First there was Snow White, then Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Belle, Princess Jasmine, Pocahontas and now...The Frog Princess. Disney unveiled its plans for introducing the world to its first black princess to the billion dollar princess line, according to an article on MSNBC. The Frog Princess will return Disney back to its old-school animation style. Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose from Dream Girls and the Grammy-Award winning singer Alicia Keys have been reported to be contenders for the lead role of Maddy, the Frog Princess according to the film's Wikipedia entry. My personal pick would be Alicia Keys because she has that cool smokey voice, but I'm thinking that Disney might go in a totally different direction.
So what does it all mean? What's the significance of this new Disney princess?
First, Disney is realizing that hand-drawn animation isn't all bad in a Pixar driven world when it's backed behind a good story. Second, the black community is finally getting their much awaited black princess so this is probably what it was like for little girls who were around when the first black Barbie Doll was unveiled. Third, this film pays homage to New Orleans with its setting and will hopefully remind people of the resources still needed to help rebuild the lives of those who were effected by Hurricane Katrina's devastation.
Pocahontas is my favorite Disney princess but all of them hold a special place in my heart because they've become icons for most young girls growing up in the United States. And now, hopefully Disney will do its magic again and give us another princess to embed in our hearts and culture.
