[mangajunky]

Although Disney has long given up on original ideas in favor of cookie-cutter storytelling...I had hopes for John Lasseter re-starting the hand-drawn animation division. The following proves that paranoia and poltical correctness is far more important to these people than creative expression.
I don't know about you, but I think if art doesn't piss someone off, you're probably doing something wrong.

http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2007-05-11/#3

Protests Come Early to Disney's 'Princess'
Almost two years before its hoped-for release of its first hand-drawn animated film produced under the supervision of Pixar's John Lasseter, Disney has already drawn fire for alleged racial and ethnic insensitivities that were detected in its original announcement of the film, according to Disney watcher Jim Hill. Since the original title, The Frog Princess, might be regarded as a slur on the French, the title has been changed to The Princess and the Frog. The main character, named Maddy -- who was to become Disney's first black princess -- has had her name changed to Tiana, since Maddy reportedly sounded too much like Mammy. She will no longer be seen as a chambermaid working for a rich, white spoiled Southern débutante. In a statement, Disney, which said that it ordinarily does not comment on its animated films in the early stages of production, observed: "The story takes place in the charming elegance and grandeur of New Orleans' fabled French Quarter during the Jazz Age. ... Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney's rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity."

[SynthethicalY]

Agreed, Art should piss off someone, or at least think differently than what they already do.

[Iain]

Yes, but Disney is business not art arguably.

[PAULYBEE2656]

disney = business
end of story....
pissing off the french, i mean, its not like the american media has never done that, actually any media in te world..........

disney dvds are the only dvds i cant burn copies of! that says it all really!

[pantophobia]

Disney hasn't made a halfway decent non pixar cartoon since the Lion King, it became to the point "lets do a film for every race to make them have a princess" yet some how after a mermaid, a native american, an asian, and an arabian princess they finally get around to doing a film about a black princess

a mean for a company to do a film called "songs of the south" many years back, it's a little suspicious....

[tesla69]

Disney is a social evil, reinforcing the worst old stereotypes of gender and race and age.

[mangajunky]

Originally Posted by tesla69

Disney is a social evil, reinforcing the worst old stereotypes of gender and race and age.

Stereotypes can be used for statement, effect, and to illustrate a point. Disney uses them for all the wrong reasons, and tries to be stealth about it.

I can think of lots of cartoons that used stereotypes that still have artistic integrity. Just look at Ralph Bakshi, Bob Clampett, or Osamu Tezuka.

Disney lost it's way some time in the 50's and has continued in a (mostly) downward trend. To worry about the word "Frog", and the name "Maddy" is pathetic.

[MellySingsDoom]

Disney should just go the whole hog and re-make "Truimph Of The Will" with cute wittle wabbits replacing those comedy Germans. Voiceover of "The Leader" will be done by Robin "Fucking" Williams.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by tesla69

Disney is a social evil, reinforcing the worst old stereotypes of gender and race and age.

yes, so i don't mind the protests as a matter of fact.

i also don't mind that every ethnicity must have a princess-- that's fine with me. isn't the world infested with blonde barbies anyway? (now they have the hooker barbie but that's another story).

fact is that white america (& white europe?) is vitually oblivious to the issues that minorities have to face on an everyday basis.

if art must piss off someone then let them do "honky: the musical", where some girl named molly "whitebread" white marries cousin whitlaw mcfuck II.

no??

[MellySingsDoom]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

if art must piss off someone then let them do "honky: the musical", where some girl named molly "whitebread" white marries cousin whitlaw mcfuck II. no??

Sounds like the next Spike Lee movie.

How about "the Clymadia Chronicles", a heartfelt story of the tale of Princess Cystitis in the land of Veneria.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by MellySingsDoom

Sounds like the next Spike Lee movie.

How about "the Clymadia Chronicles", a heartfelt story of the tale of Princess Cystitis in the land of Veneria.

ha, sure.

actually have you noticed how very few movies present gay characters as noble and good? i mean there are movies that say "oh, be nice to the gays", but then there are a TON more movies where the villanous traitor creep just "happens" to be a homo.

even that wonderful visconti movie, "the damned", or in bertolucci's "the conformist". always the evil homo.

Originally Posted by jennthebenn

the best thing about that premise is that since there is a whitlaw mcfuck II
there is then a whitlaw mcfuck sr. you can't perpetuate that name enough!
(meaning their son born at the end of the musical will be whitlaw mcfuck III).

ha ha, yea, i guess it should have been "junior" now that i think about it-- i blame disney of course for the inspiration for that fine family name--

 

but anyway i hope my point is not lost, i feel like a ranting little bastard today-- truth be told, i need a vacation.

[Everyneurotic]

Originally Posted by MellySingsDoom

Disney should just go the whole hog and re-make "Truimph Of The Will" with cute wittle wabbits replacing those comedy Germans. Voiceover of "The Leader" will be done by Robin "Fucking" Williams.

they are too stupid to think about such a genius movie.

[terminal pharmacy]

I don't know why they bother, George Lucas has been racial stereotyping since the very first star wars movies and it never bothers him.

[pbradley]

It's ironic that Disney decided, in part, to bring back hand-drawn animation for a new black princess in order to racially empower black girls (to have their own princess, sort to speak) but gets flak over the same fact. That's why Disney has found it so easy to do anthropomorphized cars, toys, animals, whatever. Stereotypes aren't so bad if you hid them under unrelatable fiction, apparently.

Personally I hope they continue with this movie undeterred as equality comes in both the good things and the bad (although, I wouldn't be so quick to call Disney a "social evil").'


EDIT: And I can understand Disney taking political correctness so seriously considering how they've historically taken so much criticism (and a lot of the time justified criticism). But their sensitivity only goes to show how honest Disney is about retaining the childhood innocence of "the happiest place on earth."