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The Princess and the Frog
Written by urbanlife.se   
Sunday, 06 December 2009 22:58
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

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.


The princess and the frogSet 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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Comments  

 
0 #1 Keyo 2009-12-07 13:11
When I first heard about this movie, I was really happy - then, when thinking about it some more, I felt less enthusiastic: when Disney\'s first movie with a non-white main character came out ("Mulan"-), the setting was in ancient China - and thereby kids would get a light introduction to Chinese history and civilization. The next "non-white" main character was Pocahontas, and the setting was an ancient South American civilization. Now, with the first black main character, the setting is NOT an ancient African empire, which would have given kids a light introduction to African history, but in New Orleans... Is Disney under the impression that Africa has no history and civilizations good enough for a great setting for a movie? If so, they really need to learn!
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0 #2 Guest 2009-12-10 00:12
Keyo, do you really think anyone needs to get a \"light\" introduction? Who do you see would need the light version really? Think we past that long time ago.
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0 #3 Keyo 2009-12-10 13:33
Well, I was simply trying to consider things from the children\'s perspective:
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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0 #4 Guest 2009-12-17 18:44
Could you explain more precisely what you mean by that? I dont fully understand. . .
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