Princess and the Frog

I want to start with this one, since the first black Disney princess got quite a bit of controversy around it. This is going to be a hard one for me to remain neutral on. This is one of my favourite films.

I want to start with something which deeply upset me:

"Tiana starts out as a strong willed character, but towards the end she needed to be saved by a prince"


I think this is a little unfair, the princess actually paid for the down payment on her restaurant with her own money, and Louis help to "convince" the seller to take it. Also, I feel that Tiana's hard work and determination is an important aspect of her personality. She ends the film as a strong willed person, the same as she started. Imagine going through the same emotional turmoil she has. She's worked most of her life for her dream, and boy is she a hard worker. She's worked 2 jobs with barely any sleep, only to be told that she can "kiss that place good bye" I'd find that very emotionally distressing. Even through all these hardships she's still such a strong willed character, even if she does show her upset. I think Tiana teaches us a lesson about life, not everything is handed to us on a plate and if we want something we have to work hard for it. Sometimes we have to accept the help of others to get us where we need to be, friends, partners, family and others close to us, and it doesn't make us weak to accept their help. She also teaches us that family, friends and love are truly important.

Now to look at the other controversial points, which I have either read from articles, blog posts or comments.

Among some of the issues were, her name - Maddy - which was changed to Tiana after some complaints that it was an unlikely name for a black person to have. Her occupation, which was originally a maid, Cinderella anyone? However, the one I keep seeing the most was her prince, because he is not black. I can't completely defend this choice, I see no issue with him not being black, but I equally would see no issue with him being a black prince. I actually think it's quite nice that they are in a multi-racial relationship.

Another of the issues was where it was set, in new Orleans, where many people had died from hurricane Katrina. Although, I think it is quite eye opening seeing the differences in class there, between the rich and the poor.

A comment I saw complained that the princess was a frog through much of the film. I used to have the story "the frog prince" as part of a series of stories in a book. This story was one of the shortest. I believe she lost a golden ball, and that's how she found the frog prince. Baring in mind that he needed a princess to kiss him, which Tiana was not, they did well to come up with an idea of what may have happened if a non-princess kissed a frog prince. While they are frogs they get to know each other, and go from not really liking each other to being in love. It adds to love being blind, Tiana didn't see much of prince Naveen while he was human, and if he had have turned back into a human after Tiana kissed him, not only would it have been a short film, but most likely he would have just married Charlotte. Becoming frogs is what made them "dig a little deeper" and find true love, which after all was the whole point in the film, yes?

I admit that my opinion will likely sway towards the positive side, like I said I adore this film, but we all know Disney isn't new to controversy, there have been many in the past and will continue to be targeted in the future. The important thing, I think, about the film is, it is just that, a film. Not only is it just a fairy tale, it's one with a twist. This is mostly my own opinion on the first black disney princess, and maybe there are things I've missed. However, I still feel that perhaps the controversy is more innocent than some people think.