Walt Disney Animation Studios has sent Cinematical.com the exclusive poster to the musical 'The Princess and the Frog,' an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans and starring Tony winner Anika Noni Rose in the title role.
Over the weekend, the trailer went up on Apple.com.
From the creators of 'The Little Mermaid' and 'Aladdin' comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (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.
Among the many princesses in Disney's vault (Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White), this marks the first animated black one.
The film marks the return to hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, with music by Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman ('Monsters, Inc.,' 'Cars,' 'Toy Story').
Also starring in the film are John Goodman, Keith David, Jim Cummings and Jenifer Lewis.
'The Princess and the Frog' will open for exclusive engagements in New York and Los Angeles on Nov. 25 and then nationwide on Dec. 11.
Comments: (26)
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By: BETTYEJ on 5/12/2009 11:52AM
After all the crap Disney has put out in the past and how their so called Stars act like Teens gone wild and get away with it because they are white, I will not be spending my money on this movie because it took them years to get a black Princess only to disrespect my race and give her a White Prince! No way, No how will I waste my time and money on this none sense.
Africa have plenty of rulers who are black and I want to see some one that looks like me as a Prince, because Black is beautiful, if it wasn't you wouldn't have people making a ton of money selling everything under the sun to get black like me.
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By: TammyK on 5/15/2009 2:37AM
Ms BettyJ, You need to be more focused and clear in your thoughts before you send your comments out. What are you saying? Anyway, yes it has taken Disney years to make this heart wrenching decision to make a black princess. They are clearly not happy about this. Each and every time I heared anything about this movie, something caused it to be pushed back. 2007 I believe was the announcement of the movie, we are now in May of 2009 and I have not seen any advertisment on the movie. To make a long story short we as African Americans especially those with daughters should support the movie and get our black girls out of those stupid blond Hannah Motana wigs.
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By: caprio on 5/31/2009 11:37AM
Uhm, you are suggesting blacks only? Where in the world is reality still monochrome? Interracial represents contemporary open society (and mind), it's sad to see you live in a closed circuit of blackness.
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By: Jeffrey on 5/14/2009 5:33AM
Fuck that, I'm still mad they changed her name from Maddy to some goddamn Tiana? WTF. They had it right the first time!!
But that's my ONLY complaint.
The princess is fucking beautiful, and I'm not in the LEAST bit upset that the prince is white. I think it's about time that we see a little more portrayal of black women with men outside their race, but at the same time, a black couple still would've been nice. Question is, would that appeal more to people OUTSIDE of the black race.
I think if the Prince would've been black, then audiences would probably feel as though it's a "Black" movie. A mixed couple would maybe appeal to a wider audience in opposed to one - the African Americans. But still, a black PRINCE (and couple) would've been refreshing for a Disney film. Then again, I'm happy enough to see a Black female protagonist (although she sure as hell didn't NEED to be a princess).
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By: Teresa on 6/13/2009 11:43PM
Your comments are appreciated and insightful, but please remember ladies read the comments also and profanity is offensive to many. I know you are an intelligent gentleman and yur vocabulary is not limitless, so please consider the language used when expressing yourself. We have enough difficulties as a people as it is w/o anyone feeling we cannot hole an intelligent conversation w/o cursing.
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By: Jeffrey on 5/14/2009 3:50PM
And let me correct myself there. We DO see a lot of portrayal of black women with men outside their race - in the MEDIA. I still don't understand why (for me) seeing a black female with a non-black male (in movies, tv, etc.) is still something that seems almost rare to me.
And let me also check myself by stating it IS a great thing that our protagonist is a princess :) and I'm thankful that Disney reached a point to where it allowed for a Black princess to come about.
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By: meta wms. on 5/14/2009 6:27PM
Greetings -- and thank you so much for this post -- and for the great interview with Jill Scott!
Here at the Los Angeles Urban League we are very excited about The Princess and the Frog! We had an exclusive live sneak preview featuring a stellar performance by Anika Noni Rose at our annual dinner in April. It was simply wonderful.
WE ALSO HAVE A LIMITED EDITION PRINCESS TIANA DOOL DONATED BY DISNEY -- WHICH WE ARE AUCTIONING ON OUR WEBSITE: WWW.LAUL.ORG
This lovely collectible is completely handmade by Mattel Inc. exclusively for the Los Angeles Urban League and autographed by Anika.
We would love to be in contact with you about what we do here in Los Angeles.
Best regards . . .
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By: SARA on 5/14/2009 8:04PM
I AM SURE I WILL PROBABLY MAKE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE MAD, BUT WHO CARES!! WHO CARES THAT YOU GET MAD, WHO CARES THAT YOU WON'T GO SEE THE MOVIE, AND DEFINITELY WHO CARES THAT THE PRINCESS IS AFRICAN/AMERICAN AND THE PRINCE IS NOT. ALTHOUGH I THINK IT IS GREAT TO SEE AND AFRICAN/AMERICAN PRINCESS IN A DISNEY MOVIE I DON'T THINK THERE SHOULD BE SUCH AN ISSUE ABOUT HER RACE AND THE RACE OF THE PRINCE. IN KEEPING UP WITH THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS DAY AND AGE, THIS IS LONG OVERDUE.
I FEEL THAT AFTER ALL THE BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS THAT WAS LOST 135+ YEARS AGO, WHY DOES EVERY ISSUE INVOLVING AN AFRICAN/AMERICAN HAS NEEDS TO BOIL DOWN TO THE 'RACE CARD'. I HAVE A YOUNG DAUGHTER AND I AM RAISING HER THE WAY I WAS RAISED. TO LOVE EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT THEIR RACE MAY BE. IF SHE HAPPENS TO FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE OUTSIDE HER RACE SO BE IT, AS LONG AS HE TREATS HER RIGHT.
YES IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE A BETTER PORTRAYAL OF AFRICAN/AMERICANS IN THE MEDIA, BUT THAT SHOULD BEGIN AT HOME AND NOT IN HOLLYWOOD!!!!
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By: Kelly on 6/27/2009 2:59AM
Thank you Sara! I am a white female with two adopted sons one is biracial (white and black) almost 4 yrs old and one is white almost 6 yrs old. I don't even like to mention their race because my husband and I believe that we are all of the HUMAN RACE and its not about skin color. We are raising our boys to be good people and we hope someday that they will be able to find that someone special to love and cherish not for what they are but for who they are.
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By: raqualle on 5/25/2009 5:49PM
i agree with you bettyj i am so sick of seeing little black girls in those hannah montana wigs i was watching the tyra show and there was a little blck girl who said she didnt like her hair and wanted hair like hannah montana, she also said that she felt pretty when she wore the wig. jeffery i agree with you if they would have gave the princess a black prince they ould have probaly considered it a "black" movie .it has taken way to long for disney to create a black princess there has been princess' of all kinds of races but no black ones. tammyk i agree with you to i havent seen any advertisment/promotion for this movie. this movie could come out and no one could even know it . ot wouldnt surprise me if this movie went straight to dvd then they would come up with some lame lying ass excuse for why it is that they did that. back to the hannah montana wig thing, im not saying that just because hannah is white and if a little girl is wearing the wig and happens to be black she can't wear the wig what im saying is as little black girls they need to know that they are beautiful without the hannah wigs, they will never have hair like hannahs so why walk around with it. they need more young/teen black female stars on disney to represent the young/teen black viewers they have
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