I’m going to warn you in advance that if you are one of those SCARY Black folks who think that if Black people don’t go support movie X, Y, or Z there won’t EVER be another film featuring black people EVER, then you won’t like this post, but what else is new.
Ariel wanted to expand her horizons beyond the ocean. granted, she did it behind a man. Mulan wanted save her family and her nation. Jasmine, I don’t know what she was doing other than playing window dressing to Aladdin. Sleeping Beauty needed to be rescued because she ate fruit from strangers. Cinderella was abused and misused until she got rescued too on account of having narrow feet. Those are universal themes, what’s Tiana’s story? I can’t tell from the marketing so I’m going to go see the Princess and the Frog, but not because I want to, but because I feel I have an obligation to, and that’s the problem. What’s the universal theme about The Princess and the Frog other than she’s Black? Why does this story matter?
So its finally here, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog is opening in theaters and I’m not the least bit excited about it. I really want to be excited about this movie, but I’m just not. I was excited about the concept of the movie, but the marketing of the movie just exhausted any interest. It isn’t because I don’t like animated films because I do. I’m actually curious about the Mr. Fox movie and was going to go see that one this weekend.
The Princess and the Frog might as well be Monsters vs. Aliens, which was a truly dreadful movie. The guilt trip tweets and emails are getting on my nerves. We just HAVE to go see this movie or well NEVER get another movie ever again! They could have marketed this as an adventure. They could have marketed this as a love story. They could have marketed it in any number of ways, but online supporters and reporters are pulling out yet another Black guilt movie campaign. Well guess what, Black folks will not make this movie a success, White and international audiences will, and your guilt trip campaign isn’t going to reel them in to the movie. What’s magical or wondrous about a frog hopping around in the swamp? Isn’t that what frogs do?
Anywhoo, this past weekend I was a guest on Key Conversations with Sister Patrice K. Muhammad
and we talked about the Princess and the Frog and it got me to thinking about why exactly I was going to see this movie. If Tiana was not a Black princess, I would be seeing the Fabulous Mr. Fox this weekend. I’ve seen all of the Disney “princess” movies and you can’t tell me I can’t sing like Ariel in The Little Mermaid. “Wondering free wish I could beeee part of that woooorld!” I can even hit the high note in the Mulan theme song. But when it came time for the theme song to the Princess and the Frog, who did we get? We didn’t get Peabo Bryson, Celine Dion or Regina Belle with a soaring ballad, uh uh. We got stuck with Neyo and this club stroll video for “Never Knew I Needed” firmly planted in a modern reality. You got people sitting at a table dranking liquor and carrying on. I take that back, it appears that’s just water in those WINE glasses.
When Dream Girls came out, I went gallavanting all over the state to find a theatre that was playing it. I was there on the opening night of Harry Potter. I was there the opening weekend of Up. I even went to see Wolverine, a terrible dissappointment on opening day. I was excited about the Great Debaters. And YES. YES. YES. I must confess that I’ve seen a couple of Tyler Perry movies on opening weekend.
There is nothing magical or wondrous about the Princess and the Frog’s marketing. I know NOTHING about this movie other than she kisses a frog, there’s a drunkard lightening bug with poor dental health- heck, I’ve seen more of that drunk lightening bug than I have of Tiana in the trailers. That’s probably because the princess is a frog for most of the movie.
I’m unapologetically meh about seeing the Princess and the Frog. I am quite frankly tired of the emails about it. I’m tired of hearing people say wezza hazza go see dissa heya movee or dey ain’t go be no mo moveees made about little Black gurls EVER! how sad and pathetic we are if we truly believe that. In other words, Disney, we’ll take anything you give to us because we’re worried you won’t want to give it to us ever again?
In November, we just HAAAAAAAAAAD to go see Precious or else there wasn’t ever going to be a movie about Black people EVER! Then you have the Blind Side which was marketed as…. A MOVIE, and not a guilt trip coming in first place and beating out twilight. The Matrix had Black people all up under and through it, and you didn’t have the guilt trip marketing plan. Will Smith’s wretched movies do fairly well without the guilt trip marketing plan. Nobody said that If we didn’t go out to see Hancock that will would never get to be in another movie ever.
So I hereby give you permission to resist the guilt. Go see it. Don’t go see it. The danger isn’t that Disney will wait another 72 years to put a Black HUMAN girl as the main character, but that Black people will continue to be afraid of their own shadow. Guilt, is not a marketing plan for entertainment.
30 comments ↓
Thank you!!! Poor marketing equals poor movie in my opinion. I’ll skip this one.
good point sister, very good point.
Maybe they’ll combine it with the Skeleton Key so we get to see Papa Justify and Mama Celie again. I need to hear that conjuration record once more.
Amen Gina, great observations as usual.
I’m really disappointed with the advertising myself. The first couple times I’ve seen commercials recently, I’ve been wondering ‘is the movie about the *princess* or the *frog*??? Cause they’re showing everyone BUT the princess…
I wanted to go see it, but I settle for the coloring books at Target.
I have not gotten any emails or pressure about seeing this movie. Well I am a nobody I guess. But the guilt thing is all black folks know how to do to sell a product. I see it all avenues. Come to buy my overpriced sub par/average product b/c its black owned.
I thought the theme of the movie was about hard work and taking the time out for love. I think she like the first princess who has a career or something.
Neyo singing the song is an very disappointing but I guess thats the state of the music industry.
As far the Will Smith movie thing, um black folks aren’t his primary audience so thats why you never get the you must see the Will movie lecture.
This frog has been dissected so many times I just don’t know what to make of it. I feel like people have been talking about this film for five years!
And I totally agree with you, Gina. People act not only frightened that if no one goes to this film that it will be the last Black themed “princess” movie ever but also some people seem just so overly appreciative that Disney has taken pity on us to give us a Black Princess. Even though she’s more frog than Princess.
Have people forgotten that Disney still sells racist images overseas?
Btw, I’ll be skipping this film.
Great post!
I think that you are totally wrong on this one. I have never commented before and have supported you on other issues, but I can not on this one. Please look at the bigger pitcure here. We are now getting some long overdue reconigtion from Disney. This is where alot of us spend our hard earned money on vacation. This is well deserved and yes I will go see the movie. I will go in with my head high and enjoy every minute of it.
“Have people forgotten that Disney still sells racist images overseas?”?
What do you mean by that?
I know disneyland seem to always cast white people as the minority princesses and princes, only they add a tan to them which i find racist.I was actually surprised when i saw that tiana was played by a black girl at disneyland paris,and yeah always a few shades lighter than the cartoon…which isclearlydark skinned by the way. so annoying.
Just like Precious, I have no desire to see this film. I am sick of the Black movie guilt trip every time a “positive” movie is produced with us as the main character. Besides if Disney won’t make another movie about us, what’s to stop us form doing so?
I have no idea what The Frog Princess is about. Generally, previews that don’t give me an impression turn out to be movies I will never see (at least not pay for).
Here is my rub when thinking about the TFP, I believe BW should marry anyone they want to, however it can not be ignored that the Prince is not Black. He is of some indeterminate race that Tiana falls in love with. Ariel (although a Mermaid), Mulan, Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine all fell in love with men like themselves. Tiana found love with a boy not like her. Since these movies are the be all and end of positive movie making, where are the Black mothers with Black boys. Why are they not so upset that their sons can never be princes and can therefore, never marry a princess?
BTW, Val overly appreciative was the phrase I was searching for.
@sandra I AM looking at the bigger picture. That’s the point. I didn’t say the movie was horrible. I said I have no idea what it is about because Disney DEPARTED from a winning formula of promoting universal themes and listened to the wrong people and tried to package this as something historic. That’s not why little kids and big ones go to see animated films. Nobody wants Tiana to succeed more than I do, but traditional guilt-trip marketing plans will win a box office weekend and then what? By Disney Standards, Tyler Perry’s international gross are non existent. IE Its a failure. YOU need to look at the bigger picture. Little Black girls are a FRACTION of the US market. The real money gets made overseas. Instead of promoting adventure, many of these campaigns are promoting obligation. That will will you one weekend, maybe.
Again, you make my point for me. Underneath the enthusiasm is OUTRIGHT fear. That’s a shame.
I too think the marketing was’nt good which to me translated as the stroyline is probably not good either.Recently they showed a late nite disney special but it came on real late.Vanessa Williams was the host it came on the same channel ugly betty comes on and I learned more about the movie.Basically they were saying that the whole premise of the movie is working to make your own dreams come true.They were saying since the movie is more modern they wanted to make the film seem more real by showing young girls it’s not enough to just wish on a star for things to happen but you’ve gotta work hard to make things happen for you.So I guess that’s what it’s about in a nut shell.It did seem somewhat magical with their use of what seemed like a voodoo preistess in the movie.
I hate the fact that Neyo is on their singing THAT song.It just sucks.I stilll will be seeing this movie though because I do hope their will be another one in the future and because I have’nt seen the whole thing I may still like it.I’ll likely stay away from purchasing that sound track though.
If there is one reason to see it I say at least they chose a black trained actress Anika Noni Rose for the part and not Beyonce or some 2 bit singer for the role
All I know is here in LA in the white neighborhoods none of the ads show the princess just the frog and other animal characters.
I have to drive down Crenshaw to see an actual picture of Princess Tiana.
I have a three year old who is DYING to see this so I will take her. She is really excited and this will be her first movie-going experience. Chances are she will want a doll for Xmas or other merchandise which I may or may not buy. It really depends on how much she enjoys the experience.
I have seen some trailers marketing it as an adventure since for MOSt of the film Tiana is a frog and she and Naveen are trying to make it to the witch doctor character to reverse the spell. That really is the MAIN story. With al ove story as the subtext. But the cast of characters they meet along the way is really the bread and butter- – much like The Lion King.
Mark my words, this film will be HUGE in major cities. We had a three day opening here Thanksgiving weekend and tickets were sold out two weeks prior. So yeah, Disney will be making money and this will ensure some sort of follow-up film, probably str8 to DVD.
@ Sandra, you said, “please look at the bigger pitcure here. We are now getting some long overdue reconigtion from Disney.” Are you kidding? Why are you so desperate for recognition from a company that has never cared about our people? Need I remind you Walt Disney was a snitch on our movement for the FBI; he passed on information on celebrities to them, those he or they suspected of being “communist sympathizers.” This was during the 1950s and 1960s. The movie may or may not be worthwhile, especially for our children, but please, let’s keep things in perspective.
Looking forward to seeing it with my 10 year old niece. As long as there is no cussing and carrying on, I know already that I will enjoy it. Although I am a big grown woman, I enjoy sensible cartoons.
And YES YES YES, I also go and see most Tyler Perry movies when they come out – although I know that Perry’s name is practically a voodoo word for many Black bloggers.
As to the fact that the Prince is not Black, so what? He’s human. I’ve read that after they marry, they open up a business of their own. So the ending is not just “girl gets her prince”, but girl gets her prince and is an entrepreneur. That in itself is a good message for young girls.
I’m not really sure about what everyone else has been seeing, I don’t have cable so when I want to see a movie I have the joys of internet and I’ve seen all the trailers and clips. I knew what the whole story was about before they even completed production and started the tv marketing. I appalled that someone was “annoyed” about her being dark skin. Being a sister of darker color I was actually happy they didn’t make her a beyonce clone like we’ve been bombarded with in the media currently. Its not like they made her charcoal with pink lips. I think her complexion is beautiful. I’m extremely excited for this movie and its way overdue. Maybe I’m just a movie buff and enjoy researching what I watch but to say that there’s no way of knowing what you’re going to see is only possible if you rely on tv for your movie trailer options.
Deidra wrote
[Thank you!!! Poor marketing equals poor movie in my opinion. I’ll skip this one.]
I disagree.
One of the best films in recent memory is “Akeelah and the Bee,” a well-crafted, funny, uplifting story about a poor Black girl determined to win a national Spelling Bee. See trailer below:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/321726/Akeelah-and-the-Bee/trailers
Unfortunately, the marketing team’s strategy failed to make people either (a) aware of film’s existence or (b) overcome the stereotype that it was an “intellectual” (read: boring) movie. So, the film flopped despite great reviews.
So, marketing isn’t always a reflection of a movie’s quality.
@Patricia Kayden
Funny you should bring up the interracial romance controversy surrounding “Princess and the Frog.” This excerpt from a commentary about the Tiger Woods scandal is very relevant to this discussion:
["There is a call for loyalty that is stronger in some ways than in other racial communities," said the author of the study, George Yancey, a sociology professor at the University of North Texas and author of the book "Just Don't Marry One."
The color of one's companion has long been a major measure of "blackness" — which is a big reason why the biracial Barack Obama was able to fend off early questions about his black authenticity.
"Had Barack had a white wife, I would have thought twice about voting for him," Johnson Cooper said.]
http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2009/12/tigers-racial-rorschach-test.html
In short, reactions toward “Princess and the Frog” are as much a commentary on Black attitudes on race as White ones’.
Here’s a recent development. Time magazine just ranked “Princess” as 2009’s best movie:
http://incontention.com/?p=18813
Thanks to the blog Glyphs for the heads up:
http://www.popcultureshock.com/time-ranks-princessfrog-1-for-09/54014/
This news confirms what I heard from a fellow volunteer at the pregnancy center about “Princess” getting a lot of good buzz.
We may have a major hit on our hands.
I’m looking forward to seeing the movie. There is no guilt factor involved whatsoever. Thanks to my dvr I don’t really do commercials and I wish a mother*** would send me something via email. I wish they would. Anyhoo, I’m not taking a child, just my grown animation loving self. I also love Anika Noni Rose and am thrilled that she is the Princess.
A bunch of us are going to go see it with our kids and grandkids – not out of guilt, but out of kid demand.
My cousin saw it with her kids in New York last week and said it was fantastic, so I’m looking forward to it.
I’ll be seeing the movie for free because I have a young family member that works at a theatre. However, I will not be taking any of the young children in my family. They have no idea who any of the Disney Princesses are and I am convinced that is a good thing.
If the princess is a frog throughout most of the movie is it really about a Black princess or is there another underlying message? Remember The Lion King? Some how I feel that “remember who you are” had nothing to do with lions.
Great show with Sister P on Sunday Gina.
@fred and all. Well that makes me feel slightly better. I wished they would have focussed on how awesome the film was instead of the fact that they got it focussed grouped by the NAACP.
@ HR Professional:
Why is it SOOOO important that the prince is NOT black?
Do you express these same concerns when black male actors are CONSTANTLY cast alongside non-black women?
It bothers me a bit that the prince is not a black male, just as it does when black male actors are cast with non-black females in movies.
Not thinking of it in terms of the whole interracial romance angle so much.
It just seems that a lot of times in hollywood there is some resistance to casting a black male/black female couple together.
I mean outside of the standard “Black Romantic comedies”. It’s like if the scope of the movie, or television show does not specifically have a black theme then the black actors either male or female will be attached socially/romatically to a non-black actor.
Guess it has to do with marketing or something but, at times it’s almost seems as though they don’t wish to have two black actors on payroll(lol)….
As the father of 2 little girls my butt will be in the theater tomorrow.
I will be seeing the movie with all of my nieces and female cousins because it is very much a landmark moment for them. Every little girl deserves to have a princess to call her own, and it’s high time our little girls have this.
The guilt trip really speaks to how indoctrinated many of us are. We are not powerless. We can make our own movies. However, it we sit around waiting for others to do it, that’s another story.
I won’t take my family to this movie. I do not recall any other disney princess movie so laden with the occult (voodoo, in this case is CENTRAL to the story) and with bathroom humor.
“The Princess and the Frog” being the first “Black” Disney princess movie is NO reason for Black folks to go flocking to this film! Just like Obama being the first viable Black democrat nominee for President was no reason to run out and vote for the man- although a BUNCH of people did.
CONTENT(of character or whatever else) matters.