Racial Issues in Disney’s ‘The Princess and the Frog’ Considered by DePaul Community

Cinderella’s glass slipper, Jasmine’s magic carpet ride and Ariel’s first steps on land were the Walt Disney princess stories that captured many young girls’ hearts over ten years ago. Of the nine Disney princesses, there has never been an African-American princess-until now. On Dec. 11, Disney will introduce in theaters nationwide, their first African-American princess in “The Princess and the Frog.”

“This is very liberating for black women and also just women in general,” said the liason of DePaul’s Black Student Union, Demtrius Upchurch, who graduated last year. “This is definitely a step forward in terms of how young girls of African descent look at themselves.”

The fairytale’s prince is Caucasian, voiced by Brazilian actor Bruno Campos.

“Disney wants to sell this movie,” said Upchurch who said he believes the princess and prince are a biracial couple for marketing reasons. “Disney was probably thinking it might be too much to have a black princess and a black prince because it could then be seen as a cartoon for black people and alienate the movie to a narrowed audience,” said Upchurch.

“I think it’s positive to have a biracial couple. Now let’s see if they end up together in the end of the movie,” said Barbara Speicher, an associate professor of communications at DePaul. “That seems to be a theme with biracial couples in animated films; something comes up in the end and they break-up.

Disney said Princess Tiana, who is voiced by Anika Noni Rose, is based on the values of self-confidence and independence and “is always ready to roll up her sleeves and do the hard work that will help inspire her community.”

“Maybe Disney has finally done something right for a change,” said Selma Jackson, a McKinley Park resident and mother of two. “If the princess does in fact have a more independent and stronger character than the princesses in the past, this might finally be a Disney movie I am not hesitant to take my daughters to see.”

But even if it seems as though Disney is making a move in the right direction, viewers should still be prepared for the possibility of disappointment.

“Animated princesses of color tend to be more sexualized, more voluptuous and reinforce many racial stereotypes,” said Speicher. While Speicher said she believes it is positive to have an African-American princess, she will be looking out for these racial stereotypes.

“If Princess Tiana is more mature and womanly which leads her to being more sexually active, then that is playing to what other Disney movies have done in the past,” said Speicher. “If that is the case then the movie is probably going to be leaving the same impressions on children that previous ones have left.”

The movie has received some criticism for being stereotypical to African-Americans due to characteristics such as Princess Tiana’s dialect, wide-hips and wig. The movie also features a Voodoo priestess fairy godmother.

“The Voodoo is a part of black culture,” said Upchurch. “I think some people have this idealistic way of how they want to be represented. But there are different ways. We have different facial features, and I think it would be unfair to represent any person in a certain way.”

“There is a lack of diversity of the way people of color are portrayed. The more diversity there is, people become less prone to stereotyping,” said Upchurch.

There needs to be more diverse images of black people so that people won’t become angry at the particular ways they are represented.

The movie was originally supposed to feature Maddy, a black chambermaid working for a spoilt, white Southern debutante. The original storyboard was believed to have been torn up after criticism that Maddy’s character was a subservient role with echoes of slavery. The film was originally titled, “The Frog Princess,” but changed when some interpreted it as a slur.

This is not the first time Disney’s multicultural movies have been met with racial skepticism. In 1993, Disney’s Aladdin was protested from Muslims who said the film depicted the Middle East as barbaric. The opening song, “Arabian Nights,” sang, “I come from a land, from a faraway place, where the caravan camels roam, where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face; it’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.”

Princess Tiana will be the forth Disney princess of color, joining Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan.

Disney began grouping the Disney princesses together in 2000. The Disney princess franchise has grown from $300 million in global retail sales at the time of launch and is projected to reach the $5 billion mark by Disney Consumer Products.

While the traditional “Princess and the Frog” fairy tale took place in a country with a monarchy, Disney changed the tale’s setting to the French Quarter of New Orleans.

“I think that it is perfectly acceptable to change a story’s setting, especially a fairy tale so that children are more easily able to relate to the main characters,” said Jackson.

The “Princess and the Frog” is returning to the traditional 2-D, hand drawn style of animation that was once used to illustrate the former Disney princesses.

“Assuming Disney has learned from its mistakes, our children are finally going to have a princess worth idolizing,” said Jackson. “If the princess is confident and if she is independent, then I think we, as women of color, may finally have some positive role models for our girls.”