MovieChat Forums > The Princess and the Frog (2009) Discussion > Will there ever be a black prince?

Will there ever be a black prince?

posted 8 years ago by corazonbandido55
6 replies | jump to latest

I realize that the Disney royalty brand is geared more to girls than boys, but I can't help but feel that not having a black prince is a huge sore spot for Disney. It may come off as Disney thinking that a black man is not fit for royalty.

I understand the difficulty in making a black prince. There isn't really a black fairy tale that talks about black nobility in a European royalty type way, which is what everyone associates with fairy tales. This film may have been a missed opportunity to bring both a black prince and princess to the Disney canon in an African tribal settting instead.

Does anyone see a scenario where a black prince can still make it to a Disney princess film?

[–] carrot_handvo 8 years ago

It doesn't have to be tribal. It can be an ancient african kingdom. Zimbabwe, Mali, Ethiopia, Sudan, Timbuktu, etc

[–] stareyes24 8 years ago

I was getting ready to post the same thing. They could have made him a prince from South Africa or remember the movie "Coming to America", he could have been a prince like him. This was a wonderful and missed opportunity for Disney.

[–] HarveyManfredSinJohn 8 years ago

Imagine the outcry if a rich white society girl from the South got engaged to a black man, even a prince, in the 1920s.

Of course, I hope there will be a black prince in a future Disney film , but this didn't have to be the film, and besides, mixed-race relationships should be positively portrayed in these films, and that's what The Princess and the Frog did.

[–] southerndude 8 years ago

It would be cool if Disney made a film based off of an ancient west African kingdom, and they could have Eddie Murphy to play either a king or a prince. He could bring back his voice from Coming to America.

[–] louiseculmer 8 years ago

I couldn't make out whether Naveen was a light skinned black man or a dark skinned white man. either way, it didn't make much sense. If he was white, he couldn't marry Tiana in 1920s New Orleans, if he was black, Charlotte's father would never have let him anywhere near her. Setting it in an african country would have avoided this sort of confusion.

[–] telmarine (424) 4 years ago

Prince Naveen was neither black nor white. He is from a fictional country inspired from Asian Indian or Latino background. The African tribal setting proposal, while historically accurate, would deprive us of a black princess in the same vein as Cinderella or Ariel. Granted, we didn’t get that with Moana, Pocahontas or Mulan, but I think the issue of racial inequality is more pronounced with injustice against blacks. I am ok with this setting - you can tell Disney was being very careful about how to introduce Tiana.

Now about the black prince. It’s still possible to bring one in, but it will likely be another interracial couple. Possibly a black prince and a Hispanic princess. We still don’t have one of those either. Either way, I’m still thinking both are on the horizon eventually.