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Disney features it's first black princess fairytale

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Agencies

Posted: Mar 19, 2009 at 0956 hrs IST

London Call it the "Obama effect" or a reflection of the changing times, Disney will now try to woo audiences with animated African American princess, Tiana in a new film.

Tiana is paired with a white prince called Naveen in the film ‘The Princess and the Frog’, which is slated for release in December this year.

Disney films, who have brought alive many fairytale romances on screen with animated films like "Snow White" and ‘Beauty and the Beast’, will pair the black princess with a white prince for an inter-racial romance.

While some have hailed Disney's decision as a reflection of melting pot America, others say the company is sending out a mixed message, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported online.

But the pairing has already run into controversy with many bloggers raising questions over the white prince.

"I think it's sad that he is white because its saying that black love isn't good enough and that black men could never be princes," wrote a disappointed fan on his blog, the newspaper said online.

The bloggers have also questioned the decision to have a black man as the villain in the film.

"I am very disappointed and I wished Disney had made the prince black, and the ironic thing is the prince in the movie is white but the evil voodoo villain is voiced by a black actor and is black," a blogger wrote.

Disney had earlier paired a Red Indian princess with an English soldier in ‘Pocahontas’ and both the lead characters in ‘Aladin’ had a middle-eastern appearance.

Since ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ in 1937, all of Disney's princesses have predominantly been white.

The company has insisted its choice of a black princess was part of a policy to give characters as much diversity as possible.

Meanwhile, Anika Noni Rose, the black actress who voices the character of Princess Tiana, said, "Not only is she the first black princess, she's the first American princess. We've never had an American princess," said Rose.

"The scope and the significance is larger than people even realise," she added.

The film also features the voice of chat show queen Oprah Winfrey as Tiana's mother called Eudora. The film is an adaptation of the classic fairy tale 'The Frog Prince' and has been set in the 1920s New Orleans.

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Racist Disney by Lakeisha on 29 Nov 2009

As a black woman I must say that I am very disappointed with and deeply offended by Disney%u2019s new %u201Cblack%u201D princess. The quotation marks because she does not look %u201Cblack.%u201D Since when are slightly cocoa women with ideal caucasian features %u201Cblack?%u201D Racist Disney does not want to acknowledge the true ethnic appearance of a black woman. Where are her big, thick lips and wooly hair? Why is she dressed all up like some kind of rich white girl? How come her true ethnic background is not acknowledged? Where is her leopard-print mini-dress and gaudy jewelry? Hell, why isn%u2019t she a true, lovely African princess wearing a grass skirt, garish facepaint and a big plate in her lip? How come she does not live in a mud hut and eat bugs? And her man!!?? Where is his black skin? What is Disney trying to tell my young daughters? That a black man isn%u2019t who she should be with? Why is he WHITE!? I WILL NOT allow my daughters to see this film.

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