Disney Debuts First Black Princess

[Cash_thatswhatiwant]

The new Disney fairy tale movie, "Princess and the Frog" has a familiar storyline. (Girl kisses frog. Weird stuff happens.) But the look is new: The debut of Disney's first African American princess. Ever. The animated musical opens this week in New York and Los Angeles (and everywhere next month) and already Web searches on Yahoo! have grown over 100% in the last 30 days.

The story is set in Jazz Age New Orleans, with this princess-in-the-rough working as a waitress. She is only royal in her mind, and dreams of opening a restaurant in the French Quarter. Check out the preview.

Aside from breaking a race barrier (Disney's own), the animated flick is a throw-back to another era: The movie is hand-drawn, with zydeco-style songs by Randy Newman and stars Broadway singer Anika Noni Rose as the princess, Tiana, and queen of daytime Oprah Winfrey as the voice of her mom. And, of course, there are the toys. NPR reports that Tiana toys are already extremely popular with the kids. A new cash cow for Disney, perhaps?

Early reviews are positive. Time magazine calls the holiday offering a "start-to-finish delight." Entertainment Weekly glows that the G-rated movie is "a fresh twist on the classic fairy tale." Filmcritic.com notes that while the cartoon is a visual feast, it serves up little along the theme of race or class. However, images might speak stronger than words in this case. As Filmcritic puts it, "If they're not careful, 'like a Disney movie' might once again cease to be a pejorative phrase."

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93199

[musicblind]

1. I am so excited for this, and not just because we have an African American Disney Princess

but also because of Disney's return to hand drawn animation. I was so dismayed when Michael Eisner literally sold off all the hand drawn animation tables with the success of Pixar and creation of Disney's new Digital animation studios which shortly put out their first solo produced CGI Animated movie "Meet The Robinsons" ... there is plenty of room for BOTH styles of animation and I hope that hand drawn animation will make a big comeback in the near future.

Though Pixar has been nothing but a blessing to film, with masterpieces such as Wall-E and Up, CGI has also created some of the worst looking animation in history. (see the straight to DVD Care Bear movies. CGI ruined those.)

[Lorien]

9. Yep. I'm a former Disney Feature Animation artist and I have one of the

animation desks from the studio in my home office right now. Work on it every day doing freelance, because that's all there is for dinosaurs like me. 2D was never the issue-the stories were, but you can't get that fact through to people like Eisner or Stainton.

[jmondine]

12. I will be there to support it at the box office for just that reason

Hang in there. There are a lot of people like me who would love to see a 2D renaissance.
As versatile and stunning as computer animation can be, there's a magic to seeing drawings move and come to life that CGI will never have.

So, how dog-eared is your copy of The Illusion of Life?
;-)

[musicblind]

17. Preach it! You are not alone!

My family and I would also love to see a 2D renaissance.

[Lorien]

36. I have two. One that was signed by the Nine Old Men

and a paperback that's pretty ratty!

[Atman]

40. Let's not over-state the "2D" aspect of this movie.

Sure, the main characters' outlines are hand-drawn, but most of the rest of the movie relies on newer, CGI-based rendering. The shading, the lighting, the FX -- it's not at all "hand-drawn" in the way that Pinocchio was (probably the top of the game for Disney animation). I admit, I'd like to see this, but it all rings as kind of desperation, as if the Disney suits just cross-referenced the elements of their passed successes and combined them into a something so "old" that it can be called "retro." But it's not at all. I mean -- Randy Newman? A princess? Pure Disney formula, with a darker color palette.

- That said, let me just extend my heartfelt appreciation to you and the Nine Old Men, who inspired me as no others ever did (except for may G.B. Trudeau).

.

[Lorien]

45. The suits had little do do with this one

variations on the story were kicking around among the artists since 1988. They've actually been given more free reign on this one than on many films in the past two decades. Lassiter has a greater respect for the judgment of the artists than Eisner ever did.

[musicblind]

16. Oh you are a hero to me!

I am a Disney enthusiast of the first degree lol. I've read Disney's biography in multiple forms, used to work at the Disney Store, go to Disney World every year, and obsess over Disney Studios, and Disney Theme Park history/trivia.

I have been so sad to see the dismissal of hand-drawn animation. There is something so real and warm about a hand drawing that just can't be created with computers. And I'm not one of those who hates all CGI. Wall-E is one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time (and as a former Film Major at the North Carolina School Of The Arts I have seen a crap load of films) but just because something new works doesn't mean something old is broken or no longer useful. Imagine if Spirited Away had been a digital film? It wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't have the same feeling of wonder and that glow behind the pictures of knowing those images came out of another person's hands.

Have you seen the Philharmagic 3-D show at Disney's Magic Kingdom? It's such a beautiful concept and a great experience, but it drives me nuts to see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Lumière, and company created using CGI rather than traditional hand drawn animation. The same way it would make me cringe to see Wall-E drawn by hand rather than the way he was originally envisioned. I think, sometimes, people are so quick to catch up with the new trends they lose sight of the big picture in all their haste.

Why stop making hand drawn movies because CGI movies are successful too? It reminds me of the saying "Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."

[Lorien]

37. Aw, thanks Musicblind! No, I haven't seen the show at the Magic Kingdom

I don't get back to the parks very often anymore. Brings back too many memories. I've seen Pooh done in 3D and I hated the look. I agree; there's a place for both. If Southpark can do well with cheesy flash animation, then there's room for hand drawn-as long as there's a decent story to tell! Disney's had it's fair share of (imho) crap films, just as any studio has.

[DainBramaged]

19. Your presence here honors us................

:hug:

[Lorien]

38. Thanks DB! I'm not the only one, though

there's another long time DUer here who was also a Disney Feature Animation artist (a very talented one at that) and head of our local union, but I'm not going to "out" him. ;-)

[EOTE]

31. Wow, how incredibly cool!

I'm a huge fan of all styles of animation. Toy Story amazed the hell out of me when I first saw it, and while I really hoped to see computer generated imagery in more films at the time, I never expected it to replace traditional animation to the extent that it has now. I eagerly await Pixar's new release every year, but I miss the 2d classics of Disney and hope we see a good number more of them and "The Princess and the Frog" is just the tip of the iceberg. As movies like this, as well as just about everything done by Hayao Miyazaki show, there is still very much a place for traditional animation in today's movies. I've got a three year old daughter and she loves Disney princesses movies more than you'd believe. Every month or so we get to introduce her to a new one and get to watch her fall in love all over again. We're especially excited to see "The Princess and the Frog" because she's mixed and it will be great to show her that princesses come in all different colors (though, for the time being, pretty much only one shape.)

If you don't mind me asking, can you tell me which disney movies you've been involved with? I bet you have some amazing memories working there.

[Lorien]

41. I was there from Mermaid through Lion King

though I'm only credited on the films between those two, plus several shorts. I still work for the company as a contract artist, though I just design products, illustrate books and do the occasional DVD cover now. Like so many others I now have terrible eyesight and carpel tunnel syndrome (very common among 2D animators), so I doubt that I'll ever go back into animation. But I'm having fun developing products for "Rapunzel" right now. As long as I have work to do I'm happy!

[EOTE]

85. You've been involved with some great art.

Sorry your profession has been so hard on you. The Little Mermaid is tied with Dumbo as my daughter's favorite movie. She's seen each of them at least 20 times.

I just looked up some info on Rapunzel and it looks pretty amazing. Looks like lots of interesting things are being done to provide a more traditionally animated look to CGI features. My daughter watches a show called "Olivia" that seems traditionally animated at first glance, but is actually CGI, it's pretty neat. The oil paint look they're achieving in Rapunzel looks incredible. No doubt my daughter will be picking up at least one of your products when they come out. May you stay employed for as long as you wish to be.

[Bucky]

2. It sounds interesting, in a shallow, Disney, suck money from my wallet sort of way

Apparently the prince in this movie is yet another in a long line of Disney's recent spate of dumbass princes. I don't think Disney has produced a truly noble leading male character since, well, Bambi.

[TCJ70]

4. I dunno...

...the prince in Sleeping Beauty is pretty noble. And look what he had to go up against. Malificent literally invoked all the powers of Hell! Pretty hardcore for a Disney movie.

[Lorien]

6. No, he's a man who goes through a transformation

physically and otherwise. Most of our "Prices" have fairly small roles, but they aren't "dumbasses".

[vadawg]

8. yeah i think ill give it a miss, not sure about the not being a real princess thing

part of the thrill for my daughter is the princess fairy tale, and my son is just into the Cars movie so much that all other cartoons kinda suck to him...

[jmondine]

10. Actually, Pongo in 101 Dalmatians was pretty noble IMO

[begin_within]

89. Not even this guy?

Probably the greatest male character in a Disney film, and not coincidentally, in the best Disney film.

[arcadian]

3. Can't believe I'm saying this.

Because I truly think Disney is evil but I kind of want to see this. It's got New Orleans and Voudun in it, which I think is pretty cool, plus it's real animation, not CGI.

[Lorien]

7. Disney isn't evil. The company employess thousands of Liberals

and gives benefits to GLBT couples. Only the corporate bean counters at the top are awful, as with most companies in America.

[BuelahWitch]

21. +1

[arcadian]

48. They pretty much are evil. Disney's media outlets are a big reason why we are in Iraq right now.

And you don't remember ABC's "Path to 9/11"? Pretty much blamed Clinton for 9/11 while giving Bush a pass.

[Lorien]

50. Disney employs over 70,000 people. The head of ABC may be an assh*le

but that doesn't make the 600 artists who worked hard to create "The Princess and the Frog" evil-or deserving of your contempt, unemployment, or homelessness.

[arcadian]

54. I'm causing homelessness in animators because I think Disney is an evil corporation?

Bwaahahahahahahaha!!1!ELEVENS1!!

They are a defence contractor who controls public opinion. That is evil. Especially when they steer the Military Industrial Complex to war with Middle Eastern nations that have had the anaconda treatment against them in the form of embargo of food and medical supplies for over 10 years. Yes. DISNEY is EVIL, EVIL, EVIL.

[Lorien]

72. Do you paint every company with as broad a brush?

that's a whole lot of boycotting if you do.

[Blue_Tires]

62. FWIW I've never heard or read the kind of rage-filled, hand-trembling

spittle-forming, two-seconds-and-a-trip-to-the-gun-store-before-going-postal employee anger until I met some peons who used to work for the empire in Orlando...I've had a lot of friends who worked for shitty employers (and i've worked for some myself), but i've never heard the kind hatred from former bottom-rung employees as i've heard about the WDW complex...

and for the record, all four of my friends specifically used the word "evil", repeatedly...

[musicblind]

84. That's funny. I've worked for Disney and so have a lot of my friends.

A lot of gay people work for Disney World because they offer great benefits to gay couples. I have not heard anyone call Disney "evil" except for people on messageboards. Is Disney perfect? No, not at all. But they certainly aren't evil.

[Blue_Tires]

87. ymmv... n/t

[musicblind]

88. Sorry to sound clueless. What does ymmv mean?

<3

[Blue_Tires]

93. your mileage may vary

just some obscure interwebs lingo...means in so many words that different people can have different reactions or experiences to the same situation...its all good...

[begin_within]

92. And in fact, they also just appointed an openly gay man as the President of the Disneyland resort.

A pretty important and high-profile position. And nobody in the company or the legions of Disneyland fans even batted an eye. It's a non-issue in that company.

[vadawg]

11. this kind of animation is pretty much dead, CGI whether people like it or not is the way to go

kinda like the ole buggy whip makers argument, do we move on with the modern forms or do we keep looking back with nostalgia to the past....

[musicblind]

18. I respectfully disagree

I think there is a place for both. This isn't like a car. It isn't a case of "this is better" because a car provides notably better transportation than a horse and buggy. However, hand drawn animation verses computer animation is much like chocolate verses caramel. They are both fun, and both fill the void of a sugar craving but have the opinion of which is better is just that... an opinion.

What happened with hand drawn animation is that Pixar began having a string of hits after Toy Story was released. Michael Eisner saw this sucess, but was frustrated because Disney wasn't reaping a large portion of the profits since Pixar was not owned by Disney but only distributed by Disney. So Eisner became over zealous, broke his relationship with Pixar, sold off Disney's hand drawn animation tables, and decided to form his own CGI Animation studio. He associated Pixar's success with their new visual stylization rather than their ability to craft far superior storylines to the tripe Disney was putting out at the time. Disney's new CGI-only Animation Studio then released "Meet The Robinsons" and they were surprised that it didn't do much better than their own hand drawn animated films.

What was missing? The incredible Pixar story. Shortly after Eisner made this realization, he spent a lot of money (namely the money they were going to spend to bid on the rights to the Harry Potter themepark franchise) on trying to woo Pixar back to the Disney fold. He succeeded and now we have Wall-E and Up!

But why did Disney's CGI-only Animation studio fail to turn out films more successful than their recently unsuccessful hand drawn film when they switched to the far superior and much more popular CGI animation? The reason was because CGI isn't really "better" it's just "different" ... It's not buggy vs car where a person can define one of the items as being "better" based on a set of fact such as "speed" but more like chocolate vs caramel which is a matter of opinion and taste. It's just a different style of filmmaking. What makes a film great is not the style but the story, the heart, the imagination of it's creators.

Now that the CGI "fad" has become so commonplace, I think there is an opportunity for hand drawn films to look unique and novel because they are no longer the status quo. Therefore 2D animation will likely make a slow comeback as the novelty of CGI is becoming more a norm rather than a special attraction.

But again, and in closing, I don't think CGI's relationship to hand drawn animation is comparable to the horse and buggy's relationship to a car. I think it is more comparable to hand drawn animation's relationship to stop-animation seen in cartoons such as South Park, and claymation films like Coraline. These differences are a difference in "style preference" but not necessarily a "better" style. :)

[Kablooie]

28. You sound like one of the old, fired, Disney executives.

[rucky]

30. How come when they make CGI people, they all have underbites?

fix that and I may start to agree.

[EOTE]

32. Tell that to Hayao Miyazaki.

There are things being done with traditional animation that simply can't be done with CGI now. And CGI creates a number of paradoxes, such as creating realistic human faces that aren't creepy. You'll see this especially in Pixar's latest releases that feature near photo realistic scenery and even animals which look incredibly life-like, but humans which are still drawn cartoonishly with very exaggerated features. It's not that there's not a desire to create more realistic human faces, it's just that when they go the photo-realistic route, the characters often look soulless and creepy (check out "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" for a good example of this). It's going to be a very long time before there's no longer a vacuum that only traditional animation will be able to fill. And this is coming from a huge fan of CG films including every single Pixar movie.

[Hekate]

78. I love Miyazaki's animations--he has very good story-lines and exceptional art. nt

[arcadian]

47. The old style animation is better.

It's the difference between looking at a really nice water color in a museum and looking at a computer print out on a dot matrix printer. Sorry you can't tell the difference.

[Book Lover]

57. Care to back that up with anything other than your personal taste? (nm)

[Name removed]

63. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Warren DeMontague]

64. Eh. Personally, I go for the eye candy.

[KittyWampus]

70. you mean like with the invention of electric guitars and organs, all acoustic guitar and piano

players are obsolete?

Your statement is a good example of how dumb people can end up seeming when they try to be a know-it-all.

[Posteritatis]

74. Pretty sure the buggy whip argument doesn't apply to, you know, art forms. (nt)

[Deja Q]

76. Futurama looks like real animation but is done with CGI

As are most modern cartoons.

Why would they go back to the methods that Unkie Wacist Walt (tm) used? Time is money...

[Lorien]

5. A hell of a lot of jobs and an entire art form ride on this film

including mine. Two friends of mine directed it, many others worked on it. If it's not a huge success Disney will drop 2D animation permenently. Please consider taking your family to see it opening weekend. Artists who work traditionally have been losing homes, cars, marriages-one even committed suicide last year- we NEED this to do well. The Princess and the Frog is getting great reviews, and I hope that will make it's opening weekend a strong one. Oh, and it's an American made film, for those of you who only want to "buy American" this holiday season.

[Norrin Radd]

13. Love and prefer 2D animation, so will of course be seeing this.

So none of this movie got sent off to S. Korea or Japan?<p>The only thing that bugs me about animated feature films is that they go with high profile actors instead of the TV and direct-to-video voice actors who have working in the field for years and decades.

[Lorien]

44. I'm pretty sure it all stayed here. We've used plenty of "unknowns" to do

our voices. Nobody had heard of Nathan Lane outside of Broadway before "The Lion King". Jafar, Aladdin, Pumbaa, Belle, Gaston, Ariel, etc. etc. weren't voiced by celebrities, but studios generally want a few big names on hand for all the promotion before the release.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

15. i despise the 3D junk that is produced...

i prefer the hand animated cartoon but don't mind the CGI stuff. however, i will avoid all the 3D stuff like the plague...heck, it costs $3 more as well...yuk on multiple levels! if there is a 2D option THAT i will go to...but if it is not offered i will wait for the disc to be released.

sP

[Cash_thatswhatiwant]

34. When did 2-D animation go out of style?

Was it with Toy Story? I loved Toy Story btw, but I also enjoyed Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, etc. Those are classics to my generation, just so you know..

[Lorien]

43. When Katzenberg left Disney and took some of our best story people

with him. Everything got so diluted in both studios, and the game turned to "crushing one another" instead of telling a memorable story. Watch the documentary "Dream on Silly Dreamer" or the new one, "Waking Sleeping Beauty".

[lildreamer316]

14. I really expected this about 10-12 years ago. They sure took their sweet time.

I mean really..duh already. They should have done this ages ago.

[spinbaby]

20. I am so looking forward to this

Since Lasseter has taken over animation, Disney has gone back to producing quality films with heart.

[marshall]

22. It's about time

It will make a great holiday treat.

[we can do it]

23. Princesses Suck - How About a Strong Female Character For Once

oh yeah - its disney- wrong message

[spinbaby]

24. Recent Disney movies DO have strong female characters

The princesses are no longer just brainless cuties into housecleaning with small woodland creatures.

[Kablooie]

27. The girl is not a princess until the end. She's a very hard working waitress.

And she's saving everything she has so she can start her own restaurant.

That's not exactly a weak character.

[Missy Vixen]

39. Have you seen "Beauty and the Beast"?

Belle has her nose in a book. She's intelligent. She's also not waiting around for the prince.

I love that movie.

[noamnety]

61. Beauty and the Beast is an awful message for girls

"Stay with your abuser, love him, if you just wait long enough you can change him."

Stockholm syndrome romanticized. It's awful.

[Lilyeye]

81. How about getting your facts straight before harping on the movie?

[begin_within]

90. Here's a strong female character for you.

Watch it again if you don't believe she's strong as nails.

[GoCubsGo]

25. Better late than never, I guess.

I'm not big on Disney fairy tales, but I would like to see this one. It sounds like fun AND they had the sense to ask Randy Newman to provide some of the music.

[Nikki Stone1]

26. Ah, Disney. Some locals call it Mouse-shvitz. (No kidding, they really do!)

Disney is the tool of Satan.

[Lorien]

46. They aren't perfect, but they've kept me in feed for 20+ years

and I really liked the majority of the managers that I've worked with in that time.

[mitchum]

29. Product

[Jester Messiah]

33. I don't much care for Disney.

I doubt they're trying to do anything post-racial here, they're just gunning for African-American money. The only color they see is green.

[UndertheOcean]

35. I wonder when will they make a movie about a plain looking , possibly ugly princess...

who nevertheless has a great brain and personality.

[noamnety]

68. All the princesses have to have male fantasy porn bodies

even when they are underage.

(good wholesome entertainment for young girls)

[mullard12ax7]

42. Disney distractions much more popular than America going to hell

Just like the great depression, there's an extreme public need for fantasy. The "arts" are a wonderful contribution to society but Disney crap usually is full of right-wing delusions.

[Lorien]

53. Funny. All of our directors at Disney Feature animation are left wing Liberals

including the head of animation, John Lasseter. Or did you fail to notice how Glenn Beck burst a vein over Wall-E?

[arcadian]

56. Wait. You work for Disney?

[Warren DeMontague]

65. *

[BuelahWitch]

71. .

:rofl:

[JVS]

82. Love that pic

[Lorien]

73. No, I work for the Devil

obviously.

[RB TexLa]

49. And doesn't she marry a white?

[Lorien]

51. No. The "Prince" is from a mythical mideast/ near east Nation

are you saying that you oppose interracial marriages?

[RB TexLa]

52. no, if I were saying that I would have said that.

[951-Riverside]

59. So, you were only implying tthat.

[RB TexLa]

60. No I wasn't.

[noamnety]

69. I thought they were implying something else entirely

about disney creating a fairy tale ending where white supremacy ultimately reigns supreme, and that it's hailed as a great moment in their efforts to undo their history of racism.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

55. while i may have objections to disneys and princesses in general, this makes me sort of happy

[Cha]

58. Thanks for the good news..

Looking foward to seeing and hearing it.

[WeDidIt]

66. K&R

I couldn't resist. The naysayers convinced me this was a good thread.

[BreweryYardRat]

67. Voudoun,eh?

Suppose it's too much to ask for some of the more interesting loa (*cough* Baron Samedi *cough*) to make an appearance?

[Prism]

75. I miss the 90s 2D renaissance

From Little Mermaid in 1989 through maybe Hunchback of Notre Dame, I thought Disney might be permanently back to creating classic stories, but then the Pixar fad hit and the writing for 2D went through the floor. I love some Pixar movies, don't get me wrong, but something about 2D animation evokes instinctual human archetypes far better than computerized animation.

The final battle in Sleeping Beauty remains one of the most finely rendered scenes in cinematic history.

I think Hunchback of Notre Dame might be the best movie Disney ever made. It was complicated, dark as hell, and rather than working in metaphors, the writers and animators fearlessly portrayed how hatred of those who are different connects to atrocities like genocide. Here was a movie for children that showed how religion could cater to mankind's darkest impulses or grant him limitless grace. And though the ending is "happy", the hero doesn't get what he wants. Instead, he finds happiness and acceptance in what he has.

That movie still floors me to this day. I can't believe a company like Disney allowed themselves to make it.

[itsrobert]

77. Looks like crap

But is this what women want to see?

[Hekate]

79. It seems like forever-ago that I read they were going to do this. Glad it's finally out.

Disney quality has had its ups and downs, but they are often best when they turn to the complexity of classic fairy tales, where some very scary things can happen before the end, and they don't have to be sappy.

There were quite a few years where I didn't like their new cartoons at all, and I thought I had outgrown them, only to discover that when the old animations were released for home video that I had not "outgrown" them at all. They can be an enduring multigenerational artform when done right.

Hekate

[RedCappedBandit]

80. Next they just have to make a princess who isn't impossibly thin! nt

[Mimosa]

83. Randy Newman music and hand drawn animation: it's going to be GREAT!

The footage in the trailers looks GORGEOUS. I think they captured the real feel of the atmosphere, architecture and landscapes of the NOLA I love.

[tekisui]

86. Anyone know why this one got the banhammer?

[begin_within]

91. They also have a fun parade and show about it at Disneyland

The cast members parade informally through New Orleans Square, definitely New Orleans-style, then get on the Mark Twain Riverboat and perform a show - along with invited guests at the park. Lucky people who were there earlier and received invitation tickets from the cast.