2009 November, 27th

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens

Earlier this year we were among the first to announce that Disney’s hand-drawn animation is back, with The Princess and the Frog, from the creators of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, featuring music by Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman.

Inspired by ethnic beauty Anika Noni Rose, who also gives a voice to the beautiful princess, Tiana is the first black heroine in 71 years of Disney history.

With all the smart marketing and efforts involved to bring to our screens a beautiful story, Disney still got some backlash from some media voices. For example North Carolina Charlotte Observer’s columnist William Blackburn criticized the setting:

“Disney should be ashamed. This princess story is set in New Orleans, the setting of one of the most devastating tragedies to beset a black community.”

But what the critics seem to forget, is the impact Disney’s ninth princess will have on African-American children, an impact flawlessly noticed by Anika Nonie Rose:

“It’s a really wonderful thing for children to be able to look at this princess and say, ‘it looks just like my friend – she’s a princess too.”

Personally, I’ve never paid attention to the skin color of the Disney princesses, and I was never aware that this was such a big issue. I remember an Arabian princess, in Aladdin; I remember Native Indian heroine Pocahontas; the beautiful Mulan, and so on. I am reading the news in awe, shocked how much effort was made by Disney to get things right. In the end, Anika’s conclusion is probably the proof that the strategy worked:

“It just happens to be a movie where a young black woman is the heroine. But it is something that can speak to anyone who steps into that theater to sit down. Characters of many ages and many different backgrounds are featured in the movie. Tiana’s best friend is a young white girl named Charlotte. It’s a very inclusive film. I hope we see more films that have people of color in them that are not slotted as movies just for certain people.”

The last racial barrier is thus broken: any girl, of any color can now be a princess, MSNBC reports.

Disney didn’t stop here. To promote the movie, the company also developed an official video game. Players can experience Tiana’s exciting adventures, play frog games, create music, cook New Orleans style and much more.

• 2010/01/28 -- Thanks for the Memories Miramax, “The End”
• 2009/11/25 -- The Unusual Case of the Banker With a Heart
• 2009/09/01 -- An Unexpected Marriage: Disney and Marvel
• 2009/07/07 -- Hulu and YouTube – The Convergence of Online Video Market Strategies
• 2009/06/17 -- A Smart Branding Move: Disney’s Netpal for Children

About the Author

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens is public relations consultant for Pamil Visions PR. She writes for Everything PR since January 2009. Previously she worked for My-tronic GmbH and Unilever Romania. Email Liliana at lsteffens [at] pamil-visions [dot] net.

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