Dominance:
The Study of White Representation in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog
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by Ashley M. Miller
isney is considered an animated powerhouse that has spread its influence across the world. Elena Di Giovanni comments, “The Disney films which portray cultural otherness reveal, better than any other animated product, a good balance between novelty and familiarity, a well-crafted mixture of references to the distant worlds and the modern habits and expressions of the West” (212). Giovanni praises Disney, arguing that, “Disney’s microcosm offers a clever balance between realism and fantasy, novelty and standardization, up-to-date as well as timeless references, thus appealing to young but also adult viewers in every corner of the earth” (207). Like those of many other efficacious producers, Disney films evolved from the classic fairy tale notion of docile females such as Aurora and Snow White to strong heroines like Mulan and Ariel. However, in 2009, Disney released The Princess and the Frog, its adaptation of the Brothers Grimm’s “The Frog Prince,” starring its first ethnic heroes based on fairy tales, Prince Naveen and Tiana, with interesting results. According to Ajay Gehlawat, “Given the amount of hype and anticipation preceding this film, one might assume that Disney paid close attention to its racial dynamics which, paradoxically make them all the more perplexing” (417). As William Blackburn points out, unfortunately, “Despite all its resources and experience [Disney] has failed to create a black princess to rival its [white] predecessors” (qtd. in Lester 305). Ironically, in The Princess and the Frog, Disney reinforces white patriarchal supremacy by presenting a wide variety of different Caucasian cultures from the rich LeBouffs down to the poor Cajun firefly family who all subject the ethnic Tiana and Naveen to tasks and quests
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