Girls On Disney's First Black Princess
This weekend, Disney releases its first traditional animated feature in years. It also debuts the first black princess in the Disney pantheon, Tiana. Youth Radio went to a screening to ask young girls what they think about Tiana.
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris. Walt Disney Pictures makes history this weekend with the release of its movie "The Princess and the Frog." Tiana, the main character in the animated film, is Disney's first black princess.
(Soundbite of film, "The Princess and the Frog")
Ms. ANIKA NONI ROSE (Actor): (As Tiana) There is no way I would ever, ever, ever kiss a frog. Yuck.
NORRIS: Our friends at Youth Radio went to a sneak preview in the San Francisco Bay Area to find out what young people thought of "The Princess and the Frog."
Unidentified Child #1: I think the movie was great.
Unidentified Child #2: It was awesome because I liked the story, and it was funny.
Unidentified Child #3: It was wonderful. My favorite part was Princess Tiana turning into a frog.
Unidentified Child #4: I like that the princess is black.
Unidentified Child #5: I saw "Cinderella," and it was nothing like "The Princess and the Frog."
Unidentified Child #6: All the other princesses are, like, white and stuff.
Unidentified Child #7: My favorite part was at the end, when they got married.
Unidentified Child #8: When the frog and the princess fell in love.
Unidentified Child #9: The fact that she was the first black princess meant to me that she was going to be, like, influence for other kids.
Unidentified Child #10: It made me happy that she kind of looks like me.
Unidentified Child #11: It's not fair if it's only white princesses, not black ones.
Unidentified Child #12: She's being a frog, and I liked her green dress.
Unidentified Child #13: It doesn't make a difference that the princess was black.
Unidentified Child #14: She found a way to make her dream come true.
Unidentified Child #15: My favorite part was when she kissed him.
Unidentified Child #16: I feel like, wow, and the person who made it was probably black, and she wanted to reach out to other black girls to tell them that you can do this, too.
NORRIS: Interesting point of fact. Ron Clements and John Musker directed the movie, and neither of them are African-American or female. We just heard from Shaquira Nunn(ph), Karina Rivera(ph), Anaya Alahi(ph), Zaria Maloof(ph), Monique Joneth(ph), Makaya Red(ph), Alyssa Stokes(ph), Niyaja Brown(ph), Alyse McCluten(ph) and Serena Jong Lee(ph). They were all in the San Francisco Bay Area. And that story was produced for us by Youth Radio.
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