Pressure precedes the release of Disney’s latest film The Princess and the Frog. For the first time ever, an African American will be added to the ranks of fairytale princesses.
“Will they get it right?” is the looming question as anticipation builds within the black community.
Though there are a few minor bumps along the way, the answer is ultimately yes.
Through The Princess and the Frog, Disney offers a rich and colorful story that properly represents and does justice to Tiana – and subsequently to little black girls who grow into black women everywhere.
Disney’s first black princess doesn’t come from royalty. Her story starts at the height of the jazz age in New Orleans. Tiana – whose voice comes courtesy of Tony Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose – grows up as the centerpiece of a poor, but hardworking family.
Her mother (Oprah Winfrey) is a seamstress for wealthy white families, while her father (Terrence Howard) breaks his back as a day laborer.
Tiana’s humble beginnings don’t stop her from working – without catching her breath – towards her dream of owning her own restaurant.
It is a vision inherited by her father, and through it she hopes to create a legacy for him, herself and her community. Then she encounters financial barriers and obstacles with respect to the caste system.
Unlike the familiar formula for Disney’s magical features, Tiana initially pours blood, sweat and tears into making her dream a reality versus relying on magic or waiting to be swept off of her feet by a man … at first. Hers is a reality for black women (some probably named Tiana) everywhere.
Of all of the princesses in Disney’s repertoire, Tiana is by far the most self-sufficient. She is a standout among characters that have a legacy of entitled existences. She is relentless in making a way out of absolutely no way. While the practice is common for blacks, it’s unheard of in the mystical lands of Disney’s princess tales.
However, for a large portion of the film – without giving it away – Tiana spends time outside of her natural being.
Her beautiful hue – the intersection of pecan and mahogany– combined with her broad nose and far-set doe eyes are reserved for the intro and finale of the film.
But through her pronounced “blaccent” and ethnic features, the animators allow her blackness to shine through her temporary skin during the rest of her journey.
Rose is delightfully convincing as Tiana, but the most impressive characters where the ones who helped her along the way.
Jennifer Lewis is magnificent – yet unrecognizable – as Mama Odie in what is quite possibly the first black fairy godmother for Disney as well. Known for matriarch roles in black films, she will throw audience members with her toothless and deeply Southern tone.
Ohio-born actor Jim Cummings absorbs every nuance of the Southern Louisiana tone required to convincingly bring Cajun Ray to life.
Vivid traditions and cultures in New Orleans – the food, the music, event the voodoo – are crucial elements within the film as well. The jazz of Bourbon Street, the zydeco of “the bayou” and gospel echoing from church walls all have a stake in The Princess and the Frog’s musical score.
The Princess and the Frog, though more cute than compelling, is worth seeing. It sets the tone for a new era at Disney with a surprisingly real cartoon “shero” for black girls everywhere.
The Princess and the Frog opens in theatres nationwide Friday, December 11. The film is rated G with a running time of 95 minutes.
