Anika Noni Rose opens up about her legacy as the 1st Black Disney princess. The actor who voiced Princess Tiana in the 2009 animated film "The Princess and the Frog" is opening up about her legacy portraying the groundbreaking character.
Who was the first black actress to be a Disney Princess?
Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for voicing Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess, in The Princess and the Frog (2009). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011. Bloomfield, Connecticut, U.S.
In Disney's nearly 100-year history, there has been only one Black Disney princess — Princess Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog,” a 2009 animated feature starring Anika Noni Rose. The singer Brandy starred in a 1997 made-for-TV film version of “Cinderella,” a remake of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
LOS ANGELES, May 24 (Reuters) - As the second Black Disney princess in history, Halle Bailey, who plays Ariel in the new "The Little Mermaid" movie, says she has been moved by videos of Black children and parents delighted by her history-making role.
One thing to note, Hans Christian Andersen left out race, skin color, and character names. For the animated movie, Disney made the little mermaid white, made her hair red, and gave her a name, Ariel.
Ariel, is a fictional character, with no defined skin color in her original material. She was originally written by a Danish author in the 1800s. She has been portrayed in ballet and movies by Asian, Russian, and mixed-race individuals, her cartoon depictions are typically pale.
On the significance of casting a Black actress as Ariel
Sherri Hope Culver: To have a Disney character who is not just a princess but a live-action, real flesh and blood person that children can be inspired by is important. This is because people of color are less likely to see themselves reflected in the media.
It was Nov. 15, 2009, and the 10-year-old from Mississippi was walking the red carpet at the world premiere of Walt Disney's animated musical The Princess and the Frog. The fifth grader beat out hundreds of girls to land the gig voicing the young Tiana, Disney's first animated African American princess.
Disney Debuts First Plus-Size Main Character in Animated Short Film “Reflect” It's a story about body image and self-love. Say hello to Bianca, Disney's first-ever plus-size heroine.
Ariel appears as an adult in Return to the Sea and gives birth to a daughter named Melody, becoming the first, and currently, only, Disney princess to become a mother.
Disney introduced its first non-white animated heroine in 1992's “Aladdin”: a Middle Eastern character named Jasmine. Three years later an American Indian princess appeared in “Pocahontas.” The creation of the Chinese heroine from “Mulan” came in 1998.
As Disney starts to diversify their movies and Princesses, it is important this is done correctly and to the highest level of authenticity possible. Moana strays from Disney tradition to allow Moana's cultural authenticity to come through and ensures that Polynesian culture is correctly represented.
According to a Disney spokeswoman, Sofia has a mixed fairy-tale heritage; her mother and father are from Galdiz (which is based on Spain) and Freezenburg (which is based on Scandinavia), respectively.
Princess Ananya, has been confirmed by the team, but they have also added that it's quite in the early stages and the team isn't even close to launching her. Having grown up with Ariel, Elsa, Rapunzel, and Snow White, having a Disney Indian princess is a big step towards cultural representation.
"When I chose Halle for the role, it was literally because she was the best person for the role," Marshall says. "It's about who claims a role, who brings a role to life in a way you could never have imagined."
And while creators of The Little Mermaid originally wanted Ariel to have blonde hair to stay in keeping with the fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, Splash's massive popularity was still too hot to ignore. So, in a bid to stand out from the crowd, an iconic change was given to the underwater princess.
Diversity. Ariel had 3 male animal friends, so they needed to make one a girl. Same reason they made Jock a girl (Jacqueline aka Jacque) in the Lady & The Tramp live-action remake.
Of course, the animated mermaids are the daughters of King Triton and Queen Athena, but that may change in the live-action version with the implication that Ariel's sisters have different mothers.
The casting is beautifully “colour blind”, with the prince being white and his mother being Black (he is adopted). At the same time, the Little Mermaid's father is white, while her mermaid sisters are of various different races and ethnicities.
