So, I'll preface this by saying that I haven't yet seen "The Princess and the Frog," and probably won't until my son expresses an interest in it (at which point I'll probably preview it to determine appropriateness, and then go from there). Since he, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't heard of it, it will likely be a while before I watch it.
BUT...
I found this review of it very interesting: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/12/09/apop120909.DTL
I was especially interested in the comparisons he makes between this disney princess movie, and the previous disney princess movies featuring protagonists of color. The main difference being, apparently, that disney is actually directing their marketing towards African American consumers. Will that make/has that made a difference in the way disney treats this princess (see the second quote if you're not sure what I mean)? I don't know.
"While it's true that three "multicultural" princesses -- Jasmine from "Aladdin," Pocahontas and Mulan -- preceded Tiana in integrating Disney's royal sorority (Delta Pi!), it's also apparent that the earlier trio were included simply to bring a diversity of aesthetics and traditions into the overall Princess canon. The intent wasn't to target Arab, Native and Asian American markets; multicultural outreach attempts by Disney on behalf of those films were primarily defensive in nature -- focused on stemming potential negative press from those communities, rather than actively cultivating them as consumers."
Find this quote at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/12/09/apop120909.DTL#ixzz0aLUZeKOR
"The less robust consumer prospects of the smaller Asian American and Native American markets have had a direct consequence on the profile of Mulan and Pocahontas; they're generally pushed to the rear of group portraits, and they're the two princesses most likely to be left out when the herd is trimmed down, appearing only in the most inclusive sets of merchandise."
Find this quote at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/12/09/apop120909.DTL#ixzz0aLUZeKOR
What about you guys? Have you seen the movie? Is it as you would hope? Is it at all problematic? In what ways is it successful? How does it add to/change/affect the canon of disney princesses, in your eyes? I'd love to hear y'all's thoughts.
I absolutely LOVED this movie. It's full of great morals and really wonderful characters. I was soooo impressed. You should all go take your kids to see it, it was so much better than I expected. In general, I hate disney movies, but this one just blew me away. It was worth paying to see in the theaters, and I never say that. Both my children loved it, and there was nothing in it I felt the need to correct. It was just wonderful, and about time for a movie like this.
There was hard work, perserverence, and acheivement of goals. The main character was not swept off her feet by the handsome prince, and the rich, spoiled characters were not the ones who ended up rewarded. There was teamwork, and values like remembering what's really important, and not giving in to desires.
What I liked best about the movie, is the main character, Tiana, is a very hard worker, and works hard to accomplish her dreams. They really focused on working hard to accomplish your goals, teamwork, and true friendship. I LOVED the ending too. Yes, there is a marriage, but the marriage is based on love, and it really is just the sweetest ending, after everything Tiana goes through. The best part about the ending is that Tiana accomplishes her dream, without the help of the prince's riches.
I was listening to NPR about this (so you'll have to forgive me if I don't remember verbatim or have links)
They were talking about focus groups of kids who watched this film, and the thing that was found to be most surprising was...the kids didn't notice. Didn't notice she was black, didn't notice it was an ethnic story, they just accepted that she's another princess and it's another princess movie and isn't she pretty?
I haven't seen it yet, but Matt wants to so we're going soon (maybe tomorrow) I'm hearing this is the first time Disney has created a woman of color heroine and not completely missed the mark. Might just spark a turnaround for this company in regards to the way they treat ethnicity.
"I'm hearing this is the first time Disney has created a woman of color heroine and not completely missed the mark"
This is what I'd been hearing too (from various reviews). It seems like maybe that could be in part because of the marketing stuff the article I quoted talked about (as in, it's the first to not totally miss the mark b/c it's the first time Disney's been concerned about sales to the group of people it's representing with the princess)? I don't know. I'm certainly not expecting any sort of miraculous turn around, but I'm glad for any steps made in the right direction. I'm beginning to think more and more that I should check this film out whether or not ds decides he wants to.