Racism and Princess and the Frogs

Princess and the Frog

I was raised on Disney movies. I have seen everything from Oliver and Company (1988) to most recently, The Good Dinosaur (2015). So when I heard there would finally be an African American Disney princess, I made it a point to see Princess and the Frog. Princess and the Frog debuted in theaters Friday, December 11, 2009 and was extremely successful at the box-office, ranking first place on its opening weekend in the US and grossing $267 million worldwide. Based on the fairy tale “The Frog Prince” by the Brothers Grimm, Princess and the Frog is set in the 1920’s, is centered around a hardworking waitress, Tiana, who has dreams of owning her own restaurant. Being read the Frog Prince stories as a kid, Tiana, down on her luck, kisses a frog that she comes across. The frog, who is prince Naveen of Maldonia, has been turned into a frog by an evil witch doctor, the Shadow Man. By kissing the frog, Tiana becomes a frog herself. The movie follows Tiana and Naveen through New Orleans trying to find a way to turn back into humans. They end up falling in love and eventually wed. By marrying Prince Naveen, Tiana becomes a princess. By becoming a princess, Naveen and Tiana are restored back to their human form, after they kiss. The movie ends by Tiana, since becoming a princess, being able to finally buy and open her restaurant. Over all, I enjoyed Princess and the Frog. But after thinking and comparing the other Disney Princess movies to Princess and the Frog, I couldn't help but see the underlying racism.

Originally announced as The Frog Princess in 2006, Princess and the Frog drew criticism from the African American community early. Just by the title and the association to the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, there were people dissatisfied with the work of Disney. It was then released the main character, later known as Tiana, would be named “Maddy,” which sounded very similar to Mammy, a racial stereotype of African American women used by White Americans from the 1800s to the 1950s. Maddy was also originally written as a chambermaid. Finding out that the first black princess would be named Maddy and worked as a chambermaid, created an uproar by the African American population. In response to these early criticisms, the film's title was changed in 2007 from The Frog Princess to Princess and the Frog. The name Maddy was changed to Tiana, and her occupation was altered from chambermaid to waitress. By Disney even entertaining the idea of the main character being named Maddy and having the job as a chambermaid, shows the blatant disregard for African American people and their history.

Tiana, the main character in Princess and the Frog, is born to a seamstress and soldier. Her father, the soldier, appears in the beginning of the movie when Tiana was a child. He is shown as a compassionate man who loves his family. Despite all the love, Tiana’s parents are poor. “Your daddy may not have gotten the place he always wanted, but he had something better. He had love!” Tiana’s mother said to her. Even though, her family had a lot of love for each other, Tiana is one of the few Disney princesses to not be born a princess. She becomes a princess because she is married into the family. Tiana spent the whole movie poor, until the end when she married the prince. It is true, that some fairy tales characters start off poor or low class, but they also spend at least half the movie as a princess, for example Cinderella. In Princess and the Frog, Tiana was poor until the very end. This promotes the “real world” racial classes in society for African Americans more than a fairy tale.

Not only was Tiana, one of the only Disney princess to become a princess at the very end, but