John Lasseter is probably the best thing to happen to Disney since Walt Disney.  Not only does he have a command of CGI art with Pixar, he respects the beauty of the original 2D art.  We get the original formula and in my opinion, The Princess and the Frog was a huge success!

A lot of people are trying to make this movie about “the first black princess” and other PC garbage.  Being one raised on principles of judge the character, not the color, and believing the messages of Sesame Street and other kid programs that “peoples is peoples” I went into this movie looking for a good and honest story and I found one.

So, let’s get to the review.

CHARACTERS

Tiana is among my top favorite Disney heroines.  It’s probably a tie between her and Mulan.  What can I say, I like the power woman characters, and Tiana speaks to me on multiple levels, especially considering she touts the principles of hard work and effort in an increasingly entitlement society.  She’s cute, witty, hard-working and just all around awesome.

I like that Prince Naveen is basically the opposite of Tiana in character traits.  I also like that he’s non-traditional, that he’s not initially there to save a damsel in distress.  We know he’s a good guy, he just needs someone like Tiana to set the example for him to shed his less desirable traits.

The villain, Dr. Facilier, I thought was the weakest in the mix, but he’s acceptable.  I don’t know what I’d offer to help make him more interesting.  He just left a lot of holes in his own plot is all I’m saying, but since he’s not the major focus of the film, I was willing to give it a pass.

There were numerous lovable characters including Ray, Louis, Mama Odie and Charlotte.  I loved them all!

ANIMATION

It’s what I’ve been waiting for.  A return to tradition, and what a fantastic place to bring to life.  I’ve been to New Orleans, and I loved seeing familiar sights and hearing about the different foods I’ve tried.  If you’ve been to New Orleans, then you owe yourself this movie at least to take a trip down memory lane.

The credits also have that Pixar stylistic touch, for those art fanatics out there.  Thank you John.

MUSIC

I’ve been a soundtrack fanatic.  But the last several years, I haven’t found as much that’s spoken to me.  (What’s the last great soundtrack John Williams did?  The last one I picked up from him was HP3).  I didn’t come out thinking that’s the best soundtrack ever.  But after a few days, I found the songs stuck in my head and had to grab them.  I still love it.  And I got it via MP3 download on Amazon.com for $7.99.  It might still be available for that.

I’m a fan of the Randy Newman style, even though I worry about him getting a little tired for sound, since he did like 90% of the Pixar stuff.  I know some people were against him because he was white, but that’s what we call racism, so stop.  His style fits this piece, deal with it.

OVERALL

They didn’t paint this to be in a futuristic lollipops and candy world.  They still addressed some prejudices we unfortunately see, whether Tiana dealing with the realtors, or views of Cajuns.  I liked that they showed it isn’t necessarily voodoo that’s evil, but the person using it (Dr. Facilier vs. Mama Odie).

Parents, what better film could you ask for than one that says you can’t just wish for something, you’ve got to work hard to make it happen.  That you’ve got to really examine what you need vs. what you want to be happy (Dig a Lil Deeper) and don’t trade what you want now for what you want most.

Loved it!  Go see it!

Rating: A+

As I headed out to see Disney’s latest film, The Princess and the Frog, I was looking forward to see the long overdue representation of a princess-of-color. As Disney hardly has a reputation for racial inclusiveness, yet alone the breaking down of race, class, and gender norms, I didn’t expect to have my feminist socks blown off.

After 96 minutes of enjoyable animation and some good music, I would say I was pleased with parts of the film, dismayed by others. What irked me the most was that Tiana, the first ever Disney WOC protagonist, was a FROG for the majority of the film. Her turn to GREEN was especially disappointing as I was enjoying viewing a smart, sassy, capable black woman helming a Disney script.

Thanks to the evil machinations of “the shadow man,” Tiana becomes a frog – and remains in amphibian form until her marriage to Prince Naveen releases her back to human form. Though she works hard along the films journey, showing more gumption, wisdom, and bravery than the rather foppish Prince, what ultimately allows her dreams to come true is the same institution that offered happy endings for Cinderella et al – marriage.

Yet, despite Disney’s apparent inability to imagine an ending that does not involve a poofy dress and “fairy tale wedding,” it does break some important ground in this film. It shows the racialized class divide of New Orleans without stereotyping poverty, it conveys that women can be successful business owners (and witch doctors), it includes a song championing diversity and inclusiveness — it even pokes fun at the silly wish-upon-a-star princess type that is its bread-and-butter via Charlotte.

While I enjoyed the loving derision heaped on Charlotte’s character, I wondered about the way the film sexualizes her. Puckering her lips, loading on the sexy make up, and wiggling her breasts into boob-highlighting dresses, the film hints that females who inhabit their sexuality are shallow man-hunters. So, on the one hand, mocking a female who only cares about princess dresses and who dreams of nothing but wedding a prince, was a step in the right direction, presenting her as an annoying, empty-headed, cleavage exposing ninny smacked of the misogynistic tradition running through Disney history – a history that castizes any woman who is too powerful, too rich, too sexual, too anything but potential wife…

Further, the stereotypical hill-billy representation of the frog hunters and the lightning bugs rubbed me the wrong way. The two-fingered idiocy and gap-toothed naivite of these Bayou characters traded in the typical “oh, aren’t these backwoods people dumb” humor that also colored earlier films such as The Rescuers and Pete’s Dragon. So, to answer the question posed by Aviva at Fourth Wave Feminism, …, yes, this film does make me “twitch a little with stereotype-overload”!  But, to be fair, “Cartoons by their nature trade in caricatures” (as pointed out in this NYTimes piece). However, too often, the caricatures work to enforce negative stereotypes and beliefs about marginalized societal groups – women, people of color, the working class, etc, while the “good guys” are just that – guys (and usually white wealthy ones, ALWAYS hetero ones).

And being that its Disney, Tiana will no doubt join the long parade of female characters who build upon the princess franchise – inculcating little girls with the message that pretty dresses and handsome princes are what one should REALLY be wishing for – along with a room filled with Disney merchandise, of course. As Brooks Barnes of NYTimes writes, “The Disney Princess merchandising line is a $4 billion annual business and the company has plans for Tiana to be everywhere. Get ready for Tiana dresses, elaborate dolls and Halloween costumes.” (For more on Disney’s Princess Franchise, go here.)

Yet, to end on a positive note, the films focus on a strong-career minded woman who, for once, was not “the fairest of them all” was pleasing. As Rose Afriyie feministing writes, The idea that men can and should play a role in food preparation and that women can own their own business while building viable, healthy relationships was so groundbreaking for a movie with the word “princess” in the title. As Afriyie further notes, Tiana’s representation mitigates the “welfare queen” stereotype.

My ten-year-old daughter felt the film had good messages, citing the “Dig a Little Deeper Song” and Mama Odie’s character especially (as well as the way the film mocked the princess meme via Charlotte). Like her, I left the theatre with a smile on my face. However, I would have been happier had Tiana’s screen time had been less green – if she had been featured AS a human-of-color rather than a plucky frog-woman…

The Good: Brilliant 2-D animation. Voice actors that don’t distract from the characters. A positive tone that makes the audience genuinely cheery. A unique setting in 1920s New Orleans and the Bayou. The first African-American Disney Princess. An improved emotional and action-packed second half. Interesting and successfully creepy villain, Dr. Facilier. Ray the Firefly.

The Bad: Randy Newman’s bland Americana score. Earnest attempts at humor often fall short of the hilarity of past Disney classics. A disturbing message of the heroine sacrificing her personal dreams for a man. Tiana spends most of the film as a frog.

The Bottom Line: The message that a woman’s worth is measured by the man she marries is a sour core in every Disney fruit and it’s mitigated by one of the strongest female protagonists in Disney since Mulan. Though the music is ultimately a let-down, this entry into the official animated feature pantheon is an inspiring return to the elements that used to make Disney movies great. Highly recommended to families and Disney junkies.

You can tell a lot about a person and the tribulations of their generation by what they consider the last classic Disney movie.

I say Mulan was the last Disney animated feature that deserved the “Classic” title. Once Phil Collins got involved in Tarzan and the animators started playing with those 3-D tree branches, Disney started going down a dark path of sloth and dull approaches to children’s cinema.

Which is why you have to feel bad for the kids born at the turn of the millennium who primarily know Disney for stuff like the John Travolta crap-vessel Bolt and Hannah Montana. (Disclaimer: I haven’t seen Bolt, but I can only assume that if it includes post-Pulp Fiction John Travolta, that it must be a crap-vessel.)

For over the past decade the only name that really deserved credit for quality animated features was Pixar, owned by Disney, but working with its own creative team. The only gem I can remember from the slew of dream-killing slough pumped out by the 2-D factory was Lilo & Stitch. Naturally, the Di$ney executives figured that Pixar’s talent must have lied in something easily imitable – 3-D animation. So, without any care for the fact that their best movies were 2-D musicals, the studio killed the traditional animation series in favor of this:

No, we used "Awesome" as the tagline for our last movie. We need something different. -- How about FULLY awesome? -- GENIUS!

Luckily for us if not necessarily for them, Disney completely acquired Pixar after the superior studio tried to escape its clutches. But like a tragic hero, John Lasseter allowed himself to be absorbed as the Cheif Creative Officer for all of Disney’s animation. And it was Lasseter who realized that what the new Disney Animation Studios needed was a touch of the old magic. Enter The Princess and the Frog.

Synopsis

The movie is set in post-WWI New Orleans and centers around the latest official addition to the Disney Princess marketing ploy, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose, Dreamgirls), a black waitress with humble roots whose dream is to open a restaurant in memory of her father. Tiana is a gifted cook and a hard worker — in fact, she has a reputation of being incapable of enjoying life like a normal 19-year old in The Big Easy. She has little interest in the girlish fantasies of her rich (and white) best friend, Charlotte (Jennifer Cody), who goes gaga over the arrival of the handsome Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos, Nip/Tuck) from Maldonia and intends to fulfill her own fantasy of marrying royalty.

Naveen is something of a cad, interested only in partying and living it up while playing his ukulele. Cut off from his family’s fortune, he’s in the market for a rich sugar mama, though he’s not ready for the responsibilities of marriage, much to the chagrin of his exasperated and envious butler, Lawrence (Peter Bartlett). Seeing an opportunity to usurp Charlotte’s father (John Goodman) as the “King” of New Orleans, the sinister voodoo magician Dr. Facilier (Keith David, Goliath in Gargoyles) seduces Naveen with the prospect of being rich and free. Instead, he steals Naveen’s blood and turns the prince into a frog, transforming Lawrence into a Prince-replica he can manipulate to power.

Frog-Naveen escapes Facilier’s clutches and finds Tiana, believing her to be a princess. Overcoming her disgust, Tiana agrees to kiss him in hopes that the grateful Naveen will help her get her restaurant. The kiss backfires though, turning Tiana into a frog herself and forcing her to accompany Naveen on his quest to find someone to turn him back to his old self. Along the way, they meet the requisite goofy sidekicks, trumpet-playing, jazz-loving alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley) and Cajun firefly Ray (Jim Cummings, legendary voice actor of Winnie the Pooh).

I'm not sure if he's an offensive character to real Cajuns, but he's still the best one.

Verdict: Very Watchable

The best part of The Princess and the Frog is seeing the vibrancy of the animation. This movie proves that CGI’s role should be the replacement of traditional animation, but rather an alternative art or supplementary tool. It may not rank in the top 5 art designs for Disney animated classics, but as a breath of fresh air after years of hibernation, it holds a special place in animation history.

Most of the characters in the movie sidestep the annoying wackiness of modern children’s films. Tiana is no-nonsense and determined, rather than being a useless bimbo like say…Aurora or Snow White herself. Prince Naveen is stereotypically European in his cavalier attitude toward life and romance, but he eventually becomes a believably deeper character. Keith David plays a menacing figure as Dr. Facilier, a character with the closest connections to Satan since the winged demon in Fantasia.

Spoiled “princess” Charlotte is notable as being a rich, materialistic character who still considers Tiana a friend, rather than falling into the tired “all rich people are douchebag obstructionists” trope (there’s also a surprising amount of attention on her cleavage). As for the sidekicks, Louis the alligator failed to impress me, primarily serving as a slapstick vehicle. Ray the Firefly on the other hand was always hilarious, thanks in no small part to Jim Cumming’s voice work.

The movie also features one of the most shocking on-screen deaths of any Disney movie in memory. It’s a testament to the characters that the audience gasps and looks on in stunned silence when this happens. I’ll freely admit I choked up a bit. So props to Disney for making a cynic care about a cartoon character.

Unfortunately, one of the hallmarks of a traditional Disney classic should be the music and this is where Princess and the Frog hits the sourest note with me. The music isn’t bad per se, but it certainly isn’t anywhere near as memorable as the numbers in other filmss helmed by directors Ron Clements and John Musker, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules. One of the best songs in the movie is unfortunately the shortest and Tiana’s trademark theme of hope and dreams, “Almost There” is sung quite well…it just isn’t in the same league as “Part of Your World” or “Go the Distance.”

Er....good thing he didn't score Benjamin Button?

Granted, those other movies had the benefit of Alan Menken, the genius behind many of the Disney tunes that invade your brain when you’re trying to inspire yourself at the gym (or is that just me?). Instead, the Princess and the Frog brings out Randy Newman, who has made maybe two good songs for the Toy Story franchise, but has subsequently weighed down movies like this one with his plodding scores. It may be that the music is mostly disappointing because of comparison with its predecessors, but even so, Newman fails to add some genuine flair, exoticism, and fantasy into most of the score. Considering it’s a movie about New Orleans, birthplace of jazz, and incorporates jazz into one of its characters, something other than bland elevator-jazz would have been appreciated too.

I’d say the two full-length songs that approach classic Disney hummability are “When We’re Human” and “Dig a Little Deeper.”

The Racial Issue

Yes, but what about the fact that she’s black?

Well…whether you call it a stroke of genius or a gross shirking of duty, little is made of Tiana’s race, despite being set in the pre-civil rights era South. The most disparaging remark by a character in the movie can primarily be interpreted as a comment on her socioeconomic status, but it’s the only moment with racial undertones. At first, one might be tempted to criticize this sidestepping of a crucial conflict for the setting. After all, it’s hard to look at Charlotte and Tiana’s relationship without an arched eyebrow.

But, in retrospect, one can see the logic behind sweeping racial conflict under the rug for a 21st century children’s fantasy. While the past year has taught us that racism is certainly not dead in the United States, it’s also a clear sign that its grip on the country is eroding. Rather than perpetuate the image of privileged white people stepping all over black people, Disney has successfully created a fully fleshed-out black heroine who deals with troubles relatable to children of any race or color. For all the possible racial criticisms one can make about the movie, you certainly can’t label Tiana as “token.”

The frog community, on the other hand, is in an uproar over the gross stereotyping.

However, Disney has inadvertently found itself in a hot gumbo pot by making Tiana a frog for most of the movie. I don’t really see it as an intentional effort to lessen a black protagonist’s role in a movie, but that’s essentially the consequence. Also, oddly enough, Naveen seems like a European and he has a white, British butler, but he’s almost as dark as Tiana. Of course, had he been white, Al Sharpton would have personally lobbed a grenade in John Lasseter’s office, so leaving him a racially ambiguous character was probably the safest route.

BabeWatch

This is obviously wrong since, uh, Tiana isn’t real, but of the official Disney Princesses: Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, Belle, Ariel, Pocahontas, and Mulan, Tiana is among the hottest. I’d say the only hotter one is Ariel. And we all know why Ariel is the hot one, right, boys?

...Her wonderful singing voice, of course.

Closing Credits

Okay, it’s revolutionary in its revival of the classic Disney musical and its featuring strong black characters, but should girls look up to this new Princess?

Look, if you’re in search of a family-friendly movie that will inspire little girls to stop searching for a hot dude with connections to money, Good Luck. This isn’t it. But it does have at least as strong a feminist message as Mulan and in a more realistic context. Feminists may decry the mere possibility that she might give up material success for a man, but I think the film ultimately makes a statement about love and hard work that brings a slightly less misogynistic tone to “happily ever after.”

But still only slightly. The movie must make money after all. *rolls eyes*

We shouldn’t expect Disney to come roaring in with another Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, but The Princess and the Frog is an excellent start to Disney’s return to on-screen magic. Anyone with fond memories of the classics (and guys in need of a cute date movie) should give it a look. The Princess and the Frog gets EIGHT out of TEN beignets.

….So how long until the first Lesbian Disney Princess?

2009 has been a great year for animation, particularly in the advances that were made in leaps and bounds this year.  Wes Anderson used stop-motion animation to bring “Fantastic Mr. Fox” to life.  Although they hesitate to call it animation, James Cameron and Robert Zemeckis continued to perfect the motion capture technology, the former practically reinventing it.  To top it all off, our good friend Pixar, faithfully churning out magnificent movies year after year, had perhaps their finest moment yet with “Up,” and the Academy may just reward it with only the second Best Picture nomination for an animated film.

But what about old-fashioned, hand-drawn animation?

“The Princess and the Frog” is one of the best movies of the year not because it sets out to revolutionize its craft or because it tries to impress us with its bravura; in fact, it’s such a joy because it does just the opposite.  It sticks rather simply to the way animation was done in the good old days, and it has the beautiful charm to make you feel like you did as a child watching the Disney animated classics.

“The Princess and the Frog” is able to channel the rapture of the golden age of animation while combining it with a more contemporary ethic.  It doesn’t entirely belittle the power of wishes and dreams, which movies like “Cinderella” and “Snow White” trained us to believe was all you needed.  But the movie’s main lesson is to teach the value of working hard to achieve your dreams, which is just what Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose, “Dreamgirls”) does.  She works two jobs in New Orleans so she can open the restaurant that she and her father (Terrence Howard) dreamed about when she was a child.  He is the main voice echoing in her head, always saying that you cannot rely on the cosmos to give you what you want.  However, in a moment of desperation, she kisses a frog who claims to be a prince in hopes that she will get the fairy tale ending of “The Frog Prince.”  But the frog doesn’t become a prince; Tiana becomes a frog thanks to a voodoo priest (Keith David) that is creepy on a level I reserve for villains like Jafar and Scar.  The two must travel through the bayou to reach Mama Odie, a voodoo priestess that can set things back to the way they are.  To navigate the perilous terrain, they enlist a trumpet-tooting alligator named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a thickly accented, love-struck firefly named Ray (Jim Cummings).  The journey is filled with plenty of spirited musical numbers and enough fun to make your smile as wide as the Mississippi.

I say that the movie isn’t innovative, but that doesn’t mean that it feels trite or like a prolonged homage to the movies with which we grew up.  It’s easy to see that “The Princess and the Frog” is deeply rooted in Disney’s rich past of animation, yet what springs up from those roots is something discernibly different.  It is a tasty hodgepodge of themes old and new, a movie where “do it yourself” collides with “good things come to good people.”

A very happy median between the two principles is reached, and this is one movie where the fun floats through the air like the notes of Randy Newman’s jazzy music.  The songs are lively toe-tappers, ranging from cheery (“Almost There”) to jovially longing (“When We’re Human”) to spiritual uplift (“Dig a Little Deeper”).  Anika Noni Rose has the soft, sweet voice perfect to carry out Tiana’s numbers, and she gets quite a challenge from Michael-Leon Lewis with his plump and perky alligator for the movie’s real show-stopper.

“The Princess and the Frog” may do a bit of catering to our nostalgia, but it has enough merriment on its own merit to deserve a place next to perennial favorites like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.”  It doesn’t raise the craft of animation to a new standard, but it reminds us of a level that is gathering dust rapidly.  This is a movie with a exuberant spirit that flies with the classics of Disney’s animated canon.  A /

Whispers that Disney was finally going to make a fairy tale movie about a black girl caused black folk to get in an uproar. There were mixed reactions from the community. They consisted of “Yes! Finally Disney is giving our black youth a positive role model when they’ve ignored us for 50 years!” and “This isn’t going to be good, it’s gonna be racist or offensive in some way.”

Actually, there was such commotion about “The Princess and the Frog” before it was released, I was surprised Disney even released it. They changed Tiana’s name, they changed her job, even the title of the movie. It was supposed to be the Frog Princess but blacks got offended. The original fairy tale was the Frog Prince. I mean, come on people.

I admit I had the same mixed reaction when I heard about the film, yet any hesitation I had was silenced by the fact that it was going to be a fairy tale, a genre with different motivations and expectations, and that now, black children, hey, even black adults could have an option when they went to BlockBuster Video.

thank god disney didn't make her light-skinned, we'd never hear the end of it

I just watched the film last night and I was very pleased. In one sense it was a post-racial (the idea that society has, or will soon, move past race) because it employed a strong Protestant Work Ethic. In another sense there were signifiers suggesting that young black children had a specific connection to the main character Tiana. However, since the film arrived in theatres, critics have argued that it is racially offensive because :

1. The character’s name is Tiana, which to them is a stereotypical or “ghetto” sounding name.
2. The characters themselves are stereotypical in their dialect.
3. Disney tends to portray its heroine as a conservative black Republican (arguably not a majority political stance within the community) because she works hard and doesn’t accept welfare or handouts.
4. Black women are forced to work hard and white women don’t have to if they come from old money.
5. Tiana ends up in an interracial marriage; she doesn’t marry a black prince.

All of these claims are valid yet they seem to be irrelevant when black critics forget that this is a fairy tale for black children. Fairy Tales are inherently politically correct especially through a feminist lens. The females in these tales are manipulated until they grow up and get married. If that isn’t politically incorrect I don’t know what is. The Princess and the Frog, adapted from the Frog Prince is an animal-groom tale in which the prince, while he is a frog delves into his unconscious until he is ready for marriage. In the Disney tale both of them transform into frogs until they find out who they are.

Disney actually Negates Stereotypes

ick, boy parts

Interestingly, the premise of this film alone dispels stereotypes about black women and women in general. First of all, Bruno Bettelheim has argued that the use of the frog in “The Frog Prince” and the princess’ refusal to kiss it, is a metaphor for women’s primary disgust with the male penis. In the tale itself, the frog forces the princess to allow him to sleep in her bed when she doesn’t want to. And after that, miraculously, the princess doesn’t mind kissing him. In the film, Tiana has the same aversion to the frog, and the frog prince himself is laden with sexual energy. The prince doesn’t like to be tied down and has had “dates with thousands of women.” Additionally, I would argue that frog form is sexually charged because the characters repeat that the secretions on their bodies “are not slime, but mucus.” Hypersexuality is a negative stereotype associated with blacks, and ironically, the only hypersexual woman in the film is Tiana’s white friend Charlotte. Furthermore, by having a multi-racial prince, his hypersexuality and refusal to be tied down is not a criticism of black men. Finally, unlike most fairy tales, this one is extremely modern. Young girls don’t need to wait around for a prince, they can actually work hard and find one on their own.

“Ghetto” Black Characterizations

First of all, we have to remember that this is a fairy tale for young black children, not black adults. The film takes place in New Orleans and to me I think the dialect and the characterization is a propos. Frankly, the behavior and accent of the firefly and the witch startled me, until I remembered that my grandparents usually spoke in the same way. Most black children do have grandparents with the same dialect. Tiana even asks the firefly about his accent, and he explains that it is Creole. I also don’t have a problem with the name Tiana. I mean what will make black people happy? If her name is Jane, Elizabeth, how about Snow White? It seems like the more accurate Disney is in its characterizations of black life, blacks feel more shamed that they are associated with it and would prefer the portrayal to be post-racial. Yet, if Disney made this film with no cultural reference to blackness with only a black heroine, critics would argue that the film wasn’t “black” enough.

I Ain’t Gonna be no Welfare Chick

This criticism just seems unfounded. It is a positive characteristic that Tiana wants to work hard and would even hold down two jobs for her accomplishments. I know I have and this doesn’t mean I’m Republican. She doesn’t even dance when her friends invite her to a party. Can we just let that one go? I am so not gonna waste any time writing about how Tiana “is” or “isn’t” black because she doesn’t spend her days dancing.

disney is saying all black people do is dance! that's RACIST! oh wait, tiana doesn't know how...well what else can we find that's racist?

The fact that she doesn’t take “welfare” from the shadowman is not a criticism of blacks who accept welfare, because…well , because the shadowman functions as a demon, and as such is not a symbol of the government. I mean, come on. It wouldn’t be a free ride if she’s giving up her soul. Tiana doesn’t refuse handouts altogether anyway. The prince promises to help her with her restaurant even if he marries her friend. Additionally, the welfare criticism seems moot because she already had enough money to buy her restaurant but she was prevented from doing so because the bankers didn’t want a black woman to own her own business. And in this sense, the government is against her, and is not giving her a free ride. Black critics are also upset that she had to marry to become a princess and wasn’t one naturally. I’m sorry wait, weren’t Cinderella, Belle, Snow White and Rose Red, and Rapunzel only princesses through marriage? I mean at this point it’s like what will make us happy. Should Tiana be a black princess by birth, no wait, then she represents the black elite and that isn’t black enough. Maybe she shouldn’t have to work, what if she’s pricked with a needle by the shadowman like Sleeping Beauty? Oh wait, that’s black on black crime.  What about if she’s locked in a tower like Rapunzel? Oh wait, that would be a symbol of slavery or bondage. No that won’t do. Rapunzel also won’t work because black girls will want to get relaxers and have long straigt hair like the heroine. Get over yourself people, it is a fairy tale and supercedes your own cultural standards!

I would also argue that criticism suggesting that Tiana represents the republican ideal is also meritless. The only character in the film who represents conservative republican ideology is her friend, Charlotte . She hasn’t worked a day in her life, comes from old money, and at the end of the film is punished. Her idleness prevents her from marriage and she ironically will continue to wait until the prince’s adolescent brother grows old enough to court her.

Black Women don’t Marry Black Men

First of all, this a modern fairy tale and is supposed to give an accurate portrayal of a black woman, or any woman’s options in marriage. I read “Race-talk’s” blog, which was very humorous. He points out that while Pocahontas marries a white man in the Disney tale, it can be justified by the historical narrative surrounding the story. Whereas, he argues, if in Beauty and the Beast, Beast transformed into a black prince and not a white one, parents may have become upset. And yes I agree. However in this film we are presented with the multi-racial prince from the getgo. It would be one thing if we were only acquainted with the frog and when they kiss he happens to be a tan prince, but this is not the case. What really pisses me off is that black folk were upset when they saw the image of interracial couple BEFORE the film came out. I mean isn’t that what racism is? These critics are suggesting that an interracial marriage is inferior before we even meet the people in the marriage.  So for all their misgivings about the film, they display their own unconscious racism. By having an interracial marriage Disney is making a post-racial move that is representative of our current time. Tiana doesn’t “need” to get married to a black man and there are positive black male role models throughout the film, especially Tiana’s dad. And let’s be clear, black folks would have REALLY gotten into an uproar if the prince was black and his choice was between marrying a rich white woman and poor black waitress.

thank god it wasn't a black man serenading white women, we'd never hear the end of it

Aren’t you glad Disney dodged that bullet? Angry black women would be making a fuss everywhere. Bottom line is black women can marry whoever they want, and they shouldn’t feel ashamed about it.

The Black Unconscious

At first I didn’t understand the relevance of the scene where Tiana and the prince are being hunted by white men. Then I remembered that in fairy tales, when people transform into animals they are usually confronting issues in their unconscious. Tiana and the prince both have to tackle the issue of readying themselves for marriage. Tiana has to learn to let love in her life while pursuing her dreams and the Prince has to learn that he needs to be more committed. Yet there is another nightmare Tiana and the prince have to face: the nightmare that they will be racially persecuted by whites.

Indeed, this scene would be very scary for black children. These white people are trying to murder Tiana and the prince to devour them. Although the “white trash” characters say they want to kill them for frog legs, it is obvious that Disney connects its black viewers to its black characters through this fear of victimization and cannibalism. For some black children racism hasn’t happened yet and for some it has. But Disney realizes that black youth, although it is unfair, may be faced with these hardships. They may feel persecuted by whites, they may feel like they need to work a lot harder than their white friends, and even when they have worked hard and saved enough money to achieve their dream, external forces may still prevent them from being happy.

I am thankful that Disney has finally recognized its black community and we have something more than Snow White to watch. Hopefully there will be more representations of race for our children, as long as black folk don’t stand in the way.

© the siren, 2009

The Princess & The Frog has made quite an impact the past couple of weeks, debuting at #1 it’s opening weekend. Along with a Black President, America now has it’s first Black Princess, compliments of Disney. The film, which began production under the working title The Frog Princess, is an American fairy tale, Broadway-style musical set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. A prince named Naveen (Bruno Campos) from the land of Maldonia is transformed into a frog by the evil scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier (Keith David). The frog prince mistakes a girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) for a princess and has her kiss him to break the spell. The kiss does not break the spell, but instead turns Tiana into a frog as well. Together, the two of them must reach the good voodoo priestess of the Bayou, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), while befriending a trumpet-playing alligator and a hopelessly romantic firefly along the way. Sounds good so far, right? Well, all was good until folks took their little girls to see the movie & realized that the Prince was White. (Crickets)(Crickets)(Crickets)

Many feel as though this is not a big deal. I mean this IS 2009 borderline 2010, isn’t it? Aren’t we above matters & issues of race? No. This is not an issue where folks are anti interracial marriage, or dating for that matter. The issue lies with the images, or lack thereof, of African-Americans where entertainment & media is concerned. I grew up watching shows such as “Good Times”, “The Jeffersons”, “The Cosby Show”, “Family Matters”, “227″ & “Amen”,  just to name a few. And with those shows it was common place to see a Mom & Dad loving their family & one another as well. Today, those images are obsolete. Today we’re in the era of “Reality TV”, where we see one group of Black folks after another acting a Monkey Doodle Fool! The Decay of the structure of the Black family is celebrated & televised for folks viewing pleasure. And one from another race or ethnicity may think this IS an accurate depiction of authentic African-American culture. Not so. There are many of  “Us” who come from functional families- two parent or singular- who are keeping our families strong & intact! Which is why there is such discomfort in seeing this Princess- OUR first black Princess- vying for the affections of a non-black Prince. Two people meet & fall in love is the most beautiful thing. Let it be organic. Don’t send the subliminal message that we can only have healthy, long lasting relationships if we love folks who don’t look like us. Negative.

What do y’all think? Holla …

-”The BklynBandette”. Mr. Hollywood’s Co-Defendant.

Ava, Mia, Sienna, Isla, Stella, Eva, Bella, Isabelle, Peyton, Keira, Alexis, Millie, Aaliyah, Nevaeh, Gemma, Mya, Aria, Leah, Brooklyn, Lucia, Mackenzie, Poppy, Harmony, Manaia, Scarlett, Abby, Maya, Lilly, Riley, Hazel, Savannah, Natalie, Ayla.

1999

Paris, Brittany, Megan, Rachel, Nikita, Claudia, Natasha, Brianna, Ashleigh, Monique, Michaela, Shannon, Cheyenne, Stephanie, Melissa, Jamie, Casey, Rebekah, Jessie, Michelle, Morgan, Tegan, Tiana, Renee, Julia, Kelsey, Alicia, Jennifer, Katelyn, Crystal, Tamara, Tara.

‘Tis the season for popcorn.  I guess you could string it on your tree, but I’m thinking of the buttery kind they sell at the multiplex.

While you’re there, listen for these names:

• We’ve been talking about Tiana, Disney’s newest member of the princess juggernaut, for months.  Word is that The Princess and the Frog lives up to the hype;
• SJP plays Meryl, wife of Paul, in Did You Hear About the Morgans?;
• On a screen nearby, you can catch Meryl Streep playing Jane in It’s Complicated.  John Krasinski plays her son, Harley.  There’s also an Agness (played by Lake Bell) and an Annalise (played by Blanchard Ryan) among the cast;
• Let’s assume that the name Neytiri from Avatar won’t catch on.  But there is a Trudy, played by Michelle Rodriguez;
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – Heath Ledger’s last film – features a Valentina;
• Invictus is poised to do well during award season.  The biopic could give a boost to Nelson, but what about François?

And check out Nameberry’s post on Best Movie Names of the Year, too.

Elsewhere online:

• Over at Legit Babe Names, Sebastiane covered Seija.  Apparently she’s the Finnish equivalent of Linda – both were big in the 1940s.  She also covered Teiksma, a Latvian name meaning fable or legend.  Of course, in the US these days, you’re more likely to meet a Fable;
• Over at Celebrity Baby Blog, Alyson Hannigan confirmed that Satyana comes from the Sanskrit for truth.  She mentioned that they call her Sati for short, which makes me think of Erik Satie;
• For Real Baby Names spotted a boy called Fate Whisper. If girls can be Destiny, Faith and Echo, I suppose a boy could be named Fate or Whisper.  But both?  Yikes;
• For Real also spotted a Paydyn, officially the strangest respelling of Payton/Peyton yet.  And a Danika Skyy.  Love Danika. Sky and Skye are one thing, but Skyy?  Is vodka;
• Bewildertrix spotted a Tiana.  Is it the Frog Effect already?  And Oliver Ziggy Bear.  Which is just fabulously strange;
• Namberry has ballerina names, just in time for the Nutcracker.  If you’re called Ghislaine or Violetta, surely you’ll grow up pencil slim and infinitely graceful;
• This post over at Swistle is fascinating. The mom-to-be has three stepdaughters – Airyn Dakotah, Brylee Brookelyn and Madesyn Tayler - plus three of her own - Frances Rosaline, Russell Stacey and Marjory “Midge” Kate.  Needless to say, the couple is stuck trying to compromise on a name that satisfies both of their styles;
• Which brings us to the controversy of the week.  If you haven’t read Jill’s guest post at Namberry on Yooneek Names, check it out – and make sure to click on the poll results.  With nearly 600 votes, an overwhelming 92% of Namberryites hate, hate, hate ‘em.  Jill did a great job with a difficult topic.

Lastly, a few starbabies arrived this past week.  Besides Benjamin Brady and Mason Dash Disick, there’s also:

• New Kids on the Block’s Joey McIntyre welcomed a son, Rhys Edward, a little brother for Griffin Thomas.  He and wife Barrett have a nice naming style;
• Soap stars Arianne Zucker & Kyle Lowder welcomed daughter Isabella.

Since I’m stuck indoors – when the news showcases the record-setting snow in the nation’s capital, that would be what has us housebound – I’ve started looking at the year-end stats early.  It’s an interesting list.  With a little bit of luck – or another foot or so of snow – I’ll post it just after Christmas.

That’s all for this week – as always, thanks for reading!

And so it is that time of year for our Preseason predictions! Sounds almost like a football game calling them winners and los…. well you know what I mean. It’s all just so far removed from Reality but, assuming the process works for our new Bachelor here are our predictions along with some spoilers. You’ll have also visit www.TVFanSpace.com for the latest news and spoilers but from today ahead we’ll take a stab at the whole show so we can look back and see how close we came. … With thousands of Die hard fans sleuthing the net 24/7 the stories you’ll read over at the forum are often what hits newsstands many months later so you really should check it out. 

First of all there is the Bombshell Maxim Model Gia Allemand …..

Now that I have removed my chin from the floor we’ll move on to Sheila a beautiful blond commercial pilot. She’s got the right stuff and should be around a while but we all know that’s far too convenient. When you share too many interests its trouble.

Sheila the bachelor will be around a while! www.JakePavelka.net

Elizabeth is the Brunette wild card which we place at number 2. Jake said he prefered blondes but us guys now that at the end of the day you can have a mohawk and it’s just not gonna matter if the chemistry is there!  

Elizabeth Bachelor Spoilers

Rozyln the make up artist and Ali Fedotowsky the 25-year-old Advertising Account Manager from Williamstown, MA though are our picks this year for the top 5 with Ali being the next Bachelorette. ( Note, we are also anxious to see how the story line plays out with Ella Nolan though as well because it’s about time we had a single mom for the next Bachelorette!) Ali though seems to be the natural fit though if early predictions are worth anything.   

Ali Fedotowsky from the Bachelor

As far as an early prediction we are going for surprise even ourselves and drum up a really surprise end being that Jake Pavelka chooses Gia. Yup, I said Gia.  We also think there may be a chance that Gia turns the rose down and thats a wrap folks! I know, what a bummer that might be, right? ….but folks it’s also the only ending we haven’t seen yet so it sure would be shocking TV! Someone smiling down on Brad Womack right? LOL

It’d be a bummer for us viewers who love the happy ending sure so let’s hope whether it’s Gia and Jake in the end or one of the other ladies that there is a happy ending after all. Look a few of these ladies for sure to be amongst the last on Season 14 of the bachelor! If your curious to see how the spoilers come out join the TV Social Network and get in on the fun!

Bachelor Spoilers are at the TV Social Network www.TVFanSpace.com

I went to see the Princess and the Frog with my best friend and must say that I was very pleased!  The drawing and imagery was BEAUTIFUL, just gorgeous.  There’s a light path part of the movie that is just so well done, the lightening bug parade so to speak.  Just beautiful.

Storyline wise, I liked the hard working Tiana and her bubbly loud mouth blonde best friend, Charlotte.  Tiana is working hard, with no time for anything else at all, in order to buy a building to build a restaurant.  Throughout the story, she needs to learn that she should enjoy life a bit more too.  Prince Naveen has arrived, but he needs to learn some responsibility and acts like a typical rich frat boy stereotype.  He’s gorgeous, but his arrogant selfish ways weren’t too cute!  He has to go on a character building journey as well.

I liked the songs, but none stood out that made me sing out of the theater like “A Whole New World”, “Part of Your World” or “Hakuna Matata”.  The jazzy upbeat tunes are pleasing to the ear definitely, but as for iconic?  Not thinking so, but I’ll hear them again before I judge too greatly.  The sidekicks/secondary characters are also fun.  I HATED the lightening bug in the previews and stuff, but during the movie he was one of my favorites and a great ally.  The gator was also fun and just wanted to be accepted, lovely character.  The bad guys were quite scary, I mean whoa.  The shadow demons were quite terrifying, especially in the end.  if i were a young child i’d be having some nightmares, honestly!

Overall I give it an A-  I’ll add it to my collection as a favorite, wish that it had a stand out song to it though (or like Aladdin, Little Mermaid, and Lion King: MOST of the songs are stand out songs in those movies, lol)

Welcome to the Disney Princess’ Clique, Tiana.  You’ll fit in fine!  Beautiful, strong, good character, definite role model

Princess Tiana

SPOILER ALERT: Do I give away a little of the plot movie just in case you haven’t seen it yet, but since it’s a fairytale I think you all know how this will end!

Over the weekend I went with my little prince Myles to see Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.  It was nice to see an animated movie with diversity.  And also worth noting this was not your typical fairytale.  It’s set in New Orleans.  Tiana is a young lady that’s working hard to open up her own restaurant.  The prince who’s turned into a frog mistakenly thinks Tiana is a princess.  He kisses her to break the spell, and then she turns into a frog.   Their adventure begins from there with some fun characters they meet along the way.

Now, when I was growing up I didn’t think I was going to meet a prince and live happily ever after.  That just wasn’t my thing.  So for me what was so cool about Tiana was she worked hard, and still got her happily ever after.  I liked seeing that. And speaking of Tiana Disney’s first African-American princess, she did not disappoint.  For my friends who have daughters this was so significant to show their little girls someone who looked liked them on the big screen.  I know that meant so much to see their girls identify and connect with a character portrayed in a positive light.  It was also good for my son to see as well. These are the positive images our kids need to see to as we try to build and boost their confidence and self-esteem. Believe it or not what they see does have an impact on them.

I really enjoyed the movie and surprisingly so did Myles.  I wasn’t so sure he would.  The songs in the movie were so catchy. Myles and I bopped along to the beat.  So, we will definitely get the soundtrack.  There are a couple parts in the movie that may be a little scary or the little ones may have questions about, but those moments don’t last too long.

It’s nice to see we’ve come a long way from the days of Snow White and Cinderella. I’m glad Disney finally got with the program.  The Princess and the Frog is a modern tale, it’s entertaining and just plain fun for the little ones and adults alike. Even if you don’t have kids borrow someone else’s and go enjoy it.

In truth, this may be a rabbit. Without them side by side, I find it hard to tell the difference.

The Wild Hare
02 September 2009
Tiana Beach (bay side), East Quogue, NY

At long last, kids, the wait is over.  After a grueling five year hiatus, Walt Disney Animation is finally back with hand-drawn, 2-D animated features.  I know what you’re thinking:  How could they possibly top the enormous success of the 2004 blockbuster hit, “Home on the Range?”

         (In it’s full theatrical run, “Home on the Range” only earned back half of it’s production cost.  This profit loss turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for Disney’s traditional animation…until now, that is.)

Walt Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” opened this weekend, and proved to be an ambitious project.  Not only is it the first hand drawn feature to come out of the studio in five years, it’s the first “princess” movie since 1998’s “Mulan.”  It’s the first movie since 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast” in which a princess’ speaking and singing voice are performed by the same person.  And, of course, the film introduces Disney’s first African-American princess, Tiana.

The style of the movie is beautiful; set against the backdrop of depression-era New Orleans, you can almost feel the mosquitos biting the back of your neck.  Not surprisingly, in going back to 2-D animation, Disney took inspiration from it’s own library of animated classics.  I had thought that they would perhaps pick up where they had left off, trying to re-capture the success of the artistically gorgeous nouveau-classic features such as “Aladdin” or “The Lion King.”  I was wrong.

Walt Disney Animation head (and Pixar founding member) John Lasseter looked even farther back.  The film is indeed very two-dimensional, and proud of it.  The lighting and shading effects that gave characters and props in “Aladdin” a beautifully surreal, almost tangible feel was altogether abandoned.  The film is much more reminiscent of 1955’s “Lady and the Tramp” or 1961’s “One Hundred and One Dalmations”  (Both of which, I believe, are at the pinnacle of Disney’s animation, in terms of aesthetic and artistic quality).

This stylistically-rich method works well with “Princess and the Frog.”  Every scene, from the streetcar rolling down the avenue, to the swampy bayou, to the raucous Mardi Gras parade, looks as if it’s a living painting.  It enhances the magic and mystery of the locale, giving you a better sense of New Orleans than even photographs do.

Music-wise, famed composer Alan Menken was originally slated to write the songs, but Lasseter didn’t want the studio to seem too repetitive (Menken scored the last live-action Disney princess movie, “Enchanted”).  Instead, he opted with “Toy Story” composer Randy Newman.

Newman’s naturally feel-good, folksy style was a perfect fit for “Princess and the Frog.”  Music plays a big part in the film, alternating lazy, slinky jazz numbers, upbeat Cajun bluegrass, and toe-tapping Dixieland.  Newman’s original score enhances the mood and the story itself immensely; hiring him was probably the best choice in a movie hallmarked by good choices.

The film starts off stereo-typically Disney:  Saccharine.  A little girl wishes on a star.  Her father adds the caveat that wishing can only take you part way; hard work and perseverance are needed to make your dreams come true.  The girl turns out to be a strong-minded, fiercely independent woman, not looking for love and adventure but finding it anyway.  That part has Disney written all over it.

But then many things happen that are certainly not typical of Disney princess movies.  The characters-all of them- are not forced over the top, but kept in check quite well.  The result is no cookie-cutter character development, and most importantly, characters that you actually like and relate to.  All of the characters have a very “real” aspect to them, making them very identifiable.  Tiana is easily the most likeable of the Disney princesses thus far, simply because she’s the most normal.

The movie is, in many ways, like New Orleans itself.  It’s not big, bright and flashy, it doesn’t hit you with it’s awesomeness all at once, like Las Vegas (or “Beauty and the Beast,” keeping with the allegory).  The beauty of “The Princess and the Frog” is revealed slowly, in a haunting, sauntering haze, like a riverboat floating down the Mississippi River.  But it’s one that doesn’t disappoint.  Hopefully this ushers in a whole new era of quality Disney animation.

Just one more Disney buff’s note:  At the end of the movie, watch for the jazz band playing behind Louis the alligator.  The drum reads, “Firefly Five plus Lou.”  This is a wonderful homage to the popular 1950s Dixieland band “Firehouse Five plus Two,” which consisted solely of Disney animators, some even were part of Walt’s “Nine Old Men.”  Lead by Ward Kimball (and featuring a personal hero, Frank Thomas, on Piano), the group had tremendous success in the jazz world, and were soon known all over the country, even releasing over thirteen records.  They toured New Orleans and San Fransisco, but found their home in various places around the Disneyland park.

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Film review

In stills from Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog,” a young Tiana, our heroine, is shown with her parents, and, with a touch of “Fantasia,” is shown dancing with Prince Naveen after both of them were turned into frogs by dark voodoo. Surprisingly, “The Princess and the Frog,” in addition to its visual and auditory elements that will delight the kiddies (as well as the adults), seems to make progressive sociopolitical statements almost as boldly as Disney’s “WALL-E” makes.

I’m such a fag. I love Disney movies.

Not the live-action Disney movies. Most of them suck. The animated Disney movies. Most of them rock.

Disney lost its mojo with its animated films for a while from the 1960s to the 1980s and then regained it with 1989’s “The Little Mermaid.” Since then we’ve seen a string of modern classics from Disney, including “Aladdin,” “The Lion King” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” all worthy to be categorized with Disney’s classic animated films from the 1930s to the 1950s. (I’m not including in this list some of the other excellent animated films by Disney, such as “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo,” “Ratatouille,” “WALL-E” and even the current “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” since they are computer animated, and computer technology wasn’t available to the Disney artisans way back in the day.) 

“The Princess and the Frog” is worthy of Disney’s finest, such as “Pinocchio,” “Cinderella,” “Peter Pan” and “The Jungle Book,” and while “Princess and the Frog” has many elements of past animated Disney films — such as the charming prince, the damsel who dreams of a better life, the spoiled brat who competes with our heroine for the hand of the prince, the evil sorcerer (although it’s usually an evil sorceress), and even the wishing upon a star – it modernizes the genre as well.

“The Princess and the Frog” gives us Disney’s first black heroine at the time that we have the nation’s first black president. “Princess and the Frog” also shows us New Orleans, and we can’t help but think of Hurricane Katrina when we are shown New Orleans these days, and I have to wonder whether “Princess” was conceptualized before or after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.

Moreover, “The Princess and the Frog” doesn’t flinch in showing us the raced-based class differences in New Orleans.

The heroine, Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), is the daughter of poor black parents. Her father (voiced by Terrence Howard) works hard but can barely keep the family afloat, while her mother (voiced by Oprah Winfrey) is a seamstress to a spoiled rich white girl whose father, Big Daddy La Bouff (voiced by John Goodman), buys her whatever she demands.

In one memorable scene, the “camera” pans from the rich area of New Orleans to the slums of New Orleans, a striking contrast that seems to be a political statement, except how can simply portraying things as they are be deemed “political”?

While “Princess and the Frog” shows these socioconomic differences based upon race, and makes it clear that Tiana’s main obstacle in achieving her dreams is the color of her skin, it at least somewhat sanitizes the racism, too. Tiana’s mother is portrayed as healthier and happier and brighter than someone in her station in life probably would be, and even the spoiled rich white brat (whose tantrums and loud-mouthed antics, even as an adult, lend the film a lot of laughs) ends up redeeming herself, which is unlikely in the real world.

Unlike most of Disney’s princes, the prince in “Princess and the Frog,” Prince Naveen (voiced by Bruno Campos), isn’t noble and admirable, but is a playboy who needs to grow up; he’s more like Peter Pan than he’s like “The Little Mermaid’s” Prince Erik. The chemistry between the responsible Tiana and the irresponsible Prince Naveen is inevitable, of course, and a bit reminiscent of the chemistry between the responsible Princess Leia and the irresponsible Han Sol0 (if I may geek out for a moment). 

Ray the Cajun firefly (get it? Ray of light?) reminds me a bit too much of Sebastian the crab of “The Little Mermaid” (Roger Ebert compares Ray to Jiminy Cricket, but I think that’s a weak comparison), but the character of Ray nonetheless works wonderfully, and his seemingly unrequited love affair with Evangeline (I won’t go into any detail about that) gives the already poignant film even more poignancy.

Louis the alligator, who, with Ray, helps Tiana and Prince Naveen in their quest to be turned from frogs back into human beings, also wants to be human so that he can be a jazz musician, and this is a bit reminiscent of wooden puppet Pinocchio’s desire to be a real little boy.

“The Princess and the Frog” also takes on the subject of good food, not to the extent that “Ratatouille” does, but to a significant extent, as Tiana’s dream is to open a restaurant — one that brings people together, she proclaims — and the one thing that she inherits from her father is his gumbo pot.

The villain in “The Princess and the Frog” who is responsible for the protagonists’ amphibianization is Dr. Facilier, also called the “Shadow Man.” He’s a wonderfully conceived villain – I love his purple eyes — even if he is a bit too reminiscent of the X-Men character of Gambit (a.k.a. Remy LeBeau), who also hails from New Orleans and who also possesses a black top hat and cane and, especially, a flying deck of cards.

And it’s nice to see a male Disney villain for a change. Most of Disney’s villains seem to be women — think of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “One Hundred and One Dalmations” and “The Little Mermaid” (and in “The Lion King” the villain was an effeminate male [come on, now, Scar is gay, and come to think of it, Captain Hook seems to be a bit light in the loafers as well...]).  

The “Shadow Man’s” voodoo opposite is the good voodoo practitioner Mama Odie, of whom we don’t get enough. (She’s a bit too reminiscent of the good voodoo priestess Minerva portrayed in “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” however.)

If Disney’s portrayal of the stark socioeconomic differences between blacks and whites in New Orleans doesn’t get the wingnuts going (crying “class warfare”), then Disney’s unapologetic portrayal of voodoo and occultism – with even silouetted evil spirits conjured by the villain to pursue our protagonists – will get them going (crying “Satanism” or “witchcraft” or the like).

If the wingnuts hate it, then it must be good.

With all of the apparent progressive sociopolitical statements that we didn’t see in the earlier Disney animated films but that we surprisingly saw in “WALL-E” (with “WALL-E’s” anti-corporate, pro-planet and apparent anti-baby-boomer messages), in “The Princess and the Frog” we also get excellent, infectious music (the setting is New Orleans, after all) that made me tap my feet like Larry Craig on crack. (My favorite song is titled “Dig a Little Deeper,” which delivers a timely message.) We also get some breathtaking Fourth-of-July-like visuals, not only with the purples and greens and blues of the watery settings, but the whites and the yellows of the fireflies and even the Halloween-like purples and greens of the voodoo magic.  

While it often feels derivative, which might be unavoidable, given the number of films that precede it, “The Princess and the Frog” is undeniably entertaining and is a near-perfect film.

My grade: A

So on opening day of Disney’s The Princess and The Frog Movie – I went and saw it.  Just got back about a half hour ago. I decided to have a mom and daughter day and it is very rare that I ever see a movie the day it opens.  I am not one for crowds and busy theaters - just me.  I was luck that my local town theater was featuring this movie today – so I got extra lucky. So what did I think? I loved it – It is very rare that any Disney Movie would not be liked. The introduction of Princess Tiana was well done and it is nice to have a new Princess in the line up.

I think the movie sends a great message to younger children about working hard to achieve your goals and dreams. Yes of course there is also the fantasy of kissing a frog and finding your prince, but that is the fantasy part of the movie. I also really enjoyed all the Jazzy New Orleans Style Music throughout the movie and it really added to the charm. I think this movie had all the magic Disney Movies bring between the animation. music and the message. I came out of the theater with the thought – Dreams do come True and truly if you believe they will.

I give this movie 2 thumbs up and if you have the opportunity to see it – I say go for it. So once again – Welcome Princess Tiana – there is no doubt little girls everywhere are happy you have been created.

Now that I have seen the movie I will be making some changes to The Princess and The Frog Party Theme I have put together to reflect some ideas I have gathered from watching the movie. So be sure to come stop by and see.

Apparently there is some controversy over Disney’s new movie, The Princess and the Frog.  I’ve read several articles where writers have explained that the controversy first started when Disney announced the creation of the first black Princess back in 2006.  Criticism came from the original name of the character – Maddy and the fact that she was a maid for a white family.  Disney quickly changed her name to Tiana and made her a chef.  The backdrop is 1920’s New Orleans.  It is well-documented that blacks worked in white households in various capacities all the way up to the 1960s…so while it would have been in keeping with the time period for her to be a maid – I understand the criticism as it would be reminiscent of the master-servant relationship of slavery days when blacks were servants to white masters.  I get that.  Ok..so in that regard, I think Disney did the right thing by changing her occupation. 

The next criticism is the fact that the Princess does not fall in love with a black Prince but instead with a Prince who is clearly not black or white.  His name is Naveen, which is Indian, but has a Latin accent (he’s played by a Brazilian actor).  I completely do not understand the outrage!  Is Disney bridging the racial divide by showing an interracial couple or is it influencing black girls to grow up and seek out non-black mates?  I think the latter argument is ludicrous – but it’s been brought up several times in articles and radio morning shows!  I seriously doubt my biracial five-year old daughter really cares who the Princess falls in love with.  Does my daughter know that the Princess is ‘brown’ (that’s what she calls black) – absolutely and I think it’s great that there is a Princess that she can relate to…but I seriously doubt that she would think the black community was cited by having a non-black play the Prince. 

Disney makes movies for family friendly entertainment.  It’s not a platform for social issues and injustices – it’s a cartoon for children.  I think the only people having issues with this movies is adults and it’s a shame that we can’t celebrate the first black Princess as a positive step Disney is making.  Instead we criticize, scrutinize and over-analyze every detail.  Just sit back and enjoy the movie for what it is – a movie!!!

As my last duty before heading off to Orlando for a week, I saw Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” in its first showing at the Showcase Cinemas this morning. It allowed me a short nap before heading off to Florida.

The first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes are absolute Disney at its best. If only the entire movie could maintain that tone. The hour in between those opening and closing bookends is a snooze-fest clearly aimed at 6 year old girls.

It’s great to have an African-American “Princess” in Tiana (I don’t think I give anything away here, since Disney has been touting this as their newest “Princess movie”)…and the voice cast is stellar. But the movie ends up emphasizing money rather than empathy with another human, and it dissolves into the typical “gotta marry a Prince and live happily ever after” fantasy that does no good for any children in this day and age no matter what their race.

Randy Newmann’s music is peppy at best, serviceable at worst, and there isn’t a memorable song in the bunch. The middle portion of the movie set in the bayou makes no sense even for Disney – an alligator that plays jazz with human counterparts on a riverboat…a “shadow man” that appears far too many times in the film and feels basically there to just “fill out the hour”; and long drawn out sequences where I literally found myself nodding off. I have NEVER in my life found myself nodding off at any film, let alone a Disney picture. But there is very little there to keep adults involved in the middle goings of the film. It’s a big-screen equivalent of Saturday morning television messages — although it all looks and sounds a lot better.

Once we get back to New Orleans for the final act, things take a turn for the much better, and Disney film-making at its best is at play. But at no point in this film did I ever feel anything “magical”.  Instead, I found myself looking around the theatre wondering if any of these 4-year olds that were brought there by their parents and nannies this morning had any clue as to what was going on in this film.

Heigh Ho — it’s off to WDW I go.

A modern day retelling of the classic story The Frog Prince. The Princess and the Frog finds the lives of arrogant, carefree Prince Naveen and hardworking waitress Tiana crossing paths. Prince Naveen is transformed into a frog by a conniving voodoo magician and Tiana, following suit, upon kissing the amphibian royalty. With the help of a trumpet-playing alligator, a Cajun firefly, and an old blind lady who lives in a boat in a tree, Naveen and Tiana must race to break the spell and fulfill their dreams.

The Princess and the Frog is in nationwide release December 11, 2009.

A Flight of Cormorants
02 September 2009
Tiana Beach (bay side), East Quogue, NY

After bringing life to 8 gorgeous princesses (there’re white, Asian, native American, and even an Egyptian  princess), Disney’s first African-American princess, Tiana, is coming soon in its latest animation : The Princess and The Frog – inspired by Grimm’s brothers story.

This is the first 2D classic, hand-drawn animation by Disney since 2004. I love hand-drawn cartoons as they bring much of  the nostalgic childhood feeling . Disney’s work is usually accompanied by heartwarming musical…can’t wait to see this latest installment!

Previous Disney’s Princesses are:

1) Snow White | (Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs)

2) Cinderella | (Cinderella)

3) Princess Aurora | (Sleeping Beauty)

4) Princess Aeriel | (The Little Mermaid)

5) Princess Belle | (Beauty and The Beast)

6) Princess Jasmine | (Alladin)

6) Princess Pocahontas | (Pocahontas)

7) Princess Mulan | (Mulan)

There’s actually another Princess created by Disney, if you can recall Princess Giselle…my favourite! She’s from Disney’s Enchanted, and the only real-life princess created. Sadly she’s not included, in the Disney’s Princess Series, cause Disney would have to pay Amy Adams royalties if products (i.e. dolls, printing) is made using her image..LoL~

8 ) Princess Giselle | (Enchanted)

Okay last pic for now :

Okay, so by now you’ve heard that Disney is making a movie with its first black heroine/princess ever. If you haven’t, you heard it here first — The Princess and the Frog, featuring the voice talents of Jennifer Hudson, Oprah Winfrey, and Anika Noni Rose, hits theaters on December 11th. Naturally, the New York Times has already reviewed it, and while I normally agree with Manohla Dargis, I have to take issue with one part of her review, found here.

Dargis argues that the movie doesn’t engage with the issue of race, and that Princess Tiana is an underdog due to social class, not color. Another article in the Times, this time by Brooks Barnes, chronicles the arguments of those who say that this movie will only deepen stereotypes.

I’m sorry….what? This may be easy for a white middle-class woman to say, but since when have fairy tales ever been about race? They didn’t have to be, as they were folk tales specific to certain homogenous cultures. The Brothers Grimm were German, which is why you have about 400 boys named Hansel running around in the collected stories. Fairy tales are about a lot of cultural issues (coming of age, finding one’s parents, marriage), but race is not one of them.

I understand that because Disney has been so racist in the past, there was a lot of pressure on this movie to be politically correct. Isn’t it enough for this to be like any other princess movie? In fact, isn’t that better? Rather than essentially saying “Oh, THIS PRINCESS IS BLACK AND THEREFORE DIFFERENT,” this movie seems to say, “Tiana is a girl who works hard for what she gets — just like Cinderella, actually — who winds up with a prince because she’s just that awesome. And you know what? You should be like her.”

And I think that’s okay! Disney made Tiana a princess in the grand tradition of Disney Princesses. Her working hard at the cafe while dreaming of a restaurant is not that fundamentally different from Cinderella’s working hard for her sisters while dreaming of going to a ball. Can we accept that Disney has finally managed to make a movie that didn’t portray, say, cigar-smoking birds named Jim Crow?

As for the argument that Prince Naveen is not black enough, has anyone compared Naveen to the roster of Disney Princes? Those princes are almost whiter than the princesses they’re paired with. Beast looks like the poster child for the Aryan race once he transforms. Prince Philip was literally played by David Beckham in a recent photoshoot. It’s an achievement for Disney to have a prince with a deep suntan at this point. And as for the fact that Naveen is voiced by a Brazilian man, I would say that 1) Disney was playing the accent, as he’s supposed to be from a fictional country, and 2) Aladdin was played by a guy from New York.

There are people who disagree with me on this — Manhola Dargis, for one — but again, I don’t think it’s so terrible for this movie to not engage race as an issue. Maybe one day Disney will make a movie with, like, Taye Diggs as the prince. But for now, at least The Princess and the Frog shows that Disney has made a valiant attempt to move beyond their rather checkered past.

(Side note — anyone else notice how no one’s bitching that we haven’t had a fat princess yet? Just asking. Also note how one of Jasmine’s eyes is the size of her waist.)

EDIT: Thought I should throw this out there as another POV. My post is pretty soft on Disney, so it might be interesting to read BlackCynic America’s take on Disney’s racist history and why one black Disney Princess isn’t really enough.

The Little Bird on the Rocky Shore (Part II)
21 September 2009
Tiana Beach (bay side), East Quogue, NY

Tiana

Tiana became Disney’s newest princess in 2009, as she was introduced in the animated film “The Princess and the Frog.”

She also made her debut in 2009 as a meet and greet character at the parks, in Liberty Square at the Magic Kingdom in Florida and in New Orleans Square in Disneyland in California.  Check your times guide, as she and Prince Naveen are not there the entire hours of the park day.  You can also meet her and the rest of the movie gang if you are chosen to participate in Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee, performed on the riverboat nearby.

Have you met Tiana elsewhere?