I like that gal!” – Mama Odie 20. We recently reported that Disneyland and Walt Disney World announced the retheme of Splash Mountain from Song of the South to The Princess and the Frog. Why does the prince have to be non-black? I won't know for sure until I see the film, but this doesn't seem to be about culture-clash at all----rather, I see a celebration of New Orleans history and culture, Disney-fied. The official Disney Parks statement for the retheme of Splash Mountain in Walt Disney World and Disneyland reads: Today we are thrilled to share a first glimpse of a project Imagineers have been working on since last year. I like it and think we should stop looking too far into something that is just not there! It sends the message that race is not an issue and not something to be inhibited by. Or the creators may have unthinkingly reproduced stereotypes because, when thinking about characters to use in a movie set in New Orleans with a Black protagonist, they drew on existing cultural imagery. The version I saw (when they rereleased it) no longer had the pickaninny character, but I immediately noticed that it *does* have the only identifiably "black" centaurs as zebra-bottomed slavegirls to Dionysus. A Black character cast as a maid, to many people, reproduces an image of Black women that goes beyond the individual–whether the creators intend to or not, such images bring with them associations to the Mammy character and real oppression of African American women in a culture that saw them primarily as servants for more privileged groups. There absolutely is. African American women were stuck with jobs as maids a lot longer because of job discrimination. Disney has a long, long history of racism. Maybe it's just me, but the accents from the characters weren't actually Louisiananian accents. Not just a cook or something like that, but a top chef. Mama Odie, a two-hundred-year-old blind Bayou Fairy Godmother who lives deep in the Louisiana bayou with her "seeing-eye snake" Juju. Mama Odie met Yogi … See, here are the princesses.". I saw the film last night. Mama Odie is a 197 year-old blind good voodoo priestress or "Voodoo Queen of the Bayou". Disney is sending a positive message to not [...]. Oh, Disney. People are still going to scream and yell and say it's playing on stereotypes and is racist in one way or another. I love her and Tiana! When "White America" gets the desperately needed dose of reality, they will understand and maybe better relate. She challenges Tiana and Naveen to 'dig deeper' in themselves and uses the same advice on all the individuals that seek her out, looking for a 'better' life via magic . Mama Odie’s blindness is used for comedic purposes. It's a lot like Buffy - in which witches were presented as being capable of good and capable of bad. Is there anyting to be said about the stereotype of the libidinous french 'frog' character? Inside the Magic was created in 2005. The fact is since Tiana is the only black Disney princess, she is representing the whole by herself. "For the record, the protagonist is only African American for part of the movie; for a good chunk of it she’s a green frog. If Disney came out with a new animated film with a white princess protagonist, the complaint would be that she's white. She’s so unique in the fact that she is both spoiled and wealthy but not evil in any way. Being a musician, Fantasia was probably my favorite Disney movie. The characters are great, the animation is beautiful, the message/themes are motivational. Story Structure in The Princess and the Frog I love The Princess and the Frog. In the absence of a concerted, thoughtful effort to avoid reproducing them, it’s not surprising that problematic elements show up in TV shows, movies, and so on. This allows us to bring you the most interesting, entertaining, and unique entertainment experiences, covering theme parks, movies, TV, video games, special events and so much more. Sociological Images encourages people to exercise and develop their sociological imaginations with discussions of compelling visuals that span the breadth of sociological inquiry. Did Disney recut the trailer, or was I imagining things? And in my defense, it also turns out Disney has recut the trailer and some of the scenes that were in it when I first started writing up some commentary aren’t in it any more. How’s your grandmama?” – Mama Odie 19. Now Disney comes along with its first black female protagonist, once who is recognized as a -princess- (which has me scratching my head; is she really a princess? 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