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Desperately Seeking Prince Charming
The Princess and the Frog, which opens today, introduces Disney’s first black princess. It also features another animated trailblazer: a cool prince.
It has only taken 72 years, but Disney has created its first African-American princess, a New Orleans beauty called Tiana. Initial fears that that princess No. 9 would be an offensively stereotyped Southern chambermaid have proved unfounded. As audiences will see, when The Princess and the Frog opens November 25, Tiana is an ambitious, hard-working gal with plans to open her own restaurant and little time for dancing. She is, in fact, the kind of impressive young black woman that makes Oprah Winfrey tear up with pride. Literally, too: Oprah supplies the voice of her mother.
But all the fuss over Princess Tiana's PC credentials has overshadowed an equally grave crime of royal stereotyping—the decades of terrible treatment meted out to Handsome Princes in the Disney kingdom. Was there ever a bunch of leading men more lacking in charisma than this bunch of plank-like stiffs?
The prince in Snow White is so bland, he doesn't even get a first name. Poor guy, he only has one song to sing, and it's a song about only having one song to sing. Prince Charming, whose name promises so much, turns out to be nothing more than a polite socialite whose only skill is dancing until midnight. His emotional complexity is limited to a perfectionist streak about dating. His parents have to throw a ball, remember, to find him a potential mate.
Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty has a real first name, but that's as colorful as it gets. No jokes, no banter. His idea of flirtation is to sing at you.
Characters in fairytales are of course simple for a reason. As Bruno Bettleheim wrote in his 1976 book The Uses of Enchantment, the purpose of such stories is "to allow children to grapple with their fears in remote, symbolic terms." But the princes carry the additional burden of setting the tone for emergent sexual desire. They are kept safely bland for good reason.
Click the Image Below to View Our Gallery of Disney Princes
The problem is that in terms of romantic conflict, the result is stultifying: Impossibly virtuous heroine meets insufferably noble hero. It's no wonder Prince Charming and Cinderella dance all night. They don't have anything to talk about. It explains why fairytales boast such a profusion of curses, dragons, witches, and potions. Anything to keep these two apart until the very end.
Walt Disney and his storytellers knew as much. Their inspired decision was to surround their princesses with comic relief. Cinderella gets her tubby mice, Gus and Jacques. Snow White gets her dwarfs and woodland creatures. Aurora, from Sleeping Beauty, gets three eccentric fairy godmothers and so on.
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Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
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As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
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Sean Macaulay was the L.A. movie critic for The London Times from 1999 to 2007. He has also written for Punch, British GQ, and The Mail on Sunday. He was most recently creative consultant on the award-winning documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
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Sean Macaulay was the L.A. movie critic for The London Times from 1999 to 2007. He has also written for Punch, British GQ, and The Mail on Sunday. He was most recently creative consultant on the award-winning documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
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Sean Macaulay was the L.A. movie critic for The London Times from 1999 to 2007. He has also written for Punch, British GQ, and The Mail on Sunday. He was most recently creative consultant on the award-winning documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
SCandland
Ken (of Barbie and Ken) has the same issues. He never has a job while Barbie does it all. This could be because Ken's only choices of clothes are bathing suits and tuxedos.
SweetTrouble
Sean great article! Only problem....Mulan was not an orphan.....she joins the Chinese Army to keep her slightly disabled father from going. Yes I am a geek for knowing this.
shaleahwilson
He never wrote anything about Mulan being an orphan.
kongming
"Oriental Yentl"?
Joan-Ofarc
Okay mostly true, but what about Aladdin? He's undoubtedly the kickass prince of Disney and he's got a fun personality, too. In fact, he's the main character, and love interest Jasmine is spunky, too. Give this Disney couple credit!
And for a bonafide prince, Beauty and the Beast's guy definitely has a developed personality. He's tormented, he fights for what he wants, and he grows as the movie progresses! Though Belle appears to know him as most of us do - as Beast.
Joan-Ofarc
Oops, let's not forget the male leads in Hercules and the Hunchback of Notre Dame!
GateKeeper
I think it's 72 years too late Disney... you could have DONE better with diversity..much earlier like decades ago..
...this animation movie.. insipid..
.. similar to electing micheal steel(a black-man) as the chairman of the GOP.. right after this nation elected an african american President..no one is BUYING IT.. you could have gotten a GOP african american Chairman LONG ago..
I show view it wtih my younger female relatives.. just to see if they gonna exploit old girl.. with the buck eyes, big lips..big booty..and zesty loud character..the usual sterotypical images america loathe to float when it comes to african americans images..
djanimaequeen
I agree. The closest Disney ever came to Africa was the Lion King and they were all animals. Now we have a black princess who's an animal for most of the movie. I can't help but think that Disney is run by racists Nazi's.
crymeariver
They are damed if they do and damed if they don't. I think that people
are so protective against Black characters that anything you do will
piss off someone. If it's a beautiful, intelligent, Princess living in a
castle some people will say it's unrealistic and unrepresentative of the
AVERAGE Black person. If it's set in an average low-to-middle class
neighborhood with an average boring job someone will say that's
not representative of ALL Blacks since we have a good deal of
upper class professional Blacks. It's a no-win situation so I don't
blame them for wanting to stay out of the race situation this whole
time. They have enough problems being boycotted by feminists.
No one had a problem with the cartoon Fat Albert because it was
made by Bill Cosby. Had Disney put their name on it and changed
absolutely NOTHING, I will bet my whole year's salary that there would
be protests about negative Black stereotypes.
On the other hand, Pixar had their first Asian-American character
in 'Up'. He was a chubby kid with some issues. I'm sure if they
tried, the Asian-American community could have found something
to hate about the character. Yet there were no protests from them.
Ditto with Disney's "Mulan" featuring Asians.
It's a no-win situation with Black characters so why risk the headache.
The networks finally figured this out, that's why there are no Black
sitcoms in this fall's line-up.
djanimaequeen
They are dammed because they don't do it right. A princess who is a frog!? Gimme a flippin break. And the fact that it took this long and that they went though every other racial backgorund imaginable before settling on a black chick is worse than insulting. Dont you have a tea bag party to crach?
djanimaequeen
BTW river tag you're a racist.
mightyCW
Is there some kind of "black person as a frog" racial stereotype that I missed? I could see you getting upset if they'd had her transform into some kind of monkey or (God forbid) a crow, but a frog? Really? You're outraged over an old fairy tale archetype that now happens to feature a black character? Get over yourself, please. We'll see if Disney bungles the character either through an overabundance of stereotypical sass ("oh no you di'-nnnt" and such) or, even worse, by whitewashing her of all personality, pun intended. I'd like to see an authentic black character unencumbered by the need to represent "all" black people and presented without offensive stereotypes. Maybe Disney's learned its lessons well enough to succeed. But getting mad over a frog? Get a life.
tenderlung
I don't know how down 'racist Nazis' would be with Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, Lilo, Kuzco... The suggestion below that it is insulting that Disney went through 'every other racial background before settling on black' is insulting in and of itself. White and black are not the only 'important' ethnicities and quite frankly I know a lot of kids to whom Mulan was quite important.
kongming
"I think that people are so protective against Black characters that anything you do will piss off someone."
Or maybe there's an actual problem with the way black people are portrayed? You are obviously white, what makes you think you're more qualified to comment on racist portrayals than people who have actually experienced racism?
"They have enough problems being boycotted by feminists."
Oh no, people are worried about portrayal of women! How horrible! Quick, bring out the feminist spray!
"I'm sure if they tried, the Asian-American community could have found something to hate about the character. Yet there were no protests from them. Ditto with Disney's "Mulan" featuring Asians."
Maybe because depictions of Asians and Asian-Americans as anything other than sallow-skinned slant-eyed stereotypes is vanishingly rare, so the "Asian-American community" is grateful just to have them happen at all? Though as an actual member of the "Asian-American community" I can tell you that there are plenty of people who were displeased with Mulan.
"It's a no-win situation with Black characters so why risk the headache."
Yes, let's not reflect on why black people might complain. They're obviously just whiners who will accuse everyone of racism no matter what. There is no possible way we could be at blame. None at all.
"I don't know how down 'racist Nazis' would be with Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan, Lilo, Kuzco..."
Aladdin had references to Arabia as barbaric as well as some problematic imagery, Pocahontas completely whitewashed both the titular historical character's sad life story as well as the brutal conquest of the Americas (and it threw in some insulting noble savage crap to boot), Mulan had some questionable depictions of Chinese culture that go hand in hand with American stereotypes about the "Far East," etc. Really, the only thing without major problems on your list is Lilo. Disney tries to be inclusive but that doesn't mean they aren't often insultingly incompetent about it.
"The suggestion below that it is insulting that Disney went through 'every other racial background before settling on black' is insulting in and of itself. White and black are not the only 'important' ethnicities and quite frankly I know a lot of kids to whom Mulan was quite important."
Oh what the fuck ever, black people have been in America far longer than Asians. And I'm Asian. They should have had a princess before us, and it's FAR more insulting that it took so long. Besides, black people are a larger percentage of the U.S. population than any other minority group (except Latinos, who have never had a princess either), so from a purely utilitarian standpoint it would only have been fair if they had gotten a princess first.
shaleahwilson
What about Mulan and Aladin then? They were not white either. And Lion King was the greatest Disney film of all time in terms of money.
Irisdavenport
Go on Youtube and view the trailers for the "The Princess and the Frog" and you will be presently surprised. The princess looks very much like the young woman portraying her. She's a very classy princess.
ghudson68
definitely too little too late. now making multi-racial people (or in this case characters) visible is trendy. It's too late for the token princess.
VoodooTiger
Aladdin was produced in 1992 and had an Arabic princess.
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n--Y--nightdragon83kongming
Aladdin also had--at least in the original theatrical version--characters singing about Arabia is "barbaric." Sorry, I don't think Disney gets a pass for that one just because it happens to not have white people.
kongming
"major characters of some of the biggest Disney films like The Little Mermaid and The Lion King were voiced by African Americans"
Sebastian from the Little Mermaid is a big-lipped Jamaican-accented stereotype. The Lion King is full of African animals, implying that black folks can only be in a Disney movie if it's about animals. Besides, it had a rather insulting and stereotypical portrayal of both black people and Latino people as shifty criminal minorities with the hyenas, and the lead character was still voiced by two white people.
"Native Americans represented with Pocahontas"
Yes, in a very whitewashed portrayal that distorts and romanticizes early European contact with the Native Americans, a contact that resulted in genocide and conquest. Also, Pocahontas is voiced by an Eskimo/Metis woman, because apparently all Native American groups are exactly the same.
WhiteTiger
Why is it that the first black Princess gets turned into a frog?
None of the other Princesses got turned into an animal.
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n--Y--nightdragon83kongming
Let's give Disney the benefit of a doubt. It's not like they've ever had a racist portrayal before, right?
http://contexts.org/socimages/files/blogger2wp/Racecartoons-Pickaninnyin Fantasia.jpg
Irisdavenport
She does not remain a frog. Her life as a frog is a plot point to carry the story and develop the relationship between Naveen and Tiana. FYI, Tiana is not really a Princess, she's an American girl. Think of her as an animated version of Grace Kelly.
shaleahwilson
If Grace Kelly were black you mean. Think of her as the animated version of Rhianna.
shaleahwilson
Kuzko did, he's not a princess, but he is still a prince turned into an animal. Why don't you cry about it?
kongming
Actually he was an Incan Emperor--hence the title of the movie--but that doesn't help your argument either way because it was a comedy movie and his animal transformation was played for laughs.
zingbah
There is no racism here. Just a magical fairytale. That is all.
kongming
"I have not seen the movie, but I am going to make authoritative declarations about its racism anyway."
Irisdavenport
You fail to mention the most interesting thing about Prince Naveen (Princess Tiana's love interest). HE IS NOT BLACK. HE IS LATIN. This has been meet with controversity by some in the black community because they wanted the Prince to be black. Initially, the Prince was suppose to be European with a British accent, after the ubroar by (certain black focus groups) a stunned Disney made him Latin (his portrayer is Brazillian actor). The prince is a hunk. It should be noted that Prince is cast as a European in Disney's ice show.
Irisdavenport
You fail to mention the most interesting thing about Prince Naveen (Princess Tiana's love interest). HE IS NOT BLACK. HE IS LATIN. This has been meet with controversy by some in the black community because they wanted the Prince to be black. Initially, the Prince was European with a British accent, after the uproar by (certain black focus groups) a stunned Disney made him Latin (his portrayer is Brazilian actor). The prince is a hunk. It should be noted that Prince is cast as a European in Disney's ice show.
HiredGoons
I for one found Prince Philip's brooding in the dungeons in 'Sleeping Beauty' to be HAWT.
ashytators
I'm pretty sure Disney didn't turn the princess into a frog to offend the black community. I mean come on, they've had so many movies they're running out of fairy tales to run on. At least the Princess and the frog comes from that old story about the frog turning into the prince. I mean they even resorted to history for some of their movies. It's not like they're making the movie as an apology for not making a black princess for so long in which case they would have the perfect princess with the same hackneyed princes. It's creative and original and it hasn't even come out yet! Give it a rest.
kongming
"I'm pretty sure Disney didn't turn the princess into a frog to offend the black community."
Yes, and blackface wasn't done to offend black people either; it was for entertaining white folks. Doesn't make it any less racist.
"It's creative and original and it hasn't even come out yet!"
Then why are you assuming it's not racist?
shaleahwilson
Yeah, I for one was way pissed when I read the fairytale and thought it was particularly racist to have a white woman turned into a frog anyway. I asked myself, of all the things they could do a frog! to a white woman! You barbarians!!
kongming
Your are bad at this. Please stop.
BettySchaefer
Aladdin was a criminal! A common thief! He pretends to be a prince but only comes across as a phony to Jasmine. She only falls for him because he is not royal - a bit like Roman Holiday.
Anyway, these days, racial profiling would mean he'd never get that carpet past air traffic control!
shaleahwilson
Whether anyone likes it or not there is truth in all stereotypes, even in white ones! And if we do not like them we should change them ourselves, because the portrayals are mirrors of society like it or not. Ever notice how "white" Carlton was? Why was he not just an a-type personality black man? We all create our own races stereotypes. And yeah, sometimes a few people do mess it up for everyone, but let's face it, it is what it is. Get the hell over it. Disney is not out to get anyone, they are entertaining children.
kongming
"Whether anyone likes it or not there is truth in all stereotypes"
So Japanese-Americans really were a fifth column ready to hand the West Coast over to the Emperor?
"Disney is not out to get anyone, they are entertaining children."
Media does not influence our values or norms at all. In fact, those things are genetic. Therefore we should make no attempt at all to criticize or mitigate the damage of problematic portrayals in media.
Thank you.
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