Disney goes Black

The Princess and the Frog.

In case you haven't heard, Disney's 48th animated film, The Princess and the Frog (an adaptation of the classic Grimm's fairy tale, The Frog Princess) is Disney's first African American animated film. All I can say is, "it is about time!"....we all know The Lion King just wasn't cutting it. Directed by the people that brought us Aladdin, Hercules, and The Little Mermaid, I'm excited to hear the musical score. The central character in the film, Princess Tiana, will be voiced by Anika Noni Rose (you might remember her from a little film called Dreamgirls) and her mother will be brought to life by none other than Angela Bassett...yay! To top it off, the film is set in 1920's New Orleans jazz era in the Garden District of the French Quarters. I'm excited!!!

However, let's rewind for a moment.

Princess Tiana was originally Maddy the chambermaid, but thanks to protests, the name was changed and she was made a princess. Ummm...is anyone else confused?!? I'd really like to know how these Disney creators planned on telling the classic tale of The Frog Princess using a chambermaid...a black chambermaid that starts out working for a spoiled, rich, white Southern debutante named Charlotte, nonetheless...really though?!? I know Disney has a history of racial insensitivity (if not downright racism and stereotypical views of all things not white), but come, come now...it is 2008 (or 2009 when the film is set for release).

And, as a good friend told me on AIM, "[D]isney never fails to coon someone out!!!...having that bug looking like someone's crack head uncle!" That "bug" would be Ray, the lovesick Cajun firefly...but, he is nearly Disney's first cooned-out, stereotyped animated character (random insert: Princess Tiana's derriere is HUGE...). Let's see...there was Sebastian, everyone's favorite lil' Jamaican crab in The Little Mermaid and his other fish buddies (including the 'blackfish'). How can we forget the lovable, lazy, jobless crows from Dumbo, as well as King Louie from The Jungle Book??? Yeah, since the beginning, Disney has had a way of covertly and overtly suggesting the inferiority of Blacks. If my brief list has interested you, I suggest you take a look at Ben Joseph's extended list. And do you know what's nearly at the top of the list? A: Song of the South.

I kid you not, I don't even remember watching this movie as a child, but, like many others, I vividly recall its hit song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. To summarize the movie, it is about an old black man happily working on a plantation post-Civil War South (actually, having watched this I agree with the statement that this movie depicts life as a Black on a plantation through the vantage point of an acid-trip). As Mr. Joseph so cleverly put it,

"It's as if someone made a children's musical about Jews in post-World War II Germany that had a number titled 'Hey! Nothing Bad Has Happened to Us, Ever.'"

Anyways, how does this tie in to The Princess and the Frog? Its rather simple (and sad). The Song of the South has yet to be released on home video...keyword: yet. Disney's apparently considering re-releasing it on home DVD (after a few modifications, I'm sure) and they want to put a preview of The Princess and the Frog on the DVD. As I say...there is always a motive. Now, why would Disney do this? The answer's simple. When people protest and raise objections against the Song of the South (which, you know they will), Disney can turn to The Princess and the Frog and say that this is the "new" Disney that doesn't use narrow-minded, stereotypical views to depict Blacks. Will this work? Probably not. As previously mentioned, The Princess and the Frog has already created its own controversy about portraying stereotypical images of blacks...in order for this trick of Disney's to work, it needed to be above reproach. I hear Disney might try this Song of the South release this upcoming winter...time will tell.

Eh, either way, this Black chick is excited for the release of The Princess and the Frog next year. And, I'm hoping that since the film is currently in production, extensive editing and revisions will make it a true masterpiece. It is about time that Black children have Disney characters they can identify with other than Simba, Sebastian, King Louie, and the three backup singers in Hercules! Yay!!! However, if that frog turns out to be a White Prince...oh, boy...Disney better brace itself for that backlash!