Comments on: Ask Kcurly–Princess Tiana and Interracial Relationship

By: CarolinaQueen

CarolinaQueen — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:59:12 +0000

Being of mixed descent myself (Native American/Caucasian), I am really happy to see Disney show a new generation of girls a positive role model princess. Imagine how frustrating it is to be from a tribal background and everyone thinks you are Pocohontas! That’s what I have to offer my daughter to look at. I don’t care what race you are (unless you are just 100% white), they get it wrong and there’s always a bit of the stereotypes we must fight. Still, it is progress. And remember what Disney does really DOESN’T reflect what real flesh-and-blood people think. I love diversity…it’s part of me and if Betty Crocker’s new look is any indication…it’s coming to everyone else, like it or not! I really think this will pave the way…in a good way…because the success of this movie will allow Disney maybe to start making movies with *male* role models of ALL colors for our sons to emulate. I can only hope!!

By: ImAn BeLiOn

ImAn BeLiOn — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:54:51 +0000

Wow I loved everyones comment..I do think its strange that brandy was with an Asian dude and this princess is with some hispanic dude. I think the prince should have been black as well. Its only fair!! You don’t see no movies with a black prince..White, Asian, hispanic, but not black..You see black princesses. There will always be a line between the black and the whites. These cartoons are only shown to have impacts and to teach our children about noticing race. I recently thought about taking my “bi-racial” daughter..But after reading everyones comments and me understanding I decided not to..

By: kcurly

kcurly — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:07:33 +0000

I loved hearing everyone’s comments, thanks ladies.

By: The Princess and the Frog review

The Princess and the Frog review — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:15:55 +0000

[...] I suspected in this post, Tiana’s father,though he dies early on in the film, is a big source of her courage and [...]

By: Zee

Zee — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:15:01 +0000

I was really looking forward to seeing the Princess and The Frog and not only because the movie contained people of color but because I truly enjoy watching and taking my nephews to the movies. Especially Disney and Pixer ones. (We can’t wait for Toy Story 3 ) But I will say it is very disappointing to know the main characters will be frogs for the majority of the movie ! I was looking for to watching “people” who look like me in action or should I say, in animation, interact in their “human” form. Disney already has loads of movies about animals (The Lion King, 101 Dalmatians, Bolt, Lady and the Tramp etc.,)! And I don’t have a problem with the interracial plot but I never thought the Prince was white to begin with. I mean, it is New Orleans (known for its interracial and biracial citizens) and his name is Naveen. I thought he was Mediterranean or Moroccan or something but not white. (But he does resemble the tall, dark and handsome heroes who are admittedly white in the other past disney hit films aka Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, etc.,). BUT I do agree with the other people who left comments that it would have been nice if the hero was an African American or an African Prince. I do think it is important for not only our little girls but our young little men to see a hero they can identify with! And I don’t agree with some of the comments that this animated movie is “just a damn cartoon” and we should complain about it! Even Disney itself is “marketing” this movie as a long time coming after 45 ( not sure about the years) years of animation, with the commercials showing the past Princes and Princesses of different cultures aka Mulan, Jasmine, etc. Sometimes if you don’t express your opinions, people won’t know what to think of you or where you stand on certain issues. Anyways, if you google The Princess and the Frog, there are lots of opinions about the interracial relationship between Tiana and Naveen, both positive and negative. Just wanted to put this out there, I can’t help but wonder if Disney has decided to release this movie at this particular time because of our current President of the United States. I mean, I’ve been hearing about Disney producing an animation with an African princess for some years now and now it is finally being shown. Also, I don’t remember a time when Disney released their movies back to back like they did this time: A Christmas Carol (Ebenezer Scrooge)- released in November & still showing, Old Dogs (John Travolta, Robin Williams)-now showing and The Princess and The Frog-now showing. Usually Disney likes to release their movies far apart to let them stand alone not virtually all at once like they did this time! I think they should have just waited and released The Princess and The Frog during the summer, so it could be shown alone by itself and away from the holiday pressures of other movies and shopping.

By: Ash

Ash — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:21:14 +0000

It is truly hard to please everybody. I’m sure there’s something about any movie that we wish would have been a little different. Hopefully this will be the beginning of many Disney movies that feature positive black characters.

By: Moni

Moni — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:15:47 +0000

I was also disappointed that the prince wasn’t black, NOT because I am against interracial relationships, but because I think that little black boys should also have a mainstream media representation for themselves. Why can’t black boys be the hero? The messages that the media, society, etc, sends black boys can be every bit as damaging as the messages that little black girls receive. Oh well, at least they have a real life hero in President Obama!

By: SDH

SDH — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:59:10 +0000

I’m glad Rene posted her comment. I’m from south Louisiana and I thought he was black. To hear that he is not is very disappointing. I am not anti interracial love however we have so few opportunities to see ourselves in loving relationships with one another that I’m just let down. I think it is important for our little girls and boys to see us together not only as a family but also going through that process of falling in love. When was the last time we much less our children have seen that? My sister and I are going to see this movie tomorrow afternoon and I hope Disney will make this story as wonderful as all the others. Maybe one day they will think enough of us to tell our love story using people who look like us and not lions or some other nonhuman thing.

By: just my take

just my take — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:38:01 +0000

Latia4u, thanks for that comment – LOL!

actually disney was toying with this idea for awhile. i’m still not clear on how i feel about it… but then again i havent been a big disney fan since i was about 10.

i just hate disney’s heavy handed marketing. i see that they have a big campaign currently with carol’s daughter’s new products, of course geared toward kids.

anyway, i just hope it is well done and can be enjoyable for all (ages and colors).

By: Rene

Rene — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:44:52 +0000

I’m not familiar with the details of the film but I know that one of my professors from college (XULA) was working on the film with Disney and she is pro-Creole all the way ( I mean she seriously wrote her dissertation on Creole history-it was kind of scary)….so maybe the prince is merely a representation of a Creole (mixed race colored) man which during that time in N.O would have had wealth and considerable power….just throwing that out there …