Hooray! Disney Has a Black Frog!

Disney had received criticism for countless years about the lack of African American representation in its films. When they announced that the first black princess had been made, there was much anticipation and excitement around Princess Tiana's debut... I'll give Disney kudos for trying. But in terms of accurate representation, it unfortunately falls short. To an extent, I understand Disney's decision to have their first black princess come out of 1920's New Orleans. It has a rich culture that cannot be misconstrued with stereotypes, and it is a great set up for a 'Best Original Score' award. However, by choosing a specific culture of the African-American community, it excludes a representation of the community as a whole. And even though the heavily French influenced culture has distinct characteristics that lessen criticism for racism, stereotypes, and misrepresentations, in the end it still does all of those things. Even as animals, Tiana and the friends that she make along her journey all possess very stereotypical characteristics.

The most unfortunate aspect of Princess Tiana is that she is not even a human for the majority of the film...she's a frog! After the anticipation that had built up to finally having an African American princess, Disney creates her and then quickly reduces her to a slimy amphibian. Disney cannot be praised for creating a black princess because they ultimately failed to do just that. What is worse is that Tiana's prince is also not black. Although Disney felt that the world was ready for a black princess, apparently they did not feel the same about a black prince. Prince Naveen is from Maldonia, a fictional country with an absurd accent. So a a very real New Orleans is used but the origins and nationality of Princess Tiana's counterpart is completely made up. And god forbid he be a white prince and create a mixed family... we all learned from the Cheerios commercial.

Tiana does succeed in representing a hard working woman though. Her ambitions, work ethic, and drive should be praised. Just like Mulan, Tiana does not need or want a man to make her dreams come true. She makes them happen for herself and in that respect, Tiana is a feminist character.