Also, Tiana IS a princess.
(in regards to this discussion)
She marries a Prince.
She has a big-ass fairy-tale wedding.
She lives extremely happily-ever-after.
Therefore: princess!
And I’d REALLY disagree that the getting of the restaurant instead of the getting the massive castle a la Beauty in the Beast was in some way shafting Tiana out of TRUE princess-dom.
Its not the castle that makes the princess, its the happily-ever-after.
And the restaurant was Tiana’s happily-ever-after. It was a place of love, it was warm, it was where she could gather with her friends and family, and just be HAPPY with them. Yes, she’s working, but its not the kind of driven, ambitious, stressful work that Tiana was doing in the beginning of the film. She’s in charge now, she’s powerful. She rules over her own unofficial kingdom. She becomes a fantastically successful businesswoman, and an unequivocally loved and respected person in her city. Oh, and she’s royalty now! Literally!
They did things differently in The Princess and the Frog, that’s for damn sure. All of it was intentional. The movie was a return to form for Disney — the first traditionally-animated princess film they made since Mulan — but they KNEW they had to do some things differently A lot of buzz surrounded the fact that Tiana was the first black princess; Tiana’s also the first American princess (excluding Pocahontas!), and she’s the first 20th century princess. She’s not going to want a castle. A castle is boring. Giving her a more traditional princess ending would have turned a brilliantly inventive and exciting story into a tale that has already been told a thousand times.
Yeah…no. I like you, but you just missed the point by a country mile. She’s still got to go to work every day & she gets the added bonus of having to teach her husband how to be a decent human being. Nothing about that is romantic or exciting or even really escapism. Her happily ever after is to keep working? Really?
I’m a little bewildered. Tiana wanted the restaurant, and it made her happy to run it and dance and sing in it.
And Naveen was a decent human being to begin with. He was just very spoiled and only had to learn that not everything was all about wine, women, song, and a good time. Which he actually eagerly embraced once he realized how rewarding it was. His own parents were proud he finally got the clue.
Part of the problem is the idea is the idea that the only way she could be happy was to have to work hard every day. Disney prettied it up, but restaurants aren’t exactly good times. Every other Disney princess gets to follow their dreams & live a life of financial ease. Not so with Tiana.
So, I’m just gonna bring this up because it just came to me, like, a second ago. I wanted Tiana to get her Coming to America on. This isn’t to say I didn’t like that she was hard worker. For all intents and purposes, Cinderella was a hard worker, despite doing shitty work. I liked that Tiana had ambitions. I would’ve liked her to have an “easier” time once she got her Happily Ever After….because as it stands, she’ll STILL have to work hard, as restaurants aren’t something you can bullshit your way through. THAT’S the point. Her getting her restaurant isn’t the issue. It’s the, “Yes, but you still have to work for your livelihood. Good job!” aspect that is problematic. She’s not getting the option to say, “You know what? I DON’T want to work. How ‘bout dem apples!!!”, much like Lisa in Coming to America. It sends an interesting message in context with all the other “official” princesses that she still has to work hard for her “princess-hood”. Sayin’……………
everybody else only had to believe and wish upon a fuckin star (white, of course)
but when it came to tiana they were all “but you gotta WORK like a mule bitch, or else aint shit gon happen for ya, k thnx bai”
typical racist shit. black women shouldnt ever expect anything to just fall into their lap like it did for the white bitches but wtf is new?
Let me break this down in Disney chronological order:
Snow White — She was already a princess, being abused by her stepmother. Made a wish in a well for a prince. Got him in less than a few days of being DEAD. (Someday my prince will come…)
Cinderella — Made a wish (see: a dream is a wish your heart makes), got a fairy godmother to pretty her up, went to the ball, snagged a prince.
Sleeping Beauty — She was already a fucking princess. All she had to do was go home, pretty much.
The Little Mermaid — Again, already a princess. Ariel rescues the prince of the coastal kingdom she lives beneath. He falls in love with her because she can sing. She. Can. Fucking. Sing.
Beauty and the Beast — Longs for adventure, was willing to catch a mean case of Stockholm Syndrome to get her prince. He seduced her by giving her a library, but mistreated her a great deal. Stop me if this is getting to be too much, we’re in the 90s, now.
Aladdin — A twist! Jasmine is already a princess, Aladdin falls in love with her unwittingly; lies and pretends to be a prince in order to marry her. When she catches him in the lie, he lies again. After the truth is all out, she figures out why he did, and her father changes the law on the basis that Aladdin just saved his kingdom.
Pocahontas — Already a princess. This movie’s message was more race-related than princess oriented, but even in its sequel when she traveled to England, she was recognized as a princess. They purposely left it ambiguous, though.
Let’s migrate from Disney to the other princess films that are often mistaken for Disney:
The Swan Princess — Because “Swan Lake” would have been too simple. Odette is already a princess; she gets cursed to be a swan until the prince realizes he loves her for more than her beauty. Swans are beautiful creatures. Definitely could have chosen something vicious and ugly, like a cyclops. By the end of the movie, all she has to do is get the man to tell her why he loves her and they live happily ever after.
Anastasia — Already a princess, but with no memory of it. Her only clue is a necklace her grandmother gave her before she lost her memory. All she had to do was flash it to get granny’s attention. Pow! Instant welcome back into royalty.
Thumbelina — All she had to do was sing and the fairy prince fell in love with her voice. They get married and live happily ever after. There was no lesson to be learned here save “There’s someone for everyone, no matter how big or small you are.”
Now, I could go on, but I think the examples speak for themselves. I in no way hate these movies. These are classics I grew up watching, and I love them for sentimental reasons, but that doesn’t mean we get to ignore the racial connotations associated with white women never having to work for anything in film/cartoons and having men fall at their feet to give them the stars on a silver platter. Meanwhile, Black women are cast in roles as “hard workers” (read: as the help), mammy mentors, or loudmouth ghetto trash.
All we want is a princess story with the same format of Tiana already having been a princess, and her story blossoming from there.
I agree! It’s the same case with Mulan. She’s considered as a Disney princess but she’s not a princess in the traditional Disney sense. Her happy ending didn’t even end up in a castle, she was offered a prestigious place by the Emperor yet she declined it (!!) and ended up back with her father. Mulan declining a great honor, a prestigious work offer, just sits too comfortably well with the stereotypical Asian women who do hardwork but discouraged to take pride and flaunt it. To dismiss our achievements because our husband is going to be the one who hold up the family name. I’m South East Asian and I hope there will be an Asian princess where the story tells about her adventures as a princess who rule and love and enjoy her kingdom.
