will it turn into a pumpkin?
the princess and the frog, the much anticipated but not yet released animated film that for the first time features a black princess named tiana, is catching a lot of hell. the film’s creators, disney, have been criticized for everything from the storyline, to the actors selected to play the main characters, to the film’s setting (1920s new orleans) .
bloggers on aol website “black voices” criticized the fact that prince naveen’s skin color is too light and his hair isn’t black enough (prince naveen is princess tiana’s love interest). even worse, it seems, prince naveen is played by a brazilian and not a real african-american. a contributor to the site says “disney obviously doesn’t think a black man is worthy of the title of prince…his hair and features are decidedly non-black. this has left many in the community shaking their head in befuddlement and even rage.” rage? for reals? just so you know, disney has screwed up majorly in the past. here are some examples of the company’s missteps where cultural sensitivity is concerned. for example:
- 1941’s dumbo featured a band of uneducated, pimp-hat-wearing crows.
- 1967’s the jungle book from 1967 had jive-talking monkeys that wanted to become “real people” while everybody else had proper british accents.
- 1993’s aladdin had song lyrics that read “where they cut off your ear/if they don’t like your face/it’s barbaric, but, hey, it’s home”.
it’s not all bad though, they did gain kudos for featuring asians in 1998’s mulan with realistic eyes.
not to worry, oprah is on the case and is providing consulting services and (she also plays princess tiana’s mother). i mean if oprah likes someone or something, then everyone should follow? you know what i mean?
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Comments
for some reason, disney movies have always been surrounded by controversy. i guess you can find issues with anything if you look hard enough.
i think people just make a big deal out of little things, i mean sure some things are something to make adeal out of , but ti a disney movie.
~Ashley,
age 13