First off, the film is typical Disney fare where the main character is on some type of soul-reflective journey, meets an eccentric cast of characters, and they frequently break out into song and dance along the way to happily ever after. That's always a successful formula for Disney, but I do wish their films would break away from the parental deaths.
In the film Tiana is our would-be Princess raised by her loving Mother and Father who adore her and instill in her the value of hard work, love and community. I love that she is not the typical Disney Princess. Her life’s dream is to not nab a Prince, but to have a successful business doing what she loves and the film highlights her working very hard to achieve that. She’s not twirling around singing, Someday My Prince Will Come, she’s singing, I’m Almost There. What a wonderful lesson for our daughters to dream big but even more so, to work hard.
Now, let’s get to the Prince. Okay, I admit I was really hoping for a tall, dark and handsome Prince that owned his own business and has some ocean-front castle property in Maldonia. I really wanted to see black on black love in this animation. At first I heard that the Prince was going to be Creole, you know, like Beyonce’s Mom. And that actually would have made sense because the story takes place in New Orleans, but his ethnicity is not clearly defined, but clearly he’s “brown person” of sorts. But as the movie moves along, you don't even notice that there is a difference.
What really made me apprehensive about seeing the film was learning that our Princess would be in frog form for a great length of the film, but that for me turned out to be the best part. Why? Because Tiana and Prince Naveen fell in love while they were both in frog form, no issue with skin color there, and being in frog form allowed the Prince to fall in love with Tiana solely on her character. I also love that Prince Naveen does a complete 180. He was just a spoiled, shiftless, playboy looking for a rich woman to leech off of because his parents cut him off, but as he falls in love with Tiana, he has soul shift and he was willing to work two or three jobs to see her have her dream and more importantly work right alongside of her to make her restaurant a success. Sounds like the perfect Prince to me.
But the greatest line of the movie was the end when Tiana marries the Prince, they kiss and she says, "You just kissed yourself a Princess!" She lets it be known that she's the prize, not the Prince. I love that! I just wish there was a memorable song from the film.
4 COMMENTS:
Excellent post. I especially liked your analysis of Tiana & Naveen falling in love in frog form. As you said, it allowed them to love each other for who they are and not what they looked like.
Amazing film & good review!
Great review of the film. Exactly what I saw as well regarding the blooming of true love! No mistake about it, she was THE PRIZE. Hmmm, where is that memorable song?
I loved it too! It was so incredibly drawn. Disney really did their homework. I loved the Aaron Douglas look of "I'm Almost There."
But why her man had to be triflin'?!
See all that hoopla was about nothing, I took a friend and her daughter and they both loved it!
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