According to CNN’s AM Fix Disney is about to break a trend.
Disney is about to unveil its first African American Princess, Tiana. Tiana, played by Anika Noni Rose, will make her debut in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog this coming December.
While Disney has been trending toward a more ethnically diverse line up Tiana will be the first African American character to where the crown. The Princess and the Frog will be an American style fairy tale in the Disney tradition, A New Orleans based musical in which Tiana is a waitress who dreams of being a great chef. She kisses a frog who turns out to be a prince named Naveen from another land who has been cursed by the evil Dr Facilier. But the kiss turns out to be a curse as Tiana ia also changed into a frog and the two must then seek the help of a voodoo priestess in the Bayou, making friends and enemies along the way.
While the buzz around the character has been overwhelmingly positive so far there were some growing pains in the early stages of conception. Tiana started out as Maddy, a maid to an affluent white family. There were complaints and concerns regarding the stereotypes that were at work or could be implied here so the story was reworked to reflect a more realistic image of a young African American girl.
The Princess and the Frog stars Terrence Howard, John Goodman, Anika Noni Rose and Oprah Winfrey and is set to be released December 11, 2009.
Sources:
CNN.com
IMDB