The Princess And The Frog: A New Twist On An Old Story
November 24, 2009 by Kimberly · 15 Comments
My family went to see a screening of The Princess and the Frog tonight. To my pleasant surprise, each one of us enjoyed the film immensely. I wasn’t surprised that I would love the movie. Rather, I wasn’t sure if my husband and two sons would like it. The results:
-Sean (almost 3) primarily just laughed at Mama Odie.
-Michael (almost 6) was especially fond of the parts when Tiana turned into a frog and when she turned into a princess. He also really liked Mama Odie. That was especially interesting, because before the movie, he was scared of Mama Odie’s voice. It actually took a week for us to convince him to see the movie, because he thought Mama Odie was going to be scary. Anyway, he gave it an A+++ AND he wanted me to put a sticker on my review of it (?!)
-Reggie (my husband) especially cared for three parts. He laughed when the frogs were fighting the frog catchers. It reminded him of the Three Stooges type of comedy. He also agreed with the theme of how what we need is not always what we want. He was also impressed by another part which I am not going to share because it would spoil a portion of the movie. (It involves the firefly Raymond.)
-As for me, I respected the whole twist on the damsel waiting for her prince to come. Rather, Tiana was following her father’s advice and working hard towards making her own dreams come true. Working through obstacles with the prince (while they were both frogs) together is what made them fall in love. I also liked how the focus was on love being more important than other things that we think are most important (i.e. money and careers). What I loved the most though was that when Tiana and Prince Naveen focused on what was most important (what they needed!), everything else (their wants) fell into place when coupled with hard work.
Both my husband and I gave the movie an A-. When I asked my husband what his minus was for, he responded, “Because no movie is perfect”. In other words, he didn’t have a real reason until after I told mine. Then, he agreed with me. My reason for the minus is that the movie has some dark parts when it deals with voodoo / shadows from the dead that has the potential to scare young kids. I was surprised that it didn’t scare my kids. My husband said that was probably because they watch Scooby-Doo cartoons. (It’s that type of dark/ghost type imagery through some of the movie.)
The last thing that I want to write about this movie involves the question that I have been asked the most (from moms of all races) since previews of the movie started showing…how do you feel about the fact that the prince is not Black? It’s interesting. Going into the movie, I felt as if Disney had missed a great opportunity to show Black love in an animated way. As a Black woman (happily) married to a Black man with two little Black sons, I did not love that Disney felt the need to make up a nationality for the prince. (Prince Naveen is from Maldonia, which does not exist. They made it up, so it’s not even really an interracial story.) Here’s the thing. I don’t have issues with interracial relationships. I say, “to each her own road to love and happiness”. Rather, I thought that it was sad that it took Disney 72 years to have their first Black (and American) princess in a feature-length animated film just to match her with a non-Black prince. (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first film in 1937.) What does that say to little Black girls who want to grow up one day and find a “prince” that looks similar to their fathers or brothers or cousins? That he doesn’t exist? In my mind, it would have been different if past Disney princes and princesses were from different racial/ethnic backgrounds than one another, but they were not (except for Pocahontas, which was loosely based on a true story).
I must write that after seeing the movie, my opinion changed somewhat. I still think that it would have been nice for Prince Naveen to have been Black. However, the characters are green frogs for most of the movie. While viewing it, you really don’t have time to think about the race thing. In the end, the movie is really about the true foundations of love. It’s not a white or black issue this time. Rather, it’s a green one. (Besides, we don’t rely on the media to raise our kids. Our sons don’t have to go to a movie to see an example of a Black woman and a Black man’s dream of love coming true. They can just look at their own mother and father!)
In any event, I highly recommend this movie. It begins exclusively at the Walt Disney Studios Theater in Burbank and Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on November 25th and arrives in theaters nationwide on December 11th. If you go to see it, please come back and let me know what you thought of it. I always love to hear different perspectives.
Thanks to Disney for the movie screening passes.
Thank you for the thorough review. One of my biggest issues with Disney movies is the woman waiting for the man to come along and make everything bright and shiny. I’d like to see the movie myself. I may have to hijack my nieces or go alone!
Thanks for the review. We will definitely see this movie. I have been waiting for it all of my life.
Kim,
“Besides, we don’t rely on the media to raise our kids. Our sons don’t have to go to a movie to see an example of a Black woman and a Black man’s dream of love coming true. They can just look at their own mother and father!”
That made me tear up!
Isabel
Thank you for this! My daughter is very excited to see the movie.
Thank you for the great review! I really think my grandkids would really enjoy this movie. I do love the story.
We have been watching the commercials of this movie and my 4 yr old gets up and RUNS to the television when she hears it.
thank you for the review, we are going to see the movie soon I hope.
I clicked on the link to your review from a comment you made on someone else’s editorial comment of the film. I must say that I am happy that I did. I appreciate your take on the film AFTER having seen the film in its entirety. I can’t wait to see it!
I enjoyed your review. After reading it, I felt I wanted to see the movie for myself. Even though I don’t have small children, the entirety of you review sparked interest in me.
Good review. I look forward to reading more of your reviews.
While I haven’t seen the film yet, I am impressed by your wonderful and honest review. I will be taking my 6 yr old daughter based on this review. Thanks! ladyhightower@live.com
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Wow,complain if you don’t make a black princess, complain if you do? Now disney has somehow offended people because she was a frog for the whole movie? Wasn’t the little mermaid a mermaid the whole movie, or snow white sleeping the whole movie? It seems the same as any other I have seen. I don’t understand, shes too african, or shes not enough african? Maybe making a movie just for african americans is hard becasue noone can make up there mind what it should portray. Maybe its because African americans are just like umm Americans. I cant recall the last time I meet a slave and I am sure that we all had the same oppurtunitys to succeed, why do we need to appease people just because they think they want it. How many people are second guessing voing for Barack just because he was black……….
We need to get over the race barriers, which means stop acting like your different, we are all the same. Did you want reperations with your Ticket stub also?
You can view it as complaining if you choose to do so. That is your choice. However, equating the desire to see a Black prince on screen with reparations is faulty logic in my opinion.
Why do most of the critics ignore Tiana’s parents as good role models for black relationships? That makes me pretty sad. Sure, he’s not the prince, but so what? Tiana’s dad was wonderful. He was his daughter’s inspiration and truly loved his family. It just bothers me that he got swept aside, as if so many reviewers forgot he existed. His influence was felt throughout the entire film.
Kat,
I agree with you that the parents are a great role model. Before the film came out though, people had no way of knowing of how big a role the parents played in the movie.
As someone who had the chance to see the movie beforehand, I simply addressed the concerns that had been raised to me the most. And like I wrote, I think that people will love the movie. My family did.
Your article was wonderful, honest and heartfelt. If certain folks just don’t get it or understand, maybe they never will.
For a long period in U.S. history, “black love” was played for comedy or never shown at all. Via way of de facto law of the land, images of “black love” in the larger U.S. culture were not permitted. It was not until the Harlem Renaissance with Afro Amereican owned silent fillm producers and most notably the play/musical Shuffle Along by Afro American composers that “black love” changed and was made equal and just as important as love between white heterosexual couples.
Folks want to dismiss the Princess and the Frong as an simple and innocuous cartoon not carrying much weight. Then, why are so many mothers of African descent lauding the first Afro American princess in a fairytale? After all, isn’t it just another cartoon?
But remember, those simple innocuous cartoons of the past that portrayed Afro American folks as baffoons influenced a generation of people who watched them and the people who had to struggle daily to disprove they weren’t like characters being portrayed in them.
Why couldn’t Disney simply make the prince black? What was the fear? Men of African descent–in all their various colors etc.– can be princely heroes to a woman of African descent?!
There is no need to ask questions if the Princess and the Frog is nothing more than a cartoon.
BB,
Thanks for your response. After the rude emails that I have been receiving, it is refreshing.
Perspective is everything. I don’t expect everyone to see things exactly as I do. That is why I encouraged my readers to go and see the movie for themselves and form their own opinions. I am not someone who feels threatened by different perspectives/ opinions. To me, variety is the spice of life!