Our recent discussions and readings about race in class made me think of this.
As you may or may not know, Disney has yet another princess movie coming out. It's called The Princess and the Frog.
This is the storyline given on the Movie's web page:
From the heart of Louisiana's mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty
Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a
trumpet playing alligator, a love sick Cajun firefly, and a host of other
charming characters at every turn.
Source: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/princessandthefrog/
A little background info on the movie: it's set in New Orleans French Quarter during the Jazz Age. What do you think of the setting? America never had official princesses, after all.
The main character is a princess named Tiana. She is the first black "Disney Princess", and will join the ranks of Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, and Aurora sometime in 2009. There have been Disney princesses since the dawn of animation- in 1937, to be exact, with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. So, why has it taken until now for there to be a black main character in an animated Disney movie?
And going along that thought, are there any black characters in any other Disney movies? I don't remember any off hand. I know that Kingdom Hearts- a video game collaboration between Disney and Square Enix- had no black characters, even though several characters from Final Fantasy (most notable Barrett Wallace from Final Fantasy VII) were black.
What do you all think?
Ja ne
~ Nikori
8 comments:
I do not recall any black characters but I do not watch Disney any more. I find that they can be sexist in some ways. The women needing to be saved by a man. I would consult Disney. Maybe they are not aware of it.
I really haven't seen any disney movies lately but as with anything else what does it matter what color the characters are it's a movie.
It's better late than never I say. It may have taken years but atleast it's happening. It will be interesting to see how Disney portrays the new princess and her family. What features and characteristics will be enhanced or not enhanced...? Will the movie be full of stereotypes for not only gender but race now as well...? It will be interesting to see.
What about the crows from Dumbo. They were very sterotypical.
And the stories Disney has come up with just work with whites because that is what most people thought of at the time.
Look at Aladdin a white girl would not work. Because when you think of Aladdin you think Arabian.
And this new movie. When I think New Orleans I think swinging blacks with a french twist. So it works. You could put a white girl but why would you.
YAY! I grew up on Disney and am a huge fan. I'm happy with the fact that they are finally branching out. I'm a little angry that they are still giving women those huge hips and small waists.. But, I guess one step at a time!
I heard about this a while ago and I'm hopefull about it. Maybe there will be some postive role models coming out of Disney for African American girls. Then again I have a strong feeling that sterotypes; such as language and attitude,may be present in the film. Seeing how the majority (and this is me just quessing here) of the Disney creative team is possibly white, there are bout to be some sterotypes lingering.
There are plenty of Black main roles in Disney movies.There was Whoopi Goldberg who played the voice of a hyena in "Lion King".Tyra Banks played a main role in "Life Size", which was a Disney movie.Brandy Norwood played in "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella" in (1997) which was a Disney film. Look those movies up if you are interested.
http://www.amazon.com/Rodgers-Hammersteins-Cinderella-Brandy-Norwood/dp/B00004Z4SE
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Size-Lindsay-Lohan/dp/6305870179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1223835982&sr=1-1
Wow, I never thought about it before. My little sister is in the disney princess stage, and I have to say that there are no black disney characters. I think the only character that is slightly dark skinned is pocahontas, and I don't think she is not even that popular. It will be interesting to see how this new movie does
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