Black Princess. No Black Prince?
So Disney is about to release their first ever animated film featuring a black princess. It’s been a long time coming. There has been an Arabian Princess (Jasmine) a Native American Princess (Pocahontas) and a Chinese Princess (Mulan) but never has Disney had a black princess.
That’s about to change on December 11, when The Princess and the Frog is released. The princess in the movie, whose name was changed from Maddy, short for Madeline to Tiana, will be the first Princess of African descent in a Disney animated movie.
Time to celebrate right?
Well not so fast…
The black community was offended by the original description of Maddy who was set not to be a princess, but a maid. What’s wrong with that — some might ask? After all, Cinderella was a maid. While that may be true a black maid named Maddy from New Orleans who worked for a young white women in the 1920’s….Disney had to foresee problems with that one, so they went back to the drawing board. They changed the name of the movie from The Frog Princess to The Princess and the Frog. They changed the main character from a maid to an actual Princess, also renaming her Tiana. So that should put an end to the controversy right?
They changed the name. They made her a princess. What more to people want….how about a BLACK PRINCE!
That’s right the love interest of Princess Tiana is Prince Naveen, a prince from the fictional country of Maldonia, whose features are clearly European, although he is being voiced by a Brazilian actor. I have no problems with mixed couples on TV or the big screen! It’s a realistic reflection of today’s society. I even wish they had more mixed couples on TV shows, where race is not the premise of their relationship. No Helen and Tom Willis wise cracks just a regular couple who happen to be from different ethnicities. Their difference in color doesn’t have to be highlighted….but I do see a problem with what Disney is doing.
Why not have the first black princess and the first black prince in the same movie? To much black for one Disney feature? To be fair from a marketing standpoint Disney probably assumes if they make the film center around a black princess and a black prince they will lose their white audience…at least for one movie, but people came out to see Aladdin…a lot of people actually….the film grossed more than $504 million dollars. If Disney can smash the box office with an Arabic love story…why can’t they do it with a black one?
Editor’s note (They might have a harder time selling an Arabic love story post 9/11 but that’s for a different blog)
Back to the subject, I have a problem with Disney not having a black prince because they have never had one (and the president is black so a black Disney prince shouldn’t be that hard of a sell). My problem is will Disney ever remake Cinderella with a black prince? The answer is HELL NO! They would never have a white princess with a black prince. They might have a black princess with a white prince but it’s my belief that never in a million years would they do the opposite…and there… ladies and gentlemen is my problem with the mixed race prince – princess relationships. In the movie Pocahontas, the Native American Princess falls in love with the English Captain John Smith. Do you think they would do the opposite? Do you think a Native Prince could fall in love with an English Princess? Not in a Disney movie! That is feeding into an old American stereotype, that white men could have a black women but a black man is not good enough for a white women…as a black man I take offense to that. You might think it’s just a cartoon and I’m going too far with this but I believe the subliminal message is clear whether Disney intended to send it or not.
Maybe I’m buggin’. Maybe this shouldn’t even be a topic! What do you think?
Some really good points here. I agree…there is NO WAY that they’d have a Black Prince with anything other than a Black Princess. So it begs the question: If we’re not getting a black prince in this film, will we ever? If the answer is “no”…well then hell yeah…THAT is offensive.
I’m not really buying the theory …
At the end of the day, Disney’s goal is to make money $$ . They went with the senario that would sell the most tickets across the board. Bottom line.
I’m sure they did the market research on the subject.
In white america (in general) its more common/acceptable to see a white man with a black woman. They don’t want to see a white woman with a black man & we (generally) would rather not see a black man with a white woman. It doesn’t sound nice, but its typically true.
Its just like the music industry … the artist with the most cross over appeal makes the most $$ .
My opinion.
I agree that it is definitely offensive; however, hardly surprising: they want to see us “disappear;” at least, our phenotype. Love him or hate him, Marcus Garvey’s thoughts on misegenation can shed some light on this tatic.
What theory?
Before we go broadcasting our offenses on our sleeves and searching for hidden racisms, lets look at the evolution of Disney as a company. When the world was fully tuned into the racist antics of Little Lulu with her mammy and tap-dancing, black-faced sidekicks, Disney stood clear, opting for the innocense of talking animals.
Personally, I applaud Disney’s efforts at taking their time. In doing market research, I’m sure that they discovered that nobody’s more critical on us, than us. And that nobody’s more sensitive about ANYTHING involving us, than us. So in even approaching a browner-hued princess, they had to decide if she’d be Black or African-American? Fair or of a dark complexion? Would she have hair like “she got Indian in her family,” pressed, or ‘fro’ed out like Angela Davis’? Either way, somebody would take issue.
(ie… “Obama’s not all Black, he’s a white mama and no slave lineage.” C’mon people! Have we not heard of the ever-popular “one drop” rule? And if any one person epitomized AFRICAN-AMERICAN, it’s our 44th! But I digress.)
Granted you can’t please alla da people alla da time, but in more instances than not. You can’t please summa us, eva.
Now, I’m not sure what part of the country you live in to believe that sistas with white men are more common/ acceptable than brothas with white women, but that is a bit of a naive statement to make. But, since we talking films, cinematically from 1967 to 2005, from “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” to “Guess Who?” How may interacial couples consisting of sista have you really seen on screen ? (Sanaa was later.)
Let’s not lose ourselves in scientific verbiage or historical rhetoric. But, use them to see beyond yesteryear and embrace the evolution of our present.
Me personally I have no problem with the interracialcouples but they first time they featured a black princess I would think they would use a black prince! I also agree that although in cinema they do use more black male/white female relationships than vice versa…I don’t think Disney would do that! I’m pretty sure it was more of a finacial decision than a racial one but as a black male it is a little insulting. I think Disney thinks that white America would not come see a movi\e taht is a “black” love story even if it is a cartoon
Yes, Tom at the end of the day it was a financial decision based on which senario would bring in the most ticket sales. (period)
I agree Mr. Freeman, BUT… as a Black parent yourself, let you and your wife be the example of the “black love story” for your kids. We rely too much on media to set examples for our kids. Then criticize harshly when the “fail.” But, how can they fail at a job that shouldn’t be theirs in the first place?
Now, this prince… He could have been fair-skinned, blonde aired with blue eyes, but he’s not. The story’s set in the French Quarter. To me, the prince looks a bit mulatto. More than likely, Creole. But we’ll see once we get sound bytes.
As a grown Black man being the example for your daughter of what a man of substance should be, if youwanna hold an media accountable, you SHOULD be insulted by BET.
I also agree that the visual of the characters is more than likely based on statistical findings/based on how much money is expected to be made with such characters. However, I must ask the question: “Why does the statistical research not support a Black Prince?” Could it be that the general attitude of the masses is unaccepting of a Black man? In this society, A Black woman is and has always been less threatening than a Black man. And if the appearance of these characters is based on statistical evidence, then the dark-skinned, unquestionable, Black man is not as accepted in the eyes of the general audience. How much progress has Disney; and for that matter, our society really made?
Bingo you hit the nail on the head!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pfvhoSwEmM
chck these rappers out from miami
WOW…DOES IT GET ANYMORE FACTUAL THAN THIS?
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