OK, so we all know that Disney, or the pathetic shell of what used to be Disney, had to go back to the drawing board in order to come up with a less-offensive version of 2009’s animated The Princess and The Frog.

Watch the trailer and you’ll see an adorable Princess (albeit with straightened hair) avoiding kissing a way-too-eager frog. The animation is smooth, fluid and there is Randy Newman singing in the background.

Only the camera zooms out and you see this mess:

Really?

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and think about all the sidekick animals that tagged along other Disney Princesses:

Snow White: Forest critters. All teeth intact.

Sleeping Beauty: Forest critters. All teeth intact.

Cinderella: Mice with clothes. All pairs of teeth intact.

Belle: Possessed houseware. All teeth intact save for Chip, who had a missing front tooth.

Princess Jasmine: Tiger. All teeth intact.

Pocahontas: Hummingbird and racoon. All teeth intact.

Mulan: Cricket and a dragon. All teeth intact.

So Disney’s first ever Black Princess is accompanied by um, a toothless Godfairy? Sidekick? What the hell is this thing? Princess Jasmine gets a badass tiger, and Princess Tiana gets a reject from Thumbelina?

Nothing is ever going to be portrayed in a light that we can all agree upon, but this is just a slap in the face. (Not to mention that this is supposed to be New Orleans with a focus on Jazz, despite um, Randy Newman. So like, there was nothing in all of Jazz history that Disney found suitable accompaniment to a movie that takes its inspiration from the Jazz Age?)

I might still go and see the movie, if only for the fact that it’s in 2D animation. But judging from the trailer and what I’ve read up on various articles, I feel a major disappointment coming on from a studio who could be using this chance to redeem themselves for their extended past of misrepresenting minorities, plus the sheer lack of quality of the stuff they’ve been churning out lately (I’m sorry to say this but: I honest to God hated Ratatouille.)

- Saving the Whales? Or Leftover WWII Resentment?
- Music: The Unfortunate Twist by Time Machine
- What's Happening Wednesday
- What's Happenin' Friday
- Cher to Play Catwoman

Foxes | movies, videos | Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 | Trackback