Don't Tell the Boss

In the era of America's first black president, prepare yourself for America's first black princess. 

Here's a rendering:

 

Last year, I wrote a blog about how the Walt Disney Company was preparing to release a new animated film this year featuring its African American heroine.   The character was to be a new role model for little girls from every background.  And the movie was supposed to be a chance for Disney to redeem itself after coming under criticism for not having ever featured an African-American princess in any of its big budget animated movies.

Then the pundits stepped in.

The original movie was supposed to be a musical set in 1920's New Orleans.  The "princess" was to be a girl named Maddy, a black chambermaid working for a white Southern debutante. Maddy was supposed to get help from a vodoo priestess fairy godmother to win the heart of a white prince.  And the working title of the film: "The Frog Princess".

Yikes.  You see where this is going, right?

Critics said the name "Maddy" sounded too much like "Mammy", a term that echoes back to the segregated south.  They said the fact that the black character would be working for a white woman also smacked of bigotry.  The whole vodoo angle?  A stereotype that black people (especially those from the West Indies) would rather not be associated with.  The white prince?  What about a royal black brother?  And the title "The Frog Princess"?  That was interpreted as a racial slur.

The folks at Disney... savvy marketers that they are... retooled.  New story, new character name, new attitude.

Then they released this statement:

"The story takes place takes place in the charming elegance and grandeur of New Orleans' fabled French Quarter during the Jazz Age... Princess Tatiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney's rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity."

Hmmm.  It really is a far cry from that chick with the seven dwarfs.

And in just goes to show that even in the world of fairy tales... nothing is as simple as black and white.