But here's the thing: Disney, the most powerful juggernaut in child and teen entertainment, didn't have to go there. Remember, Snow White is 81 years old, so Disney has been doing this for a long time without paying homage to black characters.
I'm not advocating against criticism. Some of it is valid and necessary because strong words may be the only thing that stand between a good film and "Song of the South," the 1946 film that embraced racist stereotypes.
But I differ from critics pushing for Disney to create perfection. I want the writers to be careful, but I also want little girls to know that girls other than those born to royalty find true love and their dreams.
And I hope that this Disney movie is as true to a winning formula as its past princess movies have been: A heroine in dire circumstances, aided by someone -- a genie, a fairy godmother, dwarves -- finds true love. I want Tiana to be revered for the same reason that other Disney girls were: They overcame obstacles.
The irony in all of this is that, casting stereotypes means that the person doing it has made a generalization of something he/she didn't quite fully understand or had the full, accurate picture. Now unless some of these critics of the Princess and the Frog had a sneak peak of the movie, then I'd say the vehement criticism of this movie has to come from the SAME "generalization of something he/she didn't quite fully understand or had the full, accurate picture".
I'd rather criticize something after that "thing" actually exists, so that I know what exactly is wrong with it. Call me silly.
Zz.
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