Disney, it is time for a black princess!

[TM2-Megatron]

White people are not native, but foreigners!

Speak for yourself... my ancestors have been in North America long enough for me to call myself a native of the region. Earth is a ridiculously tiny & isolated world, so it's rather stupid of us to get caught up in all this petty, nationalistic, & ethnocentric garbage. We're all native to this world, and that should be good enough. Personally, I just consider myself human and leave it at that; all the qualifiers and honorifics are unnecessary, IMHO.

[Palan]

Speak for yourself... my ancestors have been in North America long enough for me to call myself a native of the region. Earth is a ridiculously tiny & isolated world, so it's rather stupid of us to get caught up in all this petty, nationalistic, & ethnocentric garbage. We're all native to this world, and that should be good enough. Personally, I just consider myself human and leave it at that; all the qualifiers and honorifics are unnecessary, IMHO.

Since the first humans originally evolved in Africa all people living anywhere else is technically immigrants.

[blackcauldron85]

wish granted:

Frog to introduce African American princess?

The Sea of Waking Dreams has some interesting information regarding Disney's upcoming traditionally-animated The Frog Princess. Rumor has it that the project's princess might be African American, with the story taking place in a "New Orleans-ish setting." Furthermore, the article writes that Frog Princess may sport a Jazz soundtrack. On Monday, it was reported that Randy Newman will compose the movie's music. Thanks to "theanim8r" at the Animated News Forum for this notice!

I thought I was going to break the news here, but you beat me! A New Orleans setting, with jazz music sounds amazing!!! I could see it being set in the 40s or something...I understand why the writer said that the jazz theme makes it easier to welcome Newman to the project...I like Alan Menken, and he did do country music for "Home on the Range", so I'm sure that he could tackle jazz...I wonder a) if the characters will be singing their own songs, and b) if Randy Newman can write "pretty" songs...for example, the majority of the songs in "Hercules" were fun and upbeat, some even gospel, but "Go the Distance" and even the upbeat "I Won't Say I'm In Love" are "pretty". Even though "Hercules" isn't a princess movie. And Newman didn't do the music...but I mean, I could see a jazz soundtrack being upbeat, but I wish it has a few "pretty" songs.

I'm looking forward to this movie...it'll be great, I'm hoping! I will miss Menken, though.

[MichaeLeah]

I thought it was interesting that in the Mickey Monitor I received today they had a black girl dresssed up as Belle to advertise to the Pirate/Princess thing they are doing in the Magic Kingdom right after the first of the year.

[Disney Duster]

Earth is a ridiculously tiny & isolated world, so it's rather stupid of us to get caught up in all this petty, nationalistic, & ethnocentric garbage. We're all native to this world, and that should be good enough. Personally, I just consider myself human and leave it at that; all the qualifiers and honorifics are unnecessary, IMHO.

Well said. I'm sorry if I offended you. I agree with you, though there is that whole thing about taking other people's land when they were there firrst...

Anyway, how on Earth could there be a real princess in New Orleans? I hope they don't just make her spoiled and rich and people nickname her "princess"!

[RachelSmachel]

Anyway, how on Earth could there be a real princess in New Orleans? I hope they don't just make her spoiled and rich and people nickname her "princess"!

They could always have her be "the princess of singing", make her the most renowned singer in New Orleans so everyone dubs her "The Princess".

[Disney Duster]

Anyway, how on Earth could there be a real princess in New Orleans? I hope they don't just make her spoiled and rich and people nickname her "princess"!

They could always have her be "the princess of singing",make her the most renowned singer in New Orleans so everyone dubs her "The Princess".

Yes, but that's the kind of thing I don't want! I thought they told us this would be a fairy tale, an animated musical fairy tale. Now the music is all jazz, and musicals are supposed to have different styles in them (Randy Newman's songs barely differ from each other!), and it might not even be a real princess! We wanted a traditional fairy tale, and I swear they said we would get one!

[Dottie]

They could always have her be "the princess of singing",make her the most renowned singer in New Orleans so everyone dubs her "The Princess".

Yes, but that's the kind of thing I don't want! I thought they told us this would be a fairy tale, an animated musical fairy tale. Now the music is all jazz, and musicals are supposed to have different styles in them (Randy Newman's songs barely differ from each other!), and it might not even be a real princess! We wanted a traditional fairy tale, and I swear they said we would get one!

This is what really freks me out!!!! They did indeed promise us a real, traditional Disney-style fairy tale. And that's what er're gonna get!!???
A modernized Jazz story??! How in the world are they going to make this believable, when she turns into a frog??!!
I want sth. like TLM and BatB and SW and Cindy and all the others!!!!!

[toonaspie]

I honestly dont know how the hell they are gonna make this work. I wouldve picked a better fairytale than the Frog Princess for a 2D comeback and if they want to put an African American princess in the Disney canon, I wouldve picked another story.

[akhenaten]

i'd rather an african frog princess set in africa among indigenous tribes..with randy newman songs. that would make a unique fairy tale..what's fairy talish about new orleans?

[toonaspie]

i'd rather an african frog princess set in africa among indigenous tribes..with randy newman songs. that would make a unique fairy tale..what's fairy talish about new orleans?

exactly...

I mean here's the thing...Disney fairytales of the past were succesful in story and such because they were able to remain true to their original source material. I mean if you watch the documentaries on alot of those Disney films you will find alot of research went into staying loyal to the original material while at the same time telling a Disney story.

Now I know what you're all thinking...Oliver & Company...we dont know a whole lot about how much research went into the story or why the story was set in modern times, but I think it worked out okay. A fairy tale with a twist...may not work as well...we got all of these fairy tale parodies being made by other companies and I fear that's how Frog Princess may turn out.

Another thing, I feel that this whole Frog Princess project is being put into production really quickly without a whole lot of insight and research and stuff. I think theyre already starting to make the same mistakes that they did in Eisner's time: putting animated films on the pipeline before actually having a story...you gotta have a story first people...it doesnt work to say "okay we'll put this fairy tale on the big screen by this time" and not have a story yet.

I still think using an African American princess for Frog Princess is a really bad idea...I mean if you knew what the actual Frog Princess fairytale is about you would feel a lil iffy about it too. I can see alot of controversy behind this matter.

[Vee]

Right.

I have just sat here for I don't know how long and read this whole thread. I will state, first and foremost, that I am neither racist nor sexist, nor homophobic or biased or bigoted in any way or form. I am one of the most open-minded people you could ever care to meet.

However, there is a huge difference between being "open-minded" and "politically correct".

To be open-minded is to listen to and understand the points of view of people different than yourself, whether it's their nationality, religion or even just their opinions that differ from your own.

To be politically correct is to take huge, ridiculous precautions to avoid offending people by not disputing anyone's nationality, religion or opinion, which, in all honesty, I find incredibly offensive as it means there are certain things you "can't do" or "can't say".

Be forewarned. What I am about to say is not politically correct. However, these are my opinions, and I am entitled to them, just as all of you are, and you are more than welcome to disagree with me if you want to.

Why should Disney make an animated feature involving African Americans just because it's 2006, or just because they've never done it properly before? It doesn't make them racist if they don't do it. It doesn't make them close-minded and it doesn't make them ignorant. What the original author of this topic - who hasn't come back or made any other posts whatsoever since, it seems - is actually suggesting is that Disney are racist for not yet including an African American lead in an animated feature. Reading that first post, she sounded downright offended, despite having absolutely nothing to be offended about.

As others have already stated, Disney's stories until recently have been based on old European stories, and as such revolve around European people. That doesn't make them racist. It's just subject matter. Making a feature just for the sake of having an African American lead - as it seems like The Frog Princess is going to, from what others have said - is ridiculous. Again, I find that more offensive than their not doing anything at all, like they're just doing it to make the OMG ANTI-RACISM people shut up. It's not good at all, just like making a feature that deals with the homosexuality issue for the sake of making it to satisfy the OMG EQUALITY people in the gay community.

A nice, traditional African story would be ideal if Disney really wanted to do this. That's the way all of their old animated features were; they were based on old stories and fairytales. If Disney were to make a new animated feature based on an old African tale, maybe like a creation story or something, that would be being open-minded rather than just being politically correct.

Apologies if I've offended anyone, but again, these are merely my opinions and nothing more. Nobody's forcing any of you to agree with me. Needless to say, I will not be signing any petitions.

[Wonderlicious]

Vee, I didn't find you to be offensive at all there, and like you, I'm far from a racist or a homophobe. I have to agree that sometimes, political corectness can get out of hand and becomes frankly insulting to the minorities who are "supposedly being offended". If people notice some insulting things in something that nobody else notices, it raises the question...what do they think of XYZ a person and what are they trying to hide? Of course, being against extreme-right people and causes is a good thing, but I can't help but want to journey into the minds of people who make these official/unoffcial hysterical things just to see what they really think...

[ichabod]

Ah, political correctness, the eternal doughnut!

The idea of a story set in New Orleans with a jazz score sounds absolutely wonderful and I'd be the first to support it, but mashing that concept together with a classic fairy tale, just doesn't sit well in my head and it does appear that this is a case of positive discrimination, just doing it to keep people happy.

I would be perfectly happy if Disney brought us a black princess, but as most have already expressed only if done right and not just for the sake of doing it. I don't know why, but It feels as if Disney were to mash these ideas together there is a slight amount of selfish thinking from a marketting and merchandising point of view.

However what will be, will be and I think it's important we not get too ahead of ourselves, this whole idea could be one of dozens of possible plots, we'll just have to wait and see.

[lapniappe]

I haven't read all the posts; (I will). but I feel like i need to comment. Disney Duster, you had me clapping.

I don't see disney princesses of characters of colour. They are fairy tales. As a fairy tale, you subconciously recognize and admit 9/10 the heroine and everyone is going to be white. but you watch for the story. You enjoy the story.

Growing up in the heyday of The Little Mermaid and more importantly Beauty and the Beast, I was ALWAYS pretending I was Belle. Did it matter that I wasn't white? No. did it matter that I wasn't skinny? No. did it matter that there wasn't a Beast? (no, because i was like what, in 6th grade? lol). But whenever i pretended, I was belle, singing, "Belle", and pretending to be "Ugghh Gaston" to any boy who bothered me.

Disney is about the profit. That's what generates the Platinum Line, that's what generates Disney treasures, and that's what generates the Princess line. Think about all the princesses out there. Now think about who headlines princesses:

Belle
Cinderella
Ariel
Aurora.


Snow white doesn't even really headline it anymore. Jasmine is a princess, so is Pocahontas. but the first three are high grossing movies, and Aurora/Sleeping beauty always had a cool following. that's it. nothing more, nothing less, nothing racial about it.


Now - someone mentioned it (sorry - didn't catch your name). but I agree about doing an african story. Disney's greatest movies are fairy tales. I think they should return to that. Pocahontas was a great story for me. there should be a cool african history story that people can fall in love with. that would be cool

but i would be more insulted if they made a black princess to appease people, rather than having a black princess because people genuinely loved said back princess.

[Disney Duster]

Disney Duster, you had me clapping.

Thank you. You're post had me clapping too...in my mind.

In fact, for not falling into this racism thing and playing whoever you want to play even if you don't look like who you're pretending to be.

When I re-read my post, I had said that I wouldn't mind if The Frog Princess had an African American princess, as long as it was set in Africa. But in New Orleans...well, there weren't any real princesses there, were there? It seems to me that from the rumors we've heard, we'll have a girl who is called "Princess", probably just the "Princess of Soul" or the "Princess of Jazz". But we want a traditional fairy tale. This "modern-day fairy tale" thing has been done recently, and I don't want a 2-D animated A Cinderella Story with Hillary Duff!

If Disney wants to do The Frog Princess, I would like it to be set in Russia, where many versions of this story exist (and possible where it originated), with the Princes shooting arrows and all! People who are not well-informed will surely roll their eyes and say, "Oh, look, another white princess from Disney", but with proper advertising that includes information on why they set the story in Russia, and where the story came from, then maybe we'd get to see another beautiful fairy tale set in a new, exotic place, brought to life in a way only Disney could. I believe Peter and the Wolf was the only thing done by Disney set in Russia. My neighbor happens to be from Russia. What about equality for her?! Oh wait...The Little Matchgirl was set in Russia...

Which is all the more reason I think Disney should do The Frog Prince instead, but that's another story...

[Simba3]

I personally think it would be great to see a black Disney princess sometime soon. However, I have to agree with what seems to be the general concensus throughout this entire thread and say that it should be done RIGHT! I think it is silly to make a princess of a Disney movie black just because people think it is time. I would much rather see a Disney film made from an African story, with black characters (i.e. a black princess, or Prince) that explores African culture and traditions. Movies like Pocahontas and Mulan were great because not only did they have characters of color, but they also did a wonderful job of showing off Native American and Asian culture/traditions. I am all about having a black Disney princess, but I would hope she appears in a great STORY (that is the most important part)!

[Wonderlicious]

Which is all the more reason I think Disney should do The Frog Prince instead, but that's another story...

Sorry to seem random and a self-advertisement, but I actually came up with a Disneyfied plot for The Frog Prince a few years ago. It's a bit over the top, though, and a bit "let's copy Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. I also came up with a Rapunzel plot (well, synopsis that when expanded would mean first half hour of material), but then I discovered that Disney was making a real-for-real version of that.

[numba1lostboy]

What ever happened to mommygrove, the user who started this thread? She hasn't posted anything else in the whole forum except for the initial post for this thread.
Did she just come to preach to us and then leave? What's up with that? I want to know what she thinks about what everyone says. She started this thread, why isn't she contributing?

[Vee]

What ever happened to mommygrove, the user who started this thread? She hasn't posted anything else in the whole forum except for the initial post for this thread.
Did she just come to preach to us and then leave? What's up with that? I want to know what she thinks about what everyone says. She started this thread, why isn't she contributing?

Honestly, it's probably because she isn't receiving any support of note here. I wonder if maybe she feels a bit silly as well for being so overly PC about it.