Scripting the Way for the 21st-Century Disney Princess in The Princess and the Frog

Abstract

The Princess and the Frog (2009) offered Disney audiences a story unlike any other the animation pioneer had ever told: the tale of its first Black princess. Engaging scripting theory and critical whiteness studies, I analyze the portrayal of the Black character Tiana and her relationship with White character Charlotte to explain how they are framed in the context of other mediated portrayals of blackness. By attending to how Tiana’s character is primarily presented to viewers in the form of a frog, I argue that her Black body is scripted as simultaneously absent yet present, enabling audiences to accept this “new” twist to the Disney princess motif. In addition, I explain how the film gives value to its first Black princess by positioning her against a flawed White character. This reduced Tiana’s blackness. Thus, via The Princess and the Frog, Disney continued to feature whiteness as the central framework upon which Black characters may be understood and appreciated. While Disney made a paltry gesture to demonstrate that representation matters, the film also indicates that Disney’s movement toward creating a more diverse animated world has been stunted in ways that continue to influence the portrayals offered by the industry giant.

Keywords:

• Black women
• body
• Disney princess
• scripting theory
• whiteness