Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

After 75 Years of Magic: Disney Answers Its Critics, Rewrites African American History, and Cashes In on Its Racist Past

  • Articles
  • Published:
Journal of African American Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper explores representations of the historical intersection of race and gender in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and black women in animated film in the USA. It examines how Disney and Pixar studio executives and animators attempted to use The Princess and the Frog to respond to its critics’ claims about the perpetuation of sexism and racism in its animated features. It has three major sections which explore how: (1) Disney attempted to answer criticism about the absence of African Americans and mothers in its films, the presence of physically over-sexualized and emotionally prince-dependent maidens in distress; (2) representations of animated black women in the history of film and Disney’s rewriting or sanitizing of African American history and denial of its and our nation’s racist past; and (3) Disney’s attempt to cash in on this denial of its racist past and its use of The Princess and the Frog as reconciliation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. “Disney First: Black Princess in Animated Film,” MSNBC.com, March 12, 2007, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17524865/; accessed 7 January 2010.

  2. Caroline White, “Why the Princess and the Frog is Making History While looking to the Past,” The [London] Times Online, http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6979255.ece, accessed January 7, 2010.

  3. Marvin Wingfield and Bushra Karaman, “Arab Stereotypes and American Educators,” http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=283, accessed 26 December 2009; Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, Dir. Sut Jhally, DVD. Media Education Foundation, 2006.

  4. “Irene Bedard,” People Magazine, 43, 18 (May 8, 1996), 102.

  5. One of Disney‘s few African American animators, Bruce W. Smith, was the supervising animator of Dr. Facilier and created BeBe Kids and the Proud Family.

  6. Mickey Mouse Monopoly, Dir. Chyng Feng Sun and Miguel Picker, DVD. Media Education Foundation, 2001; Bean (2003).

  7. We can approximate the date of the opening scene because a white male passenger on the street car that Eudora and Tiana ride home from the LaBouff‘s is reading a newspaper with the headline “Wilson Elected.” A reference to Woodrow Wilson’s election on November 5, 1912. Du Bois (1973, pp. 453–459); Lunardini (1979, pp 244–264); O’Reilly (1997, pp. 117–119).

  8. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910, Population, Vol. IV, Occupation Statistics (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1914, p. 570).

  9. Fourteenth Census of the US, 1920, Population, Vol. IV, Occupations (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1923, pp. 1156 and 1157); Fifteenth Census of the US, 1930, Population, Vol. IV, Occupations, by State (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1933, pp. 629 and 630).

  10. Fourteenth Census of the USA (1920, pp. 1156 and 1157); Fifteenth Census of the USA (1930, pp. 629 and 630).

  11. “The Old Mill Pond,” viewed on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0My-Ved3LbE, accessed 7 January 2010; Sampson (1998, pp. 17 and 193).

  12. “Silly Symphony Cartoons-Three Orphan Kittens (October 26, 1935),” viewed on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RuDcggp3Xk, accessed 7 January 2010; “Silly Symphony Cartoons-More Kittens (December 19, 1936),” viewed on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlRoOaPvPSo&feature=related, accessed 7 January 2010; Patrick Malone, “The Encyclopedia of Animated Disney Shorts,” http://www.disneyshorts.org/characters/m/mammytwoshoes.html, accessed 7 January 2010.

  13. Randolph quoted in Lehman (2007, p. 99).

  14. “Cyberchase, “http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/meet_jackie.html, accessed 9 January 2010.

  15. “Mocha Moms: What on the Table?” Tell Me More, May 22, 2007, National Public Radio, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10320397, accessed 9 January 2010; McLarin (2007), National Public Radio, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10320400, accessed 9 January 2010.

  16. “The Prince and the Frog Trailer,” http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=57254348, accessed 9 January 2010.

  17. Raz (2009), National Public Radio, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121690377, accessed 9 January 2010.

  18. Bates (2009), National Public Radio, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120633599, accessed 9 January 2010.

  19. “Buying Power stats—African American Market Data,” www.dsiblackpages.com/.../African%20American%20-%20Buying%20Power%5B1%5D.pdf , accessed June 17, 2010; “Despite Black Princess, Disney Has a Mixed Record on Race,” All Things Considered, 1 January 2010, National Public Radio, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122152254, accessed 9 January 2010; Giroux (1999), p. 90.

References

  • Archer, L. C. (1973). Black Images in the American Theater: NAACP Protests Campaigns Stage, Screen, Radio & Television. New York: Pageant and Poseidon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Axelrod, M. (2003). Beauties and their beasts and other motherless tales from the wonderful world of Disney. In B. Ayers (Ed.), The Emperor’s Old Groove: Decolonizing Disney’s Magic Kingdom. New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bates, K. G. For Disney‘s New Princess, Short Courtiers Swarm. Morning Edition, November 24, 2009.

  • Bean, K. (2003). Stripping beauty: Disney’s feminist’ seduction. In B. Ayers (Ed.), The Emperor’s Old Groove: Decolonizing Disney’s Magic Kingdom. New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brode, D. (2006). Multiculturalism and the mouse: Race and sex in Disney entertainment. Austin: University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobble, D. R. (1991). Dishing it out: Waitresses and their unions in the twentieth century. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A. (2007). Good girls and wicked witches: changing representations of women in Disney’s feature animation, 1937–2001. Eastleigh: Johnny Libbey Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Du Bois, W. E. B. (1973). My Impressions of Woodrow Wilson. Reprinted in the Journal of Negro History, 58(4), 453–459.

  • Fischer, R. A. (1960). A pioneer protest: The New Orleans Street Car Controversy of 1867. Journal of Negro History, 53(3), 232–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, H. (1999). The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence. New York.

  • Grossman, G. H. (1988). Saturday Morning TV. New York: Random House Value Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holloway, J. E. (1990). Introduction. In J. E. Calloway (Ed.), Africanisms in American Culture. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover, P. (2000). Pair of Figures for Eshu: Doubling of Consciousness in the Work of Kerry James Marshall and Nathaniel Mackey. Callaloo, 23, 2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurston, Z. N. (1935, 1990). Mules and Men. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C. (2009). “Disney Adds African American Princess Tiana to Royal family”, USA Today, Feb. 16, 2009.

  • Lehman, C. P. (2007). The colored cartoon: Black representation in American animated short films, 1907–1954. Amherst: University of Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenburg, J. (1981). “The Archie Show”, the encyclopedia of animated cartoon series. Westport: Arlington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenburg, “Josie and the Pussy Cats,” The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoon Series.

  • Lenburg, “Star Trek,” The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoon Series.

  • Locke, A. (1925). The New Negro: An interpretation. New York: Boni.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lunardini, C. (1979). Standing firm: William Monroe Trotters’ Meeting with Woodrow Wilson, 1913–1914. Journal of Negro History, 64(3), 244–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLarin, K. Disney’s Frog Princess. Tell Me More, May 22, 2007.

  • O’Reilly, K. (1997). The Jim Crow Policies of Woodrow Wilson. Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 17, 117–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raz, G. The Symbolism of Disney’s Princess Tiana. All Things Considered, December 29, 2009.

  • Robertson, R. R. (2010). The Princess Diaries. Essence. pp 90–93.

  • Sampson, H. T. (1998). That’s enough folks: Black images in animated cartoons, 1900–1960. Lanham: The Scare Crow Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, A. A. (2002). Once Upon a Time: Images of Couples and Families in Disney Feature-Length Animated Film. M.A. thesis, Colorado State University.

  • Thompson, R. F. (1984). Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy. New York.

  • Thompson, R. F. (1995). Face of the Gods: The artists and their altars. African Arts, 28, 1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Colorado State University, 365 SE Aylesworth Hall, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1790, USA

    Richard M. Breaux

Authors
  1. Richard M. Breaux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard M. Breaux.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Breaux, R.M. After 75 Years of Magic: Disney Answers Its Critics, Rewrites African American History, and Cashes In on Its Racist Past. J Afr Am St 14, 398–416 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-010-9139-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-010-9139-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation