海角大神

Though I have no recollection of it, the first movie my dad ever brought me to see in a theater was a special 40th anniversary reshowing of the 1946 Disney movie 鈥淪ong of the South.鈥� If it doesn鈥檛 quite sound familiar, that鈥檚 because the film has never been released on home video.

It鈥檚 never trotted out of the Disney vault because it has become a cultural flash point 鈥� with most people agreeing that its characterization of blacks in the post-Civil War South is racist. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has said the film gives the impression of 鈥渁n idyllic master-slave relationship.鈥� 鈥淪ong of the South鈥� was made at a curious time in our nation鈥檚 long struggle with race 鈥� almost 80 years after slavery was abolished, but still well before the Civil Rights Movement.

For millennials like me who are only now gaining political footing in the Age of Obama, it鈥檚 both fascinating and appalling to think that 鈥淪ong of the South鈥� was not only considered acceptable entertainment, it was actually celebrated (the main black actor in the film, James Baskett, won a special Oscar for it).

Now, flash forward to Disney鈥檚 latest release, 鈥�The Princess and the Frog,鈥� where the studio鈥檚 first black princess, Tiana, makes her debut.

Disney doesn鈥檛 emphasize Tiana鈥檚 race 鈥� the only nod to it seems to come when two local businessmen suggest that she might not be up to her dream of owning a restaurant because of her 鈥渂ackground.鈥� Perhaps in an age when the president is actually black, the studio is counting on its audience to find it unremarkable that a fictional heroine also happens to be black.

Tiana鈥檚 race is also a moot point because she spends much of the film as a frog. But while it never tackles race head-on, the film does juxtapose lightness and darkness throughout. The benevolent characters literally light up their surroundings, while the bad ones often exist only in the forms of dark, lurking shadows.

Though not a poster girl for blackness, Tiana does seem to be a princess created specifically as a challenge to the values of this generation, with its spoiled, entitled reputation. She holds a regular-girl waitress job, and, like a true recession princess, puts every penny away. Whereas 鈥�The Little Mermaid鈥� heroine Ariel actually sang an entire number about being unfulfilled despite being 鈥渢he girl who has everything,鈥� Tiana would never dream of wanting a bunch of stuff to begin with. When an old voodoo woman sings to her that 鈥渕oney ain鈥檛 got no soul,鈥� Tiana needs no convincing.

Real-life girls might have trouble digesting this message 鈥� I saw the film at a special screening at Burbank鈥檚 Walt Disney Studios, where tickets cost $30 each and came with a special princess meet-and-greet after the show.

But if Disney has decided that finally, princess do come in all colors, it still believes that they come only in one size. Tiana鈥檚 perfect, Size-0 frame already has some parents worried that they鈥檒l be providing their daughters with yet another message that waif is the only acceptable body size. Tiana does, however, exemplify the progress Disney has made in our ever-evolving portrayals of race on the big screen. My, oh my, what a wonderful day.

Sara Libby is a writer and editor in Los Angeles.