Black Princess

OK, so the news has been out for a little while now about Disney’s new animated movie, The Princess and the Frog. Title changes, Disney’s first black princess and all that. Cool stuff. But now I have to ask, why is it that almost every time a black character comes along, we have to play race politics?

Almost two years before its hoped-for release of its first hand-drawn animated film produced under the supervision of Pixar's John Lasseter, Disney has already drawn fire for alleged racial and ethnic insensitivities that were detected in its original announcement of the film, according to Disney watcher Jim Hill.

Since the original title, “The Frog Princess,” might be regarded as a slur on the French, the title has been changed to The Princess and the Frog. The main character, named Maddy -- who was to become Disney's first black princess -- has had her name changed to Tiana, since Maddy reportedly sounded too much like Mammy. She will no longer be seen as a chambermaid working for a rich, white spoiled Southern débutante.

Alright, now let me ask another question. How would the title The Frog Princess be a slur on the French? Me personally, the only thing I see about it is that it’s a bit too similar to The Swan Princess, which was another fine animated movie. And the allegations that lead to the name change are unfounded as well. Mammy and Maddy are too very different names, especially since one of the is short for Madison. But I guess Princess Tiana has a prettier ring to it that Princess Maddy, so it works for me on that level.

And why is she no longer a chambermaid? Was that just a change in the ideas, or were they under fire for that too? And if so, why didn’t they have a problem with Cinderella being forced to work for her wicked stepmother? I just have so many questions to ask now, someone could mistake me for a racist.

In a statement, Disney, which said that it ordinarily does not comment on its animated films in the early stages of production, observed: "The story takes place in the charming elegance and grandeur of New Orleans' fabled French Quarter during the Jazz Age. ... Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney's rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity."

That’s great. And I’m sure it will be a fine movie, hopefully. You can never tell with Disney nowadays. But the problem as I see it is as follows: If there’s a lack of black, movies and TV shows get criticized for being all white. If there are black characters, the movie makers have to bend over backwards to please some of the people in our black population. This is exactly why I was raised not to look at things through race colored glasses, but every time I try not to, a white, liberal college professor essentially tells me I’m wrong for not looking at things in terms of race along with his pupils. I THOUGHT we were not supposed to do that as a country, but I guess some people disagree with me there.