You can call Prince Naveen the male lead, though he may not be the most eligible bachelor around, at least not until Tiana comes along to give him a kiss on his reptilian smackers. Yes, it's the tale of The Frog Prince that has got itself a whole new twist in Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
The jazz-loving Prince (Bruno Campos) takes off to the hometown of the genre, Louisiana. The royal soon finds himself in a bit of a pickle when things go awry with a voodoo doctor (Keith David). The only way he can rid himself of the slimy green countenance is by the kiss of true love. This is where Tiana gets to play 'rescue.'
But it's not that easy. First, the fairytale takes us back in time to Mardi gras in New Orleans, and fills it up with great music and incredible characters - a 197-year-old voodoo priestess, a love-sick Cajun firefly, and a trumpet-playing alligator.
While the animation film has stacked up on favourable reviews, there's a bit of dodgy stuff being said about it.
True, Tiana is Disney's first African-American princess. But the Prince with an Indian name and voiced by Brazilian looks more white than the skin tone that would belong to the character of that name, or the person voicing it. Speculations are rife over this discrepancy.
Do we spot a patriarchal trait by keeping the hero of the movie as a 'white' man, meaning age-old notion of supremacy? The lack of colour not only harps on race but feminism as well. But maybe we're just seeing it as a half-empty glass.
In today's world of shrinking boundaries, should colour matter? Why can't they be seen as a fab blend of races, in other words, a very pleasing inter-racial couple? At the end of the day, there is no such thing as black and white, and Disney has successfully given us a fairy tale to cherish despite all the debate.
Here's a look at the stills from this exciting new Disney flick that's the talk of the town!
Text: Sify.com
Watch Videos: Tiana in 'The Princess and the Frog' | Lewis on `The Princess and the Frog`
