| The Princess and the Frog |
| Written by urbanlife.se |
| Sunday, 06 December 2009 22:58 |
![]() The Urbanlife team are happy today, not purely because of the news that Disney's latest film ”The Princess and The Frog” is coming to Sweden's cinemas, but because - 72 years after ”Snow White” had it's opening night – Disney for the first time has an African-American as the main character: the Princess Tiana. It’s sad that it has taken so long for this to happen but we’ll dwell on the positives – the film looks stunning. Set in New Orleans, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG is a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (ANIKA NONI ROSE), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.Actress Anika Noni Rose (”The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", "Dreamgirls") is the voice of the princess, and other characters get their voices from Terrence Howard and Jenifer Lewis, amongst others. Jenifer Lewis comments that the movie is ”historical, in the sense that now there's Obama, and Tiana. It's a new day – there's hope, there's change”. ”The big deal is that it will quietly affirm to young brown-skinned children that they're special in this world” says Anika Noni Rose. The movie opens in Swedish cinemas on February 5, 2010. |




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The way things are now - generally in the Western World, and in countries like Sweden in particular - children get NO introduction to the history of African civilizations whatsoever. They simply have no clue that Africa even has a history. Hence, a "light-weight" introduction to that history through a children\'s movie would at least give children a "feel" for that fact that there were great civilizations in Africa too, just like "Mulan" and "Pocahontas" gives children a "feel" for that there were ancient civilizations in those places. Sure, there\'s definitely a need for a serious, deep, and heavy education in African history for all children and Black children in particular, but I don\'t think that it can be expected from a children\'s movie, and especially not one from the Disney Corporation.
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