The Catalyst

By Rachel Hibberd, Reporter

In an age of entertainment ruled by computer generated images, Disney goes back to its roots and follows animation drawn by hand, known as cell animation. “The Princess and the Frog” is intended to have the same traditional look as other classic Disney movies such as Cinderella, the Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty. A new twist is taken on the memorable story of the Frog Prince and grabs the attention of audiences all around. Unfortunately, not all interest is good interest.

“The Princess and the Frog” takes place in the exciting setting of New Orleans during the 1920’s. When a foolish young prince is turned into a frog by an evil voodoo priest, Tiana, the heroine of this movie, tries to turn him human again by bestowing a kiss upon him. When this backfires, Tiana is turned into a frog as well. Together, they must travel to find the good voodoo priest, Mama Odie, to return them to their true states. Disney puts a new twist on a classic tale leaving it enjoyable for nearly all viewers. Some audiences however, are not looking forward to this release the least bit.

A controversy has sprung over this latest Disney princess and her background. Tiana is a chambermaid in the film. Now, plenty of other Disney cartoons have included their princesses during cleaning and house work, but the offense taken in this film is that Tiana is African American. There are numerous African American citizens complaining that this role is “insensitive” and “racist.” They feel it is demeaning to their people and encouraging the idea of blacks as slaves. Not only to some people have an issue with her occupation, but some feel that her body shape is even putting forth racism.

The artist and others working on the movie gave Tiana larger hips and fuller lips. But when the suggestion came to make those features smaller, some complained saying that that would make her look too Caucasian.

Even Tiana’s name sparked stirring in audiences. In the beginning, her name was to be Maddy, yet a few people felt that Maddy was a “slave name” and that it was unbecoming of a so-called princess.
Nothing about Tiana’s character seemed appropriate, from her New Orleans home to her love interest, Prince Naveen. She is African American while he has a lighter complexion. Many people addressing this film have blogged protesting the very making of the film. They believe that it is insensitive to African American people and that if Disney truly wanted a multiracial group of Princesses they would have based the story off of a more authentic African tale.

Not all African American people are opposed to the release of “The Princess and the Frog”, some embrace it. They are happy to finally see a heroine they can relate to on a different level from the other Disney Princesses. As far as the multiracial coupling of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen, they approve of the idea. They like that it shows that it’s okay to fall in love with someone of a different ethnic background.

While some will fuss about the releasing of “The Princess and the Frog” until the day it comes out and surely even longer after the fact, it is sure to be enjoyable as long as people can be mature enough to look beyond their biases. Welcome this film for the heart warming story it brings and take pleasure in the entertainment itself.