'Disney's first black princess, a good thing?' - I saw this headline on the front of a newspaper yesterday - I think it was the evening standard, but I could be wrong - and I admit it got me to thinking. My conclusion was - why does anyone care?
I'm a second year animation student, and I can say with certainty that practically everyone on my course has been looking forward to the up-coming 'Princess and the Frog', coming to cinemas here in England at the end of the month. It symbolises a return to form for Disney, going back to the grass-routes hand-drawn style of animation that Walt Disney himself helped to pioneer nearly 100 years ago.
So, I saw this headline, and though to myself, 'why does it matter?' Disney's Princess' have been rather varied since the 90's, with an american indian (Pocahantas), an arabian muslim (Jasmine from the Aladdin trilogy), a chinese (Mulan), a greek (Megara from Hercules) and an indian (Shanti from Jungle Book 2). Ok, so the last two aren't princess', but my point stands. Surly having a black princess is just natural progression?
You could ask what took them so long - in my opinion they were too busy ot conquering the world, but lets face it, Disney hasn't made any good movies in years, instead subsiding on forgettable sequals and Pixars reflected glory.
A black friend of mine did show interest in the fact that the princess of the film is black, as did we all to a degree, but the novelty soon faded, and it became just 'the new Disney film', although she did comment that the princess had an odd name. The grape-vine has suggested that Disney changed the name of the Princess from 'Milly' to 'Tiana' because people found 'Milly' to be rasist. How exactly I'm still not sure - my friend was more insulted by the second name.
My question to the escapists it this - what's the big deal? Is the first black Disney princess a good thing - well, how exactly is it a bad thing? (I admit I didn't actually read the article, being on a paper someone had left on the train). In this day and age, does it really matter? That being said, if 'Aladdin' were released today rather than 18 years ago (18 YEARS! I kid you not), would the extermists be claiming jihad on Disney for Jasmines permanently bare mid-drift and lack of veil?
It feels like a protracted argument to me - maybe because animators and animation students have known about this film longer than the general public and any kind of 'shock' has worn off (one of my lecturers actually worked for Disney and is credited in the making of 'Tarzan').
My opinion is this - Its a Disney film and I'm looking forward to it. Even if it wasn't, its story alone is intriging enough to make me want to see it. I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has or is planning to see this movie.
I'm a second year animation student, and I can say with certainty that practically everyone on my course has been looking forward to the up-coming 'Princess and the Frog', coming to cinemas here in England at the end of the month. It symbolises a return to form for Disney, going back to the grass-routes hand-drawn style of animation that Walt Disney himself helped to pioneer nearly 100 years ago.
So, I saw this headline, and though to myself, 'why does it matter?' Disney's Princess' have been rather varied since the 90's, with an american indian (Pocahantas), an arabian muslim (Jasmine from the Aladdin trilogy), a chinese (Mulan), a greek (Megara from Hercules) and an indian (Shanti from Jungle Book 2). Ok, so the last two aren't princess', but my point stands. Surly having a black princess is just natural progression?
You could ask what took them so long - in my opinion they were too busy ot conquering the world, but lets face it, Disney hasn't made any good movies in years, instead subsiding on forgettable sequals and Pixars reflected glory.
A black friend of mine did show interest in the fact that the princess of the film is black, as did we all to a degree, but the novelty soon faded, and it became just 'the new Disney film', although she did comment that the princess had an odd name. The grape-vine has suggested that Disney changed the name of the Princess from 'Milly' to 'Tiana' because people found 'Milly' to be rasist. How exactly I'm still not sure - my friend was more insulted by the second name.
My question to the escapists it this - what's the big deal? Is the first black Disney princess a good thing - well, how exactly is it a bad thing? (I admit I didn't actually read the article, being on a paper someone had left on the train). In this day and age, does it really matter? That being said, if 'Aladdin' were released today rather than 18 years ago (18 YEARS! I kid you not), would the extermists be claiming jihad on Disney for Jasmines permanently bare mid-drift and lack of veil?
It feels like a protracted argument to me - maybe because animators and animation students have known about this film longer than the general public and any kind of 'shock' has worn off (one of my lecturers actually worked for Disney and is credited in the making of 'Tarzan').
My opinion is this - Its a Disney film and I'm looking forward to it. Even if it wasn't, its story alone is intriging enough to make me want to see it. I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has or is planning to see this movie.
