Princess Tiana Worked For Hers
by Eric Payne
A year ago when I saw the trailer for the Princess and the Frog my first reaction was admittedly negative. I wondered why the bug had no teeth and spoke such poor English. I naturally assumed it was a caricature of a southern African American until I pieced together that if anything, he was an insect version of a Louisiana Cajun. I remained skeptical, hearing rumors that the princess of this story spent most of her time on screen as a frog. But then I thought of Princess Fiona of the Shrek movies. Her true essence was ogre, not human.
By November of this year I had amassed a stockpile of Princess Tiana collectibles — dolls, coloring books, sheets and blankets, anything worthwhile I could get my hands on. I’m not the princess type and I’m barely the Disney type, having traded Mickey Mouse for Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny long ago. But this wasn’t about me. It was about my thee-year old daughter having her very own princess with which to build a world of daydreams and fantasies.
Finally, with more anticipation than I ever expected I took my wife and daughter to see the Princess and the Frog on opening weekend. We laughed, sang along and danced in our seats, but I think I was the only one out of the three of us who was in tears by the time it was over. I didn’t gush because of the romance or the drama of the storyline. I cried because my daughter was clapping and smiling from ear to ear. In Princess Tiana, voiced perfectly by Anika Noni Rose, she has a heroine she can claim. And without knowing otherwise, she won’t have to grow up trying to fit the mold of what has been traditionally imposed upon all little girls as to what a princess is: white and pure as the driven snow, typically blond, untouched by the reality of life, almost magical, but in dire need of rescuing.
No, Princess Tiana was a princess who worked for hers. She had a firm upbringing in a working-class two parent household, a father who loved her, instilled in her a set of values and helped her establish her own sense of self-worth early on in her life. As an adult she knew there was no easy road toward success. And because of her father’s role in her life, she knew what to look for in a man, and what not to accept. She was hardly moved by Prince Naveen’s slick, low-brow and empty advances and rejected him again and again until he got his act together. The happy ending that we’ve all come to expect from the Disney machine only came after effort and sacrifice. Other than the star that most little girls wish upon, there was no magic that cured or fixed anything, nor any fairy godmothers and definitely no rescuing, just overcoming.
You can read and see more about The Princess & The Frog and The Ultimate Disney Experience at The Princess & The Frog – NYC Style.
It was all there on screen for my daughter and all the other princesses in the audience to absorb. I have no doubt that she’ll revisit the story again and again as she grows and matures. Hopefully the story will only grow stronger inside her until one day she is a princess of her own making. Just like Princess Tiana.
Follow Eric on Twitter. He tackles married life and fatherhood as it happens to him at MakesMeWannaHoller.com. Check out his restaurant reviews and NYC tourism articles at NYMetropolista.com. He also reviews autos and writes human interest pieces for Atlanta-based J’Adore Magazine.
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