Princess Frog: Another Disney Negro Princess

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SwitchBlade
published: 2009/12/20filed under: cinemaearmarks: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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princessandthefrogposterFilm: The Princess & the Frog

Actor(s): Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jenifer Lewis, John Goodman, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Cody, Terrence Howard

Official Drop Date: November 25, 2009

Blades: 8

Review: This may be Disney’s most controversial film to date. As Disney’s racial past is continuously being scrutinized, they attempt to prove that they are no longer a bunch of racists. This will be a long road for them to travel as Disney has the reputation for misleading their audience and disrespecting Negros in their films. We now have Tiana, the “first Negro” princess for Disney but I’ll still hold on to the misnamed Pocahontas as the “first.” My first assumption was that Eudora was the nanny of Lottie but that was soon corrected as the movie unfolded. I decided then to make sure that I left my assumptions at the theatre door and watch the film for what it is. If there were something to be seen, it would pop out. As folks get caught up in misleading and minute details, I’ll do my best to stay focused on the film and actual hidden agendas and not add misdirection to the review.

For this adventure we are taken to New Orleans, LA where two young girls (Tiana and Charlotte “Lottie” La Bouff) are listening to Eudora, Tiana’s mom, read them the story of The Frog Prince while finishing up a dress she’s making for Lottie. Lottie loved the idea o being a princess after kissing a frog prince and lived her fantasy hoping that wishing on a star would bring her prince to her. Tiana is adamant about never kissing a frog no matter what and then heads home with her mom to greet her dad when he gets home. Tiana helps her dad, James, to finish cooking to gumbo that they share with their neighbors and enjoy the life they live. James tells Tiana not to take the easy way out when reaching for her dreams. Now 19, Tiana is shown to work hard at two jobs and has lost her father. She’s left to bring the dream she and her father shared to life and is almost able to realize her reward.

Tiana is still in touch with her best friend Lottie, now 18, and her father [Eli “Big Daddy” La Bouff] who announces that he will be the Mardi Gras king for the tenth year a row. This year, 20-yr-old Prince Naveen of Malvonia will visit New Orleans and be the houseguest of the La Bouff’s. We’re next introduced to Lawrence, Naveen’s valet/bulter, who tries to remind Naveen that he needs to either get a job or get married for his parents to bring him back into the fold. Enter Doctor Facilier, the Shadow Man, who turns Naveen into a frog and Lawrence into Prince Naveen in order to kill Big Daddy, take his money and run New Orleans, and then give his “friends on the other side” full access to the souls of New Orleans. The Prince his Black but perhaps folks are confused being that the VOICE of the CARTOON CHARACTER is done by a White Brazilian-born American actor.
We see Tiana’s desired place for her restaurant (the old sugar mill) and see her give a down payment to the realtors because Lottie gave her a huge payment for catering her Mardi Gras Ball. Her mom brings over her dad’s old Gumbo Pot and Tiana sings her number, “I’m Almost There.” Tiana learns that the unscrupulous realtors allowed someone else to bid on the old sugar mill and tell her that she only has until Mardi Gras to come up with more money. The fact that they tell her that “a woman from her background” would be better off without the restaurant showed how disgusting some folks can be and how they treat others. Upset and in a tug of war with the realtors, the table turns over on Tiana and Lottie gives her new clothes to wear. She dresses Tiana in a princess outfit with a crown but Tia is still heartbroken over the possible loss of her dream. The “prince” arrives at the ball to sweep Lottie off her feet and the frog pops up to see Tia. The two have a negotiation and Tia breaks down and kisses Naveen (frog prince). Something goes wrong and Tia is now a frog as well. Now here is where much of the “disrespect debate” occurs. Tia being turned into a frog for most of the film. I did not like that fact that she was a frog but it was a twist. In one of the re-telling of the actually fairy tale, the frog returns time after time to get a kiss from the princess but nothing works because she does not love the frog. Over time she falls in love and then the kiss works. Back to this film.

While being chased out of the party, frog prince and Tia find themselves floating away on balloons and they end up in the bayou where their adventure begins. Frog prince and Tia continue to argue even after they flee from danger and find new friends. Louis, the gator, is talked into taking the duo to see Mama Odie, the bayou Voodoo Priestess & fairy godmother of this story. On their way the trio run into Raymond, the Cajun firefly, and his entire family. They properly direct the gang to Mama Odie. They also run into three backwoods swamp rednecks and were able to escape from becoming frog stew. Ray shares his love for the wishing star that Ray has named Evangeline and the gang thinks that the firefly is a few marbles short of a bunch. Despite a rocky beginning, Tia and Naveen are able to fall in love with each other as Naveen teaches Tia to dance and she teaches him to mince. Naveen realizes that he loves Tia but she still has her focus on ‘Tiana’s Place.’

Mama Odie is not some evil woman that most associate with Voodoo, rather she’s a loving and eccentric woman who challenges the characters to dig deep into their hearts to realize what they need. Hop Along (frog prince) is told to kiss Charlotte by midnight and things will change back to the way they were. Charlotte is the choice because she is princess of the Mardi Gras until midnight. The gang head back to the city on a river boat and Louis can now play with the “big boys” in a jazz band as everyone is in a costume and no ones suspects his of being a real gator. Ray finds Hop Along confessing his love to Evangeline and misunderstands the situation. Hop Along explains and the two help to set up a romantic moment for Tia. As frog prince stumbles on his words and emotions Tia shares her dream with him. He realizes that he must kiss and marry Lottie in order to help Tia.
Ray tells Tia how frog prince truly feels and she hops off to find him. Watching the “prince” on the float, Tia thinks it’s really him and is upset that she missed her chance. Ray tries to comfort her but she lashes out and tells him that Evangeline is a wishing star and he’s a dreamer. Hurt, Ray goes off to find Hop Along and sees him trapped on the float. Freed, frog prince steals the medallion from Lawrence and hops away. Ray takes it and flies to Tia to give it to her, but unfortunately the Shadow Man kills Ray as punishment for interfering with his plans. As Tia is cornered in a cemetery, Shadow Man offers her the restaurant and her human form. She remembers all her parents and Mama Odie told her and smashes the medallion anyway. The “friends from the other side” come and give Dr. Facilier everything he deserves.

Tia finds Lottie talking to frog prince after Lottie sees Lawrence’s true state. Lawrence is arrested and frog prince tells Lottie that Tia needs the money for her restaurant. Tia stops them from kissing and tells frog prince that she loves him too. Lottie is moved and wants to help the lovers be together. She kisses frog prince but it is too late. Louis finds Ray and brings him to the gang. There is a funeral for Ray, beautiful, and we see a new star shows up next to the Evangeline star and a connection from the two is created. We are to believe that the smaller star is Ray finally meeting the love of his life.

The lovers resolve to live together as frogs and are married by Mama Odie in the bayous surrounded by their animal friends. Once they kiss, they are transformed back into human shape and Mama Odie tells them that they finally found what they needed. Tia found love and Prince Naveen found his princess. There is a second wedding and all human friends and family have attended. The two parents of Naveen are seen and they are clearly Negros! Tiana gets her restaurant (Tiana’s Palace) and her prince.

Folks are digging hard to fault Disney for this film and pan it. If I saw fault I would have named it and I saw the film twice and hunted for fault. Cinderella, Belle, Mulan and Pocahontas were all “poor” in some sense before meeting a prince and marrying him so why is Disney making Tiana a working girl in New Orleans a horrific act? The beginning of the film is around 1912 and the father seems to have died around World War I (a soldier) so the family now having one parent is also not a stretch of the imagination or something so terrible that Disney should be hung from the highest tree. Either way, for the first notable Negro princess, this film was not as bad as I thought it could have been. The music was not the best for a Disney soundtrack, but then again, there are plenty of Disney soundtracks that I could have done without.

blades: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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