Dolls of Color

After reading that people are either upset that the prince appears “white” or happy that Disney is portraying an inter-racial coupling, and then noticing along with many others that Disney hasn’t yet shown a Hispanic princess… maybe Disney was trying to – for lack of a nicer idiom – kill two birds with one stone (seriously, this is such an awful idiom… does anyone know a saying that is bird-friendly?) by having an African American princess AND a Hispanic prince. Just maybe…

I don’t know if this image shows the actual princess of the title, or an intro of some kind with some kid being told a princess bedtime story by her parents. I just think her dolly next to the bedside lamp is sooo cute!

Hmmm, not too sure I like what this image implies… doesn’t seem like a very chivalrous prince (assuming the bigger frog is the “prince”) does he?

Images from Disney’s The Princess and the Frog website.

Oh yeah… and to the people ranting that the prince should be black because they believe that this movie is targeted to African Americans… um NO! Disney markets all their movies to as much of an universal audience as possible because that would maximise profits. Disney is a money making company as are most other commercial companies. All we (the public and consumers) can do is try to convince them to make their money in an ethical and conscientious way. Please don’t exclude other people from this discourse especially other minorities. Sharing is caring. Yes, Disney *could have* gone with a black prince and that would be just fine… but since they didn’t, it doesn’t make it ok to diss Hispanics (or even Middle Easterners or South Asians) who are thrilled that there’s a Disney character that looks like them. Share the joy! And yes I am very much aware of the history of systematic destruction to African American families and partnerships. Criticise this movie all you want but don’t go pulling other people down just so you can feel superior in some warped way.

Don’t even get me started on how wrong (historically and more) Mulan or Pocahontas is either… but the movies look pretty and I will continue to watch them. So nerrrr