid, and both could be used as positive forces when learning about different races and how to represent them in the media. Agreement with both sides is possible.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to write more on this subject in the future (perhaps when a sequel does come out, hopefully before then), but I just want to take time out to thank the commenter who supplied me with that viewpoint about the film. Their viewpoint as well as the others on this site, make this site richer than it was before, whether the viewpoints are in support or disagreement. The comments make me a better blogger and a more conscientious person.

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Nefertiti, the one of the two most famous Egyptian queens, as well as part of black history. Credit: Giovanni (Creative Commons license), Wikipedia

As I stated in this month’s piece for Goodkin, I’d be completely remiss if I didn’t talk about Black History Month, seeing as how I am an African-American. Since I do talk about all races and creeds on my site, black history, particularly how African-Americans have been portrayed in entertainment, comes up quite a bit. Here are some select articles from Moniqueblog that cover the topic, and please go to Goodkin to check out my article on learning about black history through comics (also, you can read all of my comics articles thus far here)!

Disney

The Princess and the Frog specialty page

Harry Potter

The Worth of Draco Malfoy: Atoning after the war

The Worth of Draco Malfoy: Black History Month

Star Trek

Spock/Uhura analysis

Cartoons

Animated Race: 12+ African-American animated characters

Green=Ethnic series: pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3

Movies

“A Raisin in the Sun” and “In the Heat of the Night”: How Sidney Poitier’s characters exhibit the changing rhetoric about race in the America

Black unknown cast as Wuthering Heights‘ Heathcliff

REVIEW: Speed-Dating

Archie Comics

REVIEW: Archie #608

And there you have it. Happy Black History Month!

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(credit: Disney)

While a lot of people were making bones about Tiana’s name (originally Maddy) to the race of Prince Naveen (originally white and not named Naveen), one thing people didn’t holler a lot about was the big issue of hair. Hair is such an ingrained issue in black society, so much so that I initially took its blogging potential for granted. Since I grew up hearing and dealing with these issues, I forgot that a lot of people might not know the whole history behind the problem many black people have with their hair.

As everyone knows (or, at least, as I hope everyone knows), African-American hair is naturally curly. While the proteins in black hair are the same as everyone else’s, the structure of it is composed in such a way that the hair comes out looking curly or in tight coils. However, just because black hair looks tough, it’s not. It’s actually one of the most fragile due to its structure.

I’m speaking from an American historical perspective, but black hair has been a constant source of scrutiny and discrimination. The term “nappy” came from the term used for the fuzzy raised surface on cloth like velvet, velour, velveteen, etc. That term, which is still used today by black people, was given to black hair as a way to further show the differences between black and white hair, supposedly as a way to show how black people were “inferior” to whites.

To say someone is inferior to another race just because of their hair is stupid, but historically in America, quite a few black people had been all but brainwashed from the constant barrage of discriminating comments about their hair, skin color, and culture to think that they were, in fact, actually beneath their white owners.

Due to this feeling of insecurity with their hair, black people began experimenting with different ways to wear their hair. One of the most popular ways was to press their hair straight with a hot comb, a comb with metal teeth that would be heated up and combed through the hair (with an ample amount of hair grease to act as a form of protection for the hair and scalp). This type of comb is still in use to this day (I myself have had it used on me, and, on occasion, some people in my family still use it on occasion). However, the game changed when Garrett Morgan invented the hair relaxer (and a number of other unrelated products, including the traffic signal) and Madame C.J. Walker developed a line of black hair care products. The relaxer, or “perm” was the invention that both was a godsend to 1800s black people who wanted to feel like they fit in with the straight-haired masses and a curse, acting as a way to solidify the idea that natural black hair is inferior.

Nowadays, there are many different ways black people can wear their hair aside from bone-straight, but the natural revolution is back again and more people are now going without their relaxer touch-ups. As a personal aside, I was born with long hair, and from having horrible pain from getting it braided as a child, I grew up thinking my hair was too much to manage. So, in order to cease my pain, I was started on relaxers. While I haven’t had issues about feeling inferior, I’ve often thought about why I needed relaxers when other people didn’t need them. It was only a few months ago that I decided to stop going to the beauty salon and learn how to take care of my hair in its perfectly natural state. I’ve now learned a few tips–such as styling my hair when it’s wet, using honey and olive-oil as a hot oil treatment, etc.–and styling my hair has never been easier (and it actually doesn’t hurt!).

So how does this fit into The Princess and the Frog? It fits because we’re talking about a black movie. Even if the motive behind a movie isn’t about discussing black issues, black issues arise whenever you put a black character in a form of entertainment, and The Princess and the Frog is no exception.

In the film, Tiana is depicted with obviously curly/wavy hair, so one could assume she is wearing her hair natural. But the fact that her hair isn’t overtly curly suggests another negative idea black people have about hair–”good hair”. “Good hair” is black hair that wavy, but is also elastic and not so tightly curled. As second and third generations of black people grew up in America, some having been products of their mother’s forced copulation with her master, some were born with looser, more naturally relaxed hair. This type of hair was thought to be better and more acceptable than tighter-curled hair, and, sadly, this idea is still with black people today. Even though “good hair” Tiana was the final, approved version, there were earlier concept drawings of her with tighter-curled hair:

While Tiana and her mom are depicted with good hair, Dr. Facilier is depicted with obviously chemically-treated hair. This is especially evident his final scene, when the sweat and adrenaline from his last few moments cause his hair to fall out of its manicured style. You can see in this scene that his hair is straight:

(credit: Youtube)

Do these characters’ hair affect how audiences-black or otherwise-view these characters? Yes and no. No in that the hair isn’t the main issue of the story, but yes in that no one in the film had really kinky hair. It could be argued that the final versions of the black characters (Tiana especially, since she’s the princess) were drawn with their creators’ experiences and ideas embedded in them. To go even further, it could be argued that they only got approved because the higher-ups felt the characters couldn’t be identified with if they had curlier hair (i.e., those concept sketches of Tiana above). What would have happened if Tiana was approved to have curlier hair? I would like to think that people’s perceptions (black people included), would change or start changing. I would like to think that people would start to see that hair is just hair, whether it’s straight, wavy, or curly or kinky. Hair types have no bearing on you as a person.

Just as something to ease out of this discussion of hair, here’s something delightful from Sesame Street that fits into this conversation. Enjoy!

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Here‘s the full review I wrote when the movie was in theaters, but for for a quick recap of the story, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) wants to open a restaurant in honor of her father (Terrence Howard), but she’s lost how to have fun in the process. After kissing a frog who says he’s Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), she gets turned into a frog as well, and hijinks (and romance) ensue.

DVD FEATURES

Something that Disney started doing lately with DVD releases is add deleted scenes to their special features section. This section is one that always hit-or-miss with me, mostly because I’m spoiled by Pixar’s deleted scenes. Since Pixar’s scenes are in the computer, most of them are in a stage where they can move the characters like puppets, meaning that the deleted scenes read more like live-action deleted scenes. Disney animated deleted scenes, however, are still in their rough storyboard form, so it takes out of the scenes a bit. The way the deleted scenes are set up for The Princess and the Frog is a bit too revered for deleted scenes; co-writers/directors John Musker and Ron Clements walk the viewer through the scenes, which are shown like hung art pieces, which can feel a bit…weird. But it’s a must-see for any die-hard PatF fan.

The commentary, with Musker, Clements, and roducer Peter Del Vecho, is highly informational (as informational as the book The Art of the Princess and the Frog) and insightful. The best review I can give for the commentary is that if you’re a person who likes commentaries, you’ll like this commentary. You learn a lot about the film and the crew that isn’t mentioned in the Art of book, like the fact that the girls around Naveen during the opening song sequence are caricatures of women who work at Disney Animation. It can be dry-you can tell that the commentary is by three guys seasoned by the long years of being in the movie-making business-but if you are a Disney fan, you should give the commentary a listen.

Other features include one-reels-Dylan and Cole Sprouse: Blu-Ray is Suite, Learn How to Take Your Favorite Movies on the Go with Disney Digital Copy, a game called What Do You See: Princess Portraits, and sneak peeks of upcoming Disney blu-ray movies and theatrical releases, including Rapunzel and Toy Story 3 and Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue.

All in all, you get your approx. $15.oo for the regular widescreen version. The blu-ray version ($19.99)* and three disc version ($26.99)* are also available

For more Princess and the Frog interviews, essays, etc, click here.

*prices from Target.com

If you’ve kept up with my site, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of animation (see interviews with Hey Arnold! creator Craig Bartlett and composer Jim Lang). I’m also a big fan of history, so the history-making animated movie The Princess and the Frog was right up myalley. I was able to catch up with Lorelay Bové, a Disney visual development artist for Princess. I asked her about her influences and her experiences working on the movie.

When did your interest in art begin?
Since I was young I grew up painting and drawing next to my father, which is an artist as well.

I read that you grew up in Spain. How is Spain different than America?
I grew up in the north eastern part of Spain in the Pyrenees, Everything is so different, the quality of life, the culture, the food.  But one thing that was lacking there is the opportunity to do and to become whatever you want to be for a profession, and America had that.

Is there any difference between Spanish animation and American animation?

Yes.

What sensibilities does Spanish animation have that’s different than American animation, and vice versa?

I would say that American animation is highly focused on story and making that the core of the film, while in Spain (the higher production companies) are focused on the craft and the look.  But the industry in animation in Spain is really little compared to the one in America.

courtesy Lorelay Bové

Your art style seems reminiscent of illustration styles from the ’50s and ’60s. Do you regularly draw inspiration from those eras? If so, what about those eras inpires you?

Yes, I love that time period.  Since I was little my parents would show me Classic hollywood films, (dubbed in spanish) and I came to be very fond of them.  I love the style, the colors and the simple design.

What other influences are there in your art style?

Disney- I grew up with the classics.  Also I love painters like Miro, and Kandinski.

From searching on Blogger, I found that you have a sister (Nesya Bové). Did her interest in art begin the same way yours did?

Yes it was the same, except that she was more crafty than I was, she sew, she knitted, and she is more into graphics and fashion.

I also read that she works at Mattel as a designer. Did she, by any chance, get to work on the development of The Princess and the Frog dolls?

No, since she works in the graphics department for Barbie.

I read from your blog that you were an intern at Pixar. How was it?

I loved it there, I learned a lot in a short period of time, and the pople there are amazing and very energized.

courtesy Lorelay Bové

As a visual development artist for The Princess and the Frog, what/who was the most difficult thing/person to conceptualize?

The biggest challenge was to paint all of the backgrounds for Tiana’s Sequence, It was a lot of pressure to paint all of the final bg’s (backgrounds) that were going to be in the final film.

What/who was the easiest?

I would say the women dress designs, since it came a bit more natural, because I love fashion.

From the feedback I’ve seen about the movie, I think one of the top five favorite scenes for viewers is the “Almost There” sequence, particularly your illustration-style part. What did it feel like to see your artistic vision on the screen?

Well it actually was not my style it was in the style of The Harlem renaissance painters, like Aaron Douglas… And it took a team of artists to develop the design of the sequence, I was in charge of the color and Backgrounds, also I came up with the idea to make it  painterly, just like the paintings of AAron Douglas.  But it was wonderful to see it in the big screen, very fullfilling.

How do you feel about the movie?

I’m very proud to be able to be part of it, It looks beautiful, and the animation is wonderful. I wished that the story was a bit more daring.

At the risk of starting a flood of emails being sent to you, what is the best way fans can reach you?

through my blog

Any final thoughts?

I hope that everyone enjoys this film▪

Ever since it was announced that Disney was creating a movie centered around a black princess, there’s been both happiness and consternation. The anger and fear that Disney would pull some racist stunts allowed for outrageous tantrums; at first, Tiana’s name was “Maddy”, and was changed due to some folks calling racism. Then, her prince, who was originally a white Cary Grant-type character, was changed to the ethnically mysterious Naveen. Now some people are calling foul on Naveen’s presence in the movie, saying it was a missed opportunity to have a black prince. Well, this time I would like to ask for an end to the racism-calling. Or at least, a truce.

First, let me address the arguments against Tiana and Naveen’s characters. Somehow, Tiana’s original name Maddy was deemed too close to the word “Mammy.” As this blogger stated, I’ve never heard of being named “Maddy” as a slur before. If someone could leave a comment and explain where this idea came from, I’m welcome to read what you have to say.

Naveen’s case is a different, altogether more delicate matter entirely. Now, I do see the argument that it would be nice to see a black prince in a Disney movie, because historically, Hollywood has always been afraid of a strong black male character. For instance, in the 1960s show “Julia”, the title character, a black woman with a young son living in a suburban (i.e. white) apartment complex- mysteriously doesn’t have a husband. “The Nat King Cole Show” from the ‘50s was taken off of the air because many southern viewers didn’t like the idea of a black man hugging, kissing, or being in any way comfortable with a white woman (keep in mind these women entertainers willingly came on Cole’s show, and the only kissing and hugging going on in that show was the general “how do you do” type stuff. Even still, if he was actually French kissing a woman, that’d be no reason to take him off of the air).

But, there is another argument, one that is wholly in keeping with the changing times just as much as the “black prince” argument is, and that argument is that Naveen and Tiana represent interracial marriage and relationships. Now, everyone could harp on the fact that Naveen is not black. But he’s not white either. And neither is he Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Japanese, Native American, or any other race. He’s “Maldonian”, which is code for “fill in the blank for yourself.” And if he was black, what then? Again, like the blogger (above) stated in his article, someone would holler that Disney is reinforcing the notion that black people can only marry other black people. Someone would be calling for Disney to be more open-minded. It’s a catch-22 either way, but I would prefer to look on the optimistic side of this catch-22 and see it as a learning tool for the younger generation, as well as for us older folks, that love sees no color, background, or race. Love brings whomever it wants together. And frankly, I see nothing wrong with that idea behind Naveen’s existence in the The Princess and the Frog.

And let’s not forget that there is a strong black man in the film-Tiana’s father, James. I’m not saying he’s a substitute for a black prince, but he is regal in his own way; he’s a hardworking father trying to do the best he can for his family. Instead of coming down on Naveen, people should be uplifting the inclusion of a character like James in PatF, because Disney could’ve not given us him.

And perhaps, if there’s anything we can learn from Naveen’s presence in the film, it’s that human beings in America focus entirely too much on a person’s skin color. People are angry at a cartoon character for being beige. Isn’t that a little crazy? I understand the reason behind the anger, but if we just take a step back for a minute and analyze the situation, it’s almost like we aren’t accepting Tiana because she’s with Naveen, a non-black character! And by extention, people are mad at Tiana for marrying this dude! It’s as if we’re the closed-minded parents not wanting to understand that our daughter has chosen someone not of her culture. We’re thinking, “How come you couldn’t find a nice black boy? Why did you go outside of the race like this?!” What some people are doing to Naveen-and, by extension, Tiana-is exactly what we try to teach the younger generation not to do. It’s the same thing we ourselves get mad about when we hear someone else doing it. That’s being hypocritical.

I suggest we just relax a bit, celebrate the fact that this is a movie about a black princess, and learn lessons of a different kind than we were expecting to get—that the color of your skin isn’t all that people should focus on.

The Princess and the Frog –a story about how a hardworking girl is transformed into a frog-is what you get when you mesh Disney animators’ stellar drawing and character acting with Pixar’s philosophy about telling a non-pandering-to-kids, fun, and realistic story. Of course, I’m not trying to take away from the fact that Disney made great movies without Pixar’s help, such as The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin as well as fantastic movies from Disney’s first feature length film, Snow White, onward, but we all know how poor Disney’s storytelling ability had fallen since the ‘60s, and then again after the ‘90s renaissance. But there are quite a few things in this film that makes it stand out from its predecessors, including the greats from the renaissance.

The first thing that is different is the story setting. The only other Disney animated movie I can think of that takes place anywhere near the present is Oliver and Company, which is set in the then-contemporary ‘80s New York. With PatF set in the 1920s in New Orleans, the audience already feels one step closer to the main character, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose). Because everything is relatively present, the movie feels more grounded than most Disney movies.

Secondly, the screenplay—co-written by Rob Edwards, who has written for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, A Different World, In Living Color, Full House, and Disney’s Treasure Planet—uses tried-and-true Disney conventions and turns them on their heads. Since this is a princess movie, we obviously need a princess, but this time around, our princess is a girl who is not brought up in any type of royalty, or even on the richer sides of town. Tiana is brought up in the Ninth Ward-according to the studies Disney animators drew for the movie-far from the Garden District her friend Charlotte (Jennifer Cody). With the exception of Aladdin, the princes that are usually in princess stories are generally bland and just…there, really. Do you remember what Prince Charming said in Cinderella? I thought not. In PatF, however, the prince is a real livewire. Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) is not only egotistical and vain, but selfish, spoiled, and player. When we meet Naveen, his immaturity oozes almost to an unbearable degree (which is a good thing), and you’re eager to see just how he is going to change as the movie progresses. But more on him in a minute.

Other conventions played and fiddled with are the villain and the sidekicks. Dr. Facilier (Keith David) makes a very formidable villain for Tiana and Naveen, and his shadow “friends” are even scarier. It would be prudent to point out that his inevitable demise is scary in how gripping it is-you actually feel sorry for him in the end. Of course, every villain has to get their demise, but I don’t remember being sad when Scar’s hyenas turned on him and ate him, nor do I remember being sad when Ursula was impaled with splintered wood, or when Jafar became an enslaved genie. However, none of them expressed rampant, raw emotion at their ends, either. Those villains were only concerned with clinging onto power. Dr. Facilier, however, was concerned with clinging onto life, and his demise, in a way, reflects our own anxieties about death and pushed them right in our faces in a very chilling way and haunts you long after the movie is over.

The sidekicks are not just 1-D characters just there for yuks, but actually have fully realized goals and aspirations. Ray the firefly (Jim Cummings) provides much of the heart of the movie, and is not only a fun character that utilizes a lot of Southern dialect not usually used in movies, but is also very sensitive and touching. Louis the alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley) provides most of the jokes as far as sidekicks are concerned, but he also has a dream of playing the trumpet in a jazz band. The secondary characters also provide a lot of warmth to the movie as well. Charlotte and her Big Daddy (John Goodman) maybe the rich foils to Tiana and her parents Eudora (Oprah Winfrey) and the late James (Terrence Howard), but they all provide the loving environment that the grounded Tiana grew up in. Voodoo queen Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) also provides a welcome bit of old-school wisdom and has probably made a few movie goers think “She’s just like my crazy grandma.”

The liberal amount of death in this movie also takes this story from being a typical fairy tale and makes it into a tale about life. As I mentioned earlier, Dr. Facilier’s death is fantastic in its disturbing qualities and one that should rank fairly high among the Disney Villain’s death scenes. The death of Ray is one that is particularly moving, and even though I had read about that scene in one of the children’s books in the bookstore, I was still unprepared. Also, the absence of James, who has died in battle in WWI, leaves a great mark on the audience as we see how Tiana struggles with his death by investing all of her waking hours into working for her and her father’s dream.

Another thing the screenplay reinvigorates is the boy-meets-girl scenario. In typical princess movies, the princess is yearning for their prince to take them away from their awful situation, or, in Cinderella’s case, just praying for their luck to change. In this movie, however, Tiana isn’t waiting on anyone to help her reach her dream, and she knows that with prayers and wishes also comes hard work in order to reach a goal. When she does meet Naveen, however, they don’t instantly fall in love as prescribed in other princess movies; they get on each other’s nerves. A lot. It’s only when they get to know each other and understand each other’s struggles and merits that they fall in love. Their love story is a lot more natural than other Disney love stories (with the exception of Aladdin; Aladdin and Jasmine’s relationship is very well choreographed). It’s refreshing.

Actually, how Naveen and Tiana’s relationship was approached was what really closed it for me. Like I said, usually, it’s the princess who’s gooey-eyed over a man; after they get to know each other, it’s Naveen, not Tiana, who’s the one that’s gooey-eyed over a person. From what I saw, he falls in love with her before she even realizes that she’s in love with him. And the scene where Naveen is attempting to propose to Tiana, where Naveen has not only fashioned an engagement ring for Tiana but is also acting goofy and totally un-charismatic around her, is something that I don’t recall in any Disney movie. In that respect, their relationship starts functioning on the level of an adult romantic-comedy, which is different for Disney, but a “good” different that I hope they repeat more often. The wedding scene was also very mature, I think, for Disney’s return back to animation. There have been long kissing scenes in Disney movies before, at least by G-rated movie standards (Tarzan, and once again, Aladdin), so it might just be me being rusty with my Disney movies, but the exchange between Tiana and Naveen (Tiana: “You just kissed yourself a princess.” Naveen: “Yes, and I’m about to do so again.”) made me think, “Oh wow. So Disney actually went there.” I’m not sure what “there” is, but whatever it is, it turned the adult factor in the movie up a few notches. That, along with the actual use of wedding rings and a line Naveen says earlier in the movie (“We’re going to be up here a long time…We might as well get a bit more…comfortable…”) made me go “hmmm…” In a good way, of course.

Overall, this movie is one that you really shouldn’t miss, whether you’re fan happy for the return of hand-drawn animation or someone who is excited to finally see a black Disney princess in a feature-length film. It is ironic that Disney first made feature-length magic with a story about a white princess, and now Disney is, in a way, starting over again from scratch, but a black princess is leading the way. It’s amazing how far we have come as a society, and as a people. Bravo, Disney.

*Picture credits go to Disneylicious.com

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The Princess and the Frog –a story about how a hardworking girl is transformed into a frog-is what you get when you mesh Disney animators’ stellar drawing and character acting with Pixar’s philosophy about telling a non-pandering-to-kids, fun, and realistic story. Of course, I’m not trying to take away from the fact that Disney made great movies without Pixar’s help, such as The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin as well as fantastic movies from Disney’s first feature length film, Snow White, onward, but we all know how poor Disney’s storytelling ability had fallen since the ‘60s, and then again after the ‘90s renaissance. But there are quite a few things in this film that makes it stand out from its predecessors, including the greats from the renaissance.

The first thing that is different is the story setting. The only other Disney animated movie I can think of that takes place anywhere near the present is Oliver and Company, which is set in the then-contemporary ‘80s New York. With PatF set in the 1920s in New Orleans, the audience already feels one step closer to the main character, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose). Because everything is relatively present, the movie feels more grounded than most Disney movies.

Secondly, the screenplay—co-written by Rob Edwards, who has written for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, A Different World, In Living Color, Full House, and Disney’s Treasure Planet— who has written for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Full House—uses tried-and-true Disney conventions and turns them on their heads. Since this is a princess movie, we obviously need a princess, but this time around, our princess is a girl who is not brought up in any type of royalty, or even on the richer sides of town. Tiana is brought up in the Ninth Ward-according to the studies Disney animators drew for the movie-far from the Garden District her friend Charlotte (Jennifer Cody). With the exception of Aladdin, the princes that are usually in princess stories are generally bland and just…there, really. Do you remember what Prince Charming said in Cinderella? I thought not. In PatF, however, the prince is a real livewire. Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) is not only egotistical and vain, but selfish, spoiled, and player. When we meet Naveen, his immaturity oozes almost to an unbearable degree (which is a good thing), and you’re eager to see just how he is going to change as the movie progresses.

Other conventions played and fiddled with are the villain and the sidekicks. Dr. Facilier (Keith David) makes a very formidable villain for Tiana and Naveen, and his shadow “friends” are even scarier. It would be prudent to point out that his inevitable demise is scary in how gripping it is-you actually feel sorry for him in the end. But even with the small addition of pathos, be wise to debrief your young kids after that part, as it’s pretty emotionally powerful.

The sidekicks are not just 1-D characters just there for yuks, but actually have fully realized goals and aspirations. Ray the firefly (Jim Cummings) provides much of the heart of the movie, and is not only a fun character that utilizes a lot of Southern dialect not usually used in movies, but is also very sensitive and touching. Louis the alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley) provides most of the jokes as far as sidekicks are concerned, but he also has a dream of playing the trumpet in a jazz band. The secondary characters also provide a lot of warmth to the movie as well. Charlotte and her Big Daddy (John Goodman) maybe the rich foils to Tiana and her parents Eudora (Oprah Winfrey) and Lawrence (Terrence Howard), but they all provide the loving environment that the grounded Tiana grew up in. Voodoo queen Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) also provides a welcome bit of old-school wisdom and has probably made a few movie goers think “She’s just like my crazy grandma.”

Another thing the screenplay reinvigorates is the boy-meets-girl scenario. In typical princess movies, the princess is yearning for their prince to take them away from their awful situation, or, in Cinderella’s case, just praying for their luck to change. In this movie, however, Tiana isn’t waiting on anyone to help her reach her dream, and she knows that with prayers and wishes also comes hard work in order to reach a goal. When she does meet Naveen, however, they don’t instantly fall in love as prescribed in other princess movies; they get on each other’s nerves. A lot. It’s only when they get to know each other and understand each other’s struggles and merits that they fall in love. Their love story is a lot more natural than other Disney love stories (with the exception of Aladdin; Aladdin and Jasmine’s relationship is very well choreographed). It’s refreshing.

Actually, how Naveen and Tiana’s relationship was approached was what really closed it for me. Like I said, usually, it’s the princess who’s gooey-eyed over a man; after they get to know each other, it’s Naveen, not Tiana, who’s the one that’s gooey-eyed over a person. From what I saw, he falls in love with her before she even realizes that she’s in love with him.

Overall, this movie is one that you really shouldn’t miss, whether you’re fan happy for the return of hand-drawn animation or someone who is excited to finally see a black Disney princess in a feature-length film. It is ironic that Disney first made feature-length magic with a story about a white princess, and now Disney is, in a way, starting over again from scratch, but a black princess is leading the way. It’s amazing how far we have come as a society, and as a people. Bravo, Disney.

*Picture credits go to Disneylicious.com

Click here if you want to read the spoiler version of this review.

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First–why couldn’t cool stuff like this happen when I was at Disney World for vacation? I saw nothing except for Snow White and one dwarf. Everyone else must have either been at The Magic Kingdom or on their off day; it was Sunday, after all.

Second–I wish I could’ve been at the park on this day. It would’ve been only too awesome. Oh well, I guess the HQ video is the next best thing to being there. If you were in a partially land-locked state like me and couldn’t get to Disney World, here’s what happened down in Orlando:

Also,the arrival of Tiana signaled the start of her new park show, Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee.

And, if you want to hear some insider views on the procession and Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee show that is playing from now until January 3 at Disney World, click on the video below:

Obama Inauguration Ball photo by James Bowman/DOD via ABACAUSA.COM

Now, I know Disney couldn’t see into the future and be able to plan The Princess and the Frog to premiere in the same year that Barack Obama was elected as the first president of African descent, but fate and providence would have it so. Since this is the case, are there any similarities between the Obamas and the Prince and Princess of Maldonia?

Similarity number one-“Someone looks like me”

Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland

The biggest similarity between The Obamas and Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen is that black people now feel like they are finally being equally recognized in prominent areas of society. If there’re a few things in common with everybody, it’s that everyone has seen the President and the White House, and everyone has had Disney movies as an integral part of their childhood. Up until this year, both the presidents and most of the Disney princesses have been white, leaving quite a few minorities left out of the picture. At the very least, Disney started changing their ways with the creation of characters like Princess Jasmine, Mulan, and Pocahontas, but one of the largest ethnic groups was still left out of the picture—African Americans. Now, all that has changed for good.

One sentiment that has been echoed by African-Americans throughout Obama’s election, inauguration, and the beginning of his presidency is that they now feel like they have a president they can identify with. This same sentiment has held true for The Princess and the Frog. One example that springs to mind is the recent Tyra Show episode where she took three deserving girls and their parents to Disney Land to have a party and to meet Tiana and Naveen. When asked how they felt about the newest princess, she said something to the effect of “Now there’s a princess in the park that looks like me.” It’s almost like African-Americans are celebrating a second inauguration.

Similarity number two-Are things jazzier, or is it just me?

Naveen jazzes up the traditional prince role

I’m not trying to start any race wars or anything, but I’m merely observing the fact that both the Obamas and Tiana and Naveen bring a different je ne sais quoi to the general state of things. Of course, part of the difference in the Disney parks is that New Orleans has never been featured this prominently before, but I think the change of pace in both the White House, the Disney Princess line, and the Disney parks, makes America better by allowing Americans to experience different cultures on a much broader and more mainstream scale.

Similarity number three-What’s next?

Now that we’re in the middle of the Obama presidency and we’re days away from the nationwide release of The Princess and the Frog, one has to wonder what’s going to come next in America’s history. Obama’s presidency opens the door for other minorities to vie for the Oval Office. And now that we have another minority princess in the ranks, this further opens the floodgates for Disney to approach stories dealing with diversity. Nowadays, the belief that America is the place where dreams come true has been realized to its full potential. ▪