| # | Author | Message |
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| AutoPost
Tue 7/14/2009 8:18a | This topic is for Discussion of Latest: Disney to Show Princess & Frog at Black Journalists Convention
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are combining forces at this year's National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Annual Convention and Career Fair to present an exciting lineup of entertainment, including a sneak preview of special footage from Walt Disney Pictures' animated comedy adventure, "The Princess and the Frog," and the debut of Disney's newest princess, Tiana, voiced by Tony Award(R) winning-actress Anika Noni Rose. |
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| WilliamK99
Tue 7/14/2009 9:03a | Am I the only cynical one who thinks Disney created a black princess just to make a few extra dollars in princess merchandise sales?
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| Sara Tonin
Tue 7/14/2009 10:43a | I think every new princess is a ploy to sell merchandise...and it's about time they came up with a new character that children of color can identify with. |
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| WilliamK99
Tue 7/14/2009 11:03a | To me, it's almost like affirmative action, Disney style.... Seems forced, and is probably doomed to failure.... |
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| Sara Tonin
Tue 7/14/2009 11:54a | You might be surprised how many little girls will respond to having a toy that looks like them. None of the other doll manufacturers have pulled out of making dolls with obvious ethnicities...and to be honest your attitude troubles me William. |
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| mawnck
Tue 7/14/2009 1:19p | >>Seems forced, and is probably doomed to failure<<
That'll depend a lot on how good the movie is. |
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| basil fan
Tue 7/14/2009 3:03p | I don't think any of Disney's Princess characters have been real failures. Even if the movie is not a smash hit, I'm sure Tiana marketing will be at least moderately successful.
I hope she won't be perceived as a character for black children only. It would be so much better for people of all colors to enjoy the film and its characters.
Mouse History 101
http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/...ice.html |
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| mawnck
Tue 7/14/2009 3:48p | >>I don't think any of Disney's Princess characters have been real failures.<<
I suspect Princess Eilonwy begs to differ.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P..._Eilonwy |
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| FiveBearRugs
Tue 7/14/2009 4:51p | <<basil fan: I hope she won't be perceived as a character for black children only. It would be so much better for people of all colors to enjoy the film and its characters.>>
Did you ever see that episode of "The Office" where Toby FINALLY gets a Princess Unicorn doll for his little girl...and it turns out to be black? His reaction is priceless. :)
I think the episode is called "Moroccan Christmas"... |
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| TheRedhead
Tue 7/14/2009 6:08p | I don't mean to be cynical, but I'm pretty sure that for every person who buys a Tiana doll solely because she is black, there is at least one person who won't buy one solely because she is black. America the beautiful.
But beyond that, I don't see how creating a black princess seems 'forced.' If anything, it seems logical. The princess line is lilly white, with only 3 exceptions of one Chinese (who's not even a princess), one Middle Eastern, and one Native American. If you lined them all up, shouldn't they, at least by accident, look like the girls they're intended for?
And why would the decision to set the movie in New Orleans and making the characters black have to be a decision by marketers? Isn't it just as likely that it was a creative decision?
And even if the Musker and Clements and Lasseter and Catmull WERE all nudged into making their characters black, is it necessarily a bad thing?
If anything, I see the merchandise and think, why so long? |
