Race in Disney's Princess and the Frog
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Jones 1 Abigail Jones Professor Sorenson UCWR 101- 036 12/14/2017 Race in Disney’s Princess and the Frog For many, Disney is a childhood staple. Children grow up watching the classics at home and the newest films in theatres, taking a pilgrimage to Disneyland or Disneyworld, and buying merchandise with their favorite characters’ faces on them. Because of the huge influence that the company has on children, it is important that all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, and gender, are fairly represented. Disney is notorious for inciting public outcries of racism and sexism in the past in movies such as Aladdin , Dumbo , and Jungle Book (Barnes). Until the creation of Princess and the Frog in 2009, the lineup of princesses did not include an African American woman. Tiana physically fills the void and diversifies the royal group, but to a lesser degree. While almost all the other princesses are virtuous and dainty; live in a kingdom that respects and adores them; and live a traditional life of royalty, Disney lowers the standards and rewards for Tiana, thereby making her noticeably inferior. Her life before and after becoming royalty, as well as the underwhelming difference between the two, doesn’t incite the same wishful thinking that her counterparts inspire. Being a princess doesn’t mean as much as it once did. In this way, Disney almost taunts African American girls, telling them that they too can be anyone that they’d like to be in title, but that the implications surrounding the position will always be lesser. Why would Disney even bother making a film with such a racist undertone, blatant or otherwise? The decision was entirely based off of profits, a scheme that worked to their benefit by drawing a Jones 2 large number of African American parents to their stores. Tiana isn’t a symbol of how far society has come towards portraying an equal society, but rather an exploited princess in name rather than deed. Synopsis of Disney’s Princess and the Frog In director Peter Del Vecho’s Princess and the Frog , Tiana is a poor, African American woman who is committed to working multiple jobs to save money for the restaurant that she and her deceased father had always dreamed about. Her best friend Lottie is a rich, romantic white girl who dreams of becoming a princess. When Prince Naveen visits their city of New Orleans in hopes of marrying Lottie for her father’s wealth, he and his assistant meet The Shadow Man, who, in an effort to also become rich and as a way to appease the evil spirits who give him power, turns the prince into a frog and the assistant into the prince. While the assistant disguised as the prince effortlessly woos Lottie, Prince Naveen (as a frog) believes that Tiana is a princess at the costume party that they are both attending, and promises her the restaurant of her dreams in return for a kiss that will presumably turn him back into a man. But because she is not a princess, she too becomes a frog. They go on a thrilling adventure, meeting new friends such as Ray the firefly and Louis the jazz-playing alligator, and also facing many dangers, such as hunters, the spirits, and other wild animals. Naveen falls in love with Tiana, and they agree that they would rather have each other than have their previous dreams of being wealthy and owning a restaurant, respectively. They are wed by a mysterious and magical woman who lives in the bayou named Mama Odie. Through this marriage, they become human again and both live happily ever after working at Tiana’s restaurant. African Americans Portrayed like Animals Jones 3 African Americans in Princess and the Frog are portrayed in the film as sub-human and animal-like. Megan Condis reports that “Tiana spends more time as a frog over the course of the movie (fifty-seven minutes of the film's ninety-seven minute running time), than she does as a human being, let alone as a princess”. The author goes on to analyze the relationships that other princesses have had with animals. In many of the classic Disney princess movies, animals are “lesser creatures,” shown by “very different artistic styles,” “sound,” and explanations by the princesses themselves. While the animals are personified to be kind and helpful, they are treated more like “a pet or a baby” (Condis). She claims that minority princesses such as Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, and especially Tiana have “equal status with animals” (Condis). Many times throughout the film, Tiana is at the mercy of the creatures, especially Ray and Louis. She uses the two to guide them to Mama Odie, to protect them from the jaws of other creatures, and, most interestingly, to scare the businessmen into letting Tiana buy the building that they had previously promised her in the beginning of the film. It is unsettling that Tiana’s restaurant dream might have never come true without the help an alligator, as no other princess relies as much on someone other than themselves or their prince (Breaux 404). Even after Tiana is transformed back into a human, she continues to wear green in every outfit, including her wedding dress, which could be perceived as a subtle way to remind viewers that inwardly Tiana is still a frog in some sense, and that this trait is not something a kiss can change. One of the only outfits Tiana wears that is not green is the blue gown loaned to her by Charlotte. This is also the gown where she is mistaken for a princess, implying that Tiana is the most beautiful and princess-like in her white friend’s attire. African Americans had already been personified as Jones 4 frogs years ago, most notably by “one former studio animator, [who said that frogs’] large mouths made them ‘suitable animals to depict as African Americans’” (Condis). This contrast can also clearly be seen in the difference between Lottie’s father ‘Big Daddy’ LaBouff, the rich, white Mardis Gras King and Mama Odie, “voodoo queen of the Bayou” (Del Vecho 37:59). Both are royals, but one seems to be of the human world, the latter of the animal kingdom. While LaBouff is a successful businessman and “represents the city’s social and business elite,” Mama Odie makes potions in a converted bathtub in the middle of the bayou, and her most faithful companion seems to be the snake that she uses as a walking stick (Gregory 435). The only African American who is seemingly successful in the city of New Orleans before the fairytale ending seems to be The Shadow Man, who uses dark magic and trickery to get what he has. Even then, it still pales in comparison to the LaBouff fortune. In a literal sense, the spirits that aid The Shadow Man shapeshift into forms that sometimes appear to look like human faces, and at other times move around like animals, further solidifying the racist idea that African Americans are not fully human. And They All Lived Happily Ever After? In all of the princess movies, good prevails over evil and the princess’ wish is fulfilled, a compensation of sorts for the struggles that she has faced and the goodness in her heart. While Tiana gets her ‘happily ever after’ in the form of a restaurant, it is to a different scale than that of the other princesses, who usually wind up in a castle. Lauren Dundes writes that “viewers are just supposed to accept that, for a black character, this is sufficiently impressive… black ambition is firmly set at the service industries”. Just like in the beginning, she is again serving Jones 5 Charlotte, only this time, this is exactly what she wanted. In this way, she is no different than her poor, non-royal mother, but certainly different from the rags to riches story that we see in the age- old story of Cinderella. However, according to Richard Breaux’s research, there were no restaurants owned by African American women in New Orleans in the 1920s. It would be an extremely impressive feat for an African American man to own one, although there were a few such cases (405). The numbers show that the odds of Tiana being a restaurant owner are about the same as becoming a princess: little to no chance. With that in mind, if this is what she truly wanted, then she did triumph and achieve her dreams. Charlotte and Tiana: Who’s the Real Princess? It is clear to see that Charlotte fits the Disney princess mold much better than Tiana, from her fair skin and blonde hair; obsession to wishing on stars; and the quick head-over-heels falling in love with the prince. And while Tiana triumphs and marries the prince at the end, it’s hard not to notice that in a sense, Charlotte is still doing better: she found her own prince, can spend her nights being served in her best friend’s restaurant, and remains incredibly wealthy. Sarah E. Turner calls Tiana the “antithesis of Charlotte” in her article (87). From these deductions, it is clear that Tiana is either unique and groundbreaking, changing the idea of who a princess is and what she must look like or an imposter to the throne, stealing the spot that by virtue belongs to Charlotte. By the way that Tiana is treated compared to her predecessors, the latter idea is very clearly implied. Tiana’s Hometown: But is it Really New Orleans? It is easy to tell that Tiana’s hometown is not picture-perfect from the drastic change of scenes from Charlotte’s lavish bedroom to the dated, plain kitchen in Tiana’s home.