Disney Consumer Products and actress Anika Noni Rose, voice of Princess Tiana, unveiled a new toy line inspired by the upcoming film, “The Princess and the Frog.” The event was held at the American International Toy Fair in New York City earlier this week.
Opening Holiday 2009, The Princess And The Frog is a magical fairytale set in New Orleans that marks Disney’s return to musicals and the warmth and grandeur of 2D hand drawn animation. It also marks the first time Disney has ever had an African-American princess.
In related news, Anika Noni Rose will be co-starring alongside Jill Scott in HBO’s newest series, ‘The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’. Set to premiere in March.
( Photo: Disney )
Thats nice….looks cute!
Tiana is kind of a generic name, every other Princess has these unique names, I guess they didnt want to upset us angry black people
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY…. i’m excited
@ 2. It’s better than Maddy. That’s what it was before people protested.
another milestone check. Good for her.
I actually thought maddy sounded best. It actually fit the time frame and its cute. Its short for Madeline which sounds More classic than tianna which sounds like it came from the 90′s.
Well the name change was better than the princess original name Maddie. The title was originally the FROG PRINCESS. There were so many things wrong with the cartoon before. i was one of the protestors. It took long enough for Disney to create a blk fairytale princess. I hope they didn think LION KING’s NAHLA counted.
Nice doll. I cant imagine Jill Scot a detective on HBO tho. lol
Maddie sounded like an angry blk woman to me.
I like the new name also and I happy they got rid of the afro puffs she was going to have!!
Im mad they got rid of her natural texture tho. Its like they keep reinforcing that in order for a black girl to be pretty she has to have hair that doesnt naturally grow out of her scalp. I guess we cant win them all, but it would have been nice if she had a cute puff, or SOME type of curl pattern. Imagine how much it would do for the self esteem of black girls that are constantly told nappy hair is bad hair.
When I think maddy I think of that girl from suite life of zack and cody. I dunno why it leaves such a bad taste in peoples mouths.
@ 6. Wonder why they didn’t just name her Madeline then. That doesn’t sound that bad either. Maddie was a no go for me though.
i love my kinky hair……NATURAL IS THE BEST WAY TO GO!!! embrace your naps….embrace your kinks!!! it’s how God made us… most of us!!! there are all kinds of cute natural hairstyles… you don’t have to just wash and go… lol…. grease it up a bit… lotion it u[ a bit… do some cute puffs….. dreads…. make it kinky curly….twist it… etc etc….. we all went through the first couple years of our lives nappy and it worked!!! why did we change?!?!? because society made it as clear as possible that nappy hair was bad hair…. and it’s not….. HAIR IS HAIR PEOPLE…….. I LOVE MY NAPS!!!
STFU with that natural hair stuff.
Disney didn’t have to make a black princess at freakin’ all.
So appreciate what you see there.
Negros ALWAYS got something to complain about!
That’s why we never have anything.
UGHH!!!!
I think black people are beautiful in every shade..and whatever hair that suits them. I wish people would stop with the whole natural hair thing. I love straight or kinky. Other races..change their hair color..or straighten it out.
It’s beautiful ! i grew up asking my mother why there wasn’t any black princess , so it’s really great that this is happening !
Why is she crying??
why is she crying? seriously? lol…
it’s about damn time disney recognized black folk! lol.
i grew up on these disney movies and i always wondered where the “black one” was.
it wasn’t the beast, it definitely wasn’t nahla.. and now we have our own princess to identify with in some way.
that’s why she’s crying… well not solely why, but one of the reasons. it’s not that hard to figure it out. lol. come on.
@ 15
What kinda logic is that? Are just supposed to take whatever people give us? So many people disliked the name maddy because they thought it sounded too close to mammie….should they have just been thankful and shut up about it? Its negro’s like YOU that keep black folks from speaking up and letting themselves be heard. Even tho I dont agree with maddy being a bad name, I would never tell someone to just suck it up and deal with it. This aint the 60′s, we have a voice and we can use it whenever we want.
Umm Couldnt they have kept the puffs in her hair. Now this dool looks jus like the “black” barbie dolls I see at toyr r us. But anyway, I’ve been waitring for the merchandise to come out for this movie. Can’t wait for it to expand its merchandising(books, jewelry, lunch boxes etc.) Ill be buying them in dozens for my younger cousins.(hey that rhymed lol)
*doll
*waiting
Cute doll.
I’m very excited about the Princess and the Frog and I think Madeline is a beautiful name but it is already associated with the film Madeline. There are plenty of pretty names they could have chosen, personally I dont think Tiana sounds good especially if you compare it to Ariel, Cinderella, Jazmine, Pochahontas, Mulan and then Tianna- hmm.
Of course Anina is crying because she is moved by the fact that she has dreamt of this happening for so long and finally she gets to be a major part of it! This is a breakthrough for herself and for so many black children who will have a princess that in some way or another mirrors themselves
Folks have to complain about everything!!! ugh.. just hush. LOL @ yall bashing the princess’ name when one of the editor’s of this website is named Tiana. That’s a beautiful name.
#1 – Every African American doesn’t have kinky hair growing from the scalp. Please let it go.
#2 – The doll is beautiful.. reminds me of Brandy
#3 – LOL @ little girls trying to comb through this “afro puff” that yall want up there.. Everybody knows that’s one of the first things we do when we get a doll. Yall are a trip. If they had put a brillo pad up there yall would be cryin “racist!”..
That is a cute ass doll. I have to buy one for my little cousin!
I’m happy to hear that Oprah is a part of the film. I know it will be nice.
She all most had me crying just looking at her! @ FILTHYOUTH YOU ARE RIGHT MY BROTHER!!! SOOOOOOOOO RIGHT! Let’s be happy to see OUR People make history!!
i AGREE WITH #6
When will that be in stores, I want to buy it for my niece.
Go Anika for representing FAMU! Go Disney for finally creating a black princess.
The name Maddie, a nickname for Madeline, was more appropriate for the storyline, I think.
From the clips I remember, Tiana has curly hair in the movie. Maybe they just straightened it for the doll.
I can’t wait to see this in the movies!
#18 & #19:
gee, i dunno…maybe it’s the fact that disney finally put out a black 2D animated flick and anika noni rose is probably one of the most underrated talents in the industry…hmmmm….ya think?!
i’m excited about this flick though. the doll is definitely gonna be in my goddaughter’s hands by christmas!
I can’t wait to take my Goddaughter to the this movie…i think it’s beautiful and very healthy for little girls of color, in this case black, to see themselves on the big screen.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency aired in London last year!! The programme is really good – I actually watched the repeat too lol
Damn now I gotta get HBO back b/c the previews that I’ve seen from the series look good as hell…
Love Anika, and I wish her all the success…she is truly regal and rare in this business
Anika does not make me think princess maybe a young aunt
but nevertheless she doin her thing with the voice.
I am going to have to check out the show on HBO… dang I have not even seen the previews.. Where have I been :-/ .
I love Anika she is doing her thang!
i think it’s ridiculous to be upset over the fact that she has straight hair. when i’m out and about i rarely see other women with natural hair. honestly, it really doesn’t matter. it’s what’s inside of your head that counts.
omg! i have to get her!
i’m so happy!
WHY IS SHE CRYING??
SMH
One Time For FAMU thats what kind of product we produce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well I am excited. We have a black Disney princess and there’s still people who have grievances about it. Stop it already it’s getting redundant all this fake revolutionary ish.
Did Chinese people cry about Mulan? Did Arabs moan about Princess Jasmine? Were Native Americans outraged by Pocahontas? No.
Just calm down and be happy that Princess Tiana is coming.
yesssss i cannot wait til this movie comes out…i’ve been reading about it since ’07 & i’m glad we finally gettin a black disney princess! wish i was a kid again then it would mean even more…:)
Awwww………cute doll. I hope the story line is on point & not stereotypical.
It’s funny that we are having a conversation about hair texture.
My neice is the same color as that princess, and her hair is the same texture as hers too. Not all people from the darker nation have kinky hair. That’s our problem right there. We associate kinky or nappy hair as we go down the color line..
dark=kinky, light= straight… which is totally not true..
That’s the beauty of being black… we come in all different colors, shapes, sizes, hair textures, and everything.
As long as my neices can look at this movie and not be embarassed, but proud of it, it doesn’t matter what her hair looks like. It’s more important what the content is.
to GREATESTLOVEOFALL #43,
actually, some native americans were upset over pocahontas. just b/c disney is (finally) putting out a black “princess” does not mean we’re supposed to be satisfied and remain compliant. corporations for so long (and still) wrongly represent black people and subtly depict racist stereotypes through their products/media. if we have an opinion, we should speak up.
aside from the fact that the main character is black, i am SO SO SO SO SOOO excited to see a good Disney movie again. i’m a huge disney fan (on some levels) and have been following the making of this movie. it will totally be reminscent of all the disney classics from the 90s!
Thank God! I have a 4 year old “princess” and she always compare herself to the other princesses, and label herself as Cinderella. Words can not explain how happy I am too see a black princess! So she can know that because she is a beautiful black girl she can be a princesss as well. I teach her and my son that they are royalty but without black royal figures in cartoons my statements could be confusing to a 4 year old. Now….speechless
It is about time they made a black princess. There was an Asian princess, a Native American princess and a Russian princess all before they got around to making a black one. It would have been nice if they gave her natural hair, but many black little girls have relaxers, unfortunately, so it’s not totally unrealistic.
We need to make our own version of Disney anyway and stop looking to them to define us. We should come up with our own princesses and stories and books and marketing material.
Not all black people have kinky hair. My 14 year old son does not have kinky hair, but my daughter does. Thinking that all balck peple have kinky hair is a sterotype. Hell I see white people with kinky hair. Mexicans have kinky hair. All races have kinky hair. Is just so happen when God was giving out straight hair, some people jumped out of line.
I work for DCP and we are so proud to unveal the new Princess (black), she is beautiful and I gave my input to make sure we wouldnt get some terrible looking black Princess. Everyone should go out and support.
*unveil*(sp) sorry
I JUST PROUD THAT WE NOW FINALLY HAVE SOMETHING ELSE ACCOMPLISHED AS AFRIACN AMERICANS. JOB WELL DONE ANIKA. GOD BLESS.
THE AFRICANS ARE MAD ABOUT THIS CHRIS BROWN BEATING ON RHIANNA THING ! ! ! ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyLbtOHBuPk
wow look at what the world is coming to… A black President and now a black Princess this change happened so fast and its a very good change
I am so going to take my 37 year old behind to the cineplex to support this movie which IMO is long overdue. And for Christ’s sake stop harping on the hair texture: it’s a freakin doll!!!
lol@ #9.
I agree 100%.
I am glad that Rose is getting the recognition that she deserves. To me, alot of the Dreamgirls hooplah was surrounding only Beyonce and Jennifer. So, congrats.
I have a 4 yo daughter and have been waiting 2 years for this
First off, Mulan & Pocahantas are not princesses.
Hence the reason why you don’t see them in the disney princess line of merchindise.
Only Cinderella,Jasmine,Belle,Snow White,Sleeping Beauty & Ariel.
And now Princess Tiana who will be added to the “Princess Collection”.
This has been a long time coming. For young girls of colour who adore Disney Princesses this will give them one similar to them and really be inclusive as far as a connection with the entire human family. Let’s keep making positive strides Disney and show all girls,all over the world that they are “royally beautiful” as well.
This post has been brought to you by Tinkerbell’s boyfriend. Tinkerbell is 18,yeah?