New Disney Princesses

[Miss Friendship]

Voodoo?!? Witchcraft?!!!

[Doll]

Voodoo?!? Witchcraft?!!!

Yes, sadly, these are both prevelant topics in The princess and the Frog.

[TigerShadow]

I've got to be the only one who wasn't bothered by that. I actually thought it was a unique way, storytelling-wise, to integrate the magic that's usually used in Disney movies into the film. I mean, obviously voodoo isn't okay to practice, but it is worth pointing out that the conflict is started in the first place because the male protagonist was messing with it.

[Miss Friendship]

Well I wouldn't be comfortable watching anything that involves something that is connected to the satanic world, and something God clearly says He despises. I believe we can't be too careful in this area. I mean, is this movie telling about the evils of voodoo? If it's not, its promoting it.

[TigerShadow]

You can go research the movie (via Wikipedia, the Disney wiki, or any other source that will tell you the plot) to determine if it's good to watch or not. The central theme of the movie, though, is that no matter how much you dream and wish to accomplish something, you actually have to put the work in and do it without losing sight of love and family. The main antagonist is a feared voodoo witch doctor, Doctor Facilier, nicknamed "The Shadow Man", who meets his end by way of the same power he tried to manipulate. I will say that there is a "good" voodoo priestess who helps the protagonists, but she does so not by casting a spell but by telling them that they need to look at their lives and figure out what they really need as individuals instead of simply chasing their superficial desires. Basically, one of the themes of the movie is that taking shortcuts to accomplish something instead of getting off your butt and working for it is a really bad idea, and that ultimately you get out of something what you put into it.

Getting back on topic, I think it would be nice if Disney adapted some folk tales from African, Middle Eastern, Polynesian, East Asian, and Native American cultures, so that we could have more diverse stories than just traditional European fairy tales.

[Blitz]

I haven't watched many of these. I personally don't care much. How do people remember soo many movies?

[Emma]

You see the movie's. (as a child anyways) You read books. (Those lame ones that leave out the villains) You hear about them.... ALL THE TIME. (from your annoying little sisters) Then the people that you've never met that come up to you and say, "What's your favorite Disney Princess?"

That is how, Blitz. (Plus a few other reasons I left out cause I am wanting to finish typing this post.)

[TigerShadow]

Speaking from personal experience, I remember the movies because when I get invested in something, I make it my sworn duty to make sure that I know everything any human being could ever need to know about it.

To quote Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, I'm not dumb - I just have a command of thoroughly useless information.

[Bethany Shepard]

I would love to see a Japanese princess. With a actual accent (unlike most). Maybe set in a more resent time.

Mulan was Chinese, but I'd love to see less Americanized. More true to culture and not just religion and honor.

[Mickey]

^ That would be cool! I think maybe they could make an English princess!

[Rosy]

^ That would be cool! I think maybe they could make an English princess!

I think there's plenty of English-type princess already, seeing as how Snow White, Aurora, Belle, Ariel, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Elsa, Anna, and Merida are all from Europe.

[Mickey]

^ That would be cool! I think maybe they could make an English princess!

I think there's plenty of English-type princess already, seeing as how Snow White, Aurora, Belle, Ariel, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Elsa, Anna, and Merida are all from Europe.

Ya I wasn't thinking about them And who is Merida?

[TigerShadow]

The protagonist of Pixar's Brave, which is set in Scotland.

[Paula]

She also has an amazingly awesome accent =]

[Bethany Shepard]

Why can't all the Disney princesses have their own accents like Merida? Irritatin'. That's what it is.

[Paula]

I Know riiiiight!! We should revolt

[Pound Foolish]

Yeah, any semblance to actual voodoo in that movie is very superficial. Also, it's odd how people don't necessarily make much noise about the kind wizard in Narnia or The Wizard of Oz. What do you think those people do in real life?

And are we getting into there aren't enough princess minorities discussion? Because if so an explosion is coming on. Meaning me and I will be exploding and it won't be pretty. Disney is the rich empire it is because it does what it does the way it does. Disney exists because of Snow White. Snow White was a fairy tale and sorry but the fairytales are mainly written by the Grimms and Hans Christian Anderson and they were white. Also, since their characters are always encountering beings from white lore and since the old illustrations always show them white so are the characters!

That being said, minorities are still refreshing when we get them. With Moana, it's too early to say of course. It is cool this is going to be a minority race film even if that means none of the traditional European castles and such. What worries me is there's no magic in any of the concept art released so far. Magic is so much of what made Frozen stand out. It finally let animated Disney magic loose in all its glory and the result was a breathtaking ice castle created in minutes. If they're not going there they really need to deliver on the story angle like Tangled and lately Disney and animation in general really hasn't hit that mark as often.

[Eleventh Doctor]

Like Tiger Shadow said, adapt some folk tales from African, Middle Eastern, Polynesian, East Asian, and Native American cultures. Europe isn't the only place in the world.

[Rosy]

A young woman uses her navigational talents to set sail for a fabled island. Joining her on the adventure is her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui.

So I'm pretty sure some level of magic and mythology will be involved.
And I'm pretty much in 100% agreement with 11th and TigerShadow.

[Pound Foolish]

Precisely my point, those are folk tales. Fairy tales are a specific genre and that's what has brought in the Disney bucks. The ball gowns, the European castles, the magical sparkles.

By contrast, the monetary success of Mulan is considerable but doesn't compare to, say, Beauty and the Beast. And The Princess and the Frog was a highly unfortunate nail in the coffin of American 2D.

That said, I am one hundred percent in favor of adapting other countries' stories. The difficulty being those are their stories whereas ours are already known and precious to us. Our lives would be much emptier without Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella and Rapunzel.