In January, we got our latest look at the protagonist heroine of Disney‘s new animated feature The Princess and the Frog which, as you all should know by now, is Disney‘s first Black princess. Today, we get our first look at her prince in the movie … he’s the guy that she saves (a la Belle in Beauty and the Beast) in the upcoming animated feature:

While some short-sighted people may take issue with Princess Tiana and her handsome Prince Naveen, I absolutely applaud Disney‘s decision to pair these two characters together in a romantic relationship. After the jump, check out what Prince Naveen looks like, er, when he’s not a frog …

It has been a year of firsts for black Americans, most notably with Barack Obama becoming the first black president and his wife as the First Lady. That trend is set to continue as Disney prepares to release its first animated film featuring a black princess. Called ‘The Princess and the Frog’, the musical has an African-American called Princess Tiana as the main character. Her eagerly-awaited appearance will be the first time the company has chosen to have a black princess in the lead role. Since the fairy tale characters first appeared in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ in 1937, all but two of the Disney princesses have been white. A Native American princess was featured in ‘Pocahontas’ and Jasmine, a Middle Eastern princess, in ‘Aladdin.’ But until Princess Tiana there had yet to be a true black princess among the roster of animated characters. Critics have hailed Disney’s decision, saying it reflects modern America. But the task of creating the film, which will be released at Christmas, has not been without controversy. The latest centres on the decision to make Princess Tiana’s love interest appear white. The character is called Prince Naveen of Maldonia and is voiced by Brazilian actor Bruno Campos. But in photographs from the film just released by Disney some argue that he looks white. Viewers in African American internet chat rooms and blogs have slammed Disney for not having a black prince, complaining that having a white prince set out the wrong message. One wrote: “I think its sad that he is white because its saying that black love isn’t good enough and that black men could never be princes. Disney had the perfect chance to make its first black prince, but instead it decided to go the controversial route.” Another complained: “I am very disappointed and I wished Disney would of made the prince black -and the ironic thing is the prince in the movie is white but the evil voodoo villain is voiced by a black actor and is black.” Since announcing their plans for the first black princess in 2006 the production of Hollywood studio’s 49th animated film has been dogged by controversy. Originally called The Frog Princess, its heroine was to be a chambermaid called Maddy working for a spoilt white debutante in 1920s New Orleans. But it sparked a backlash from critics who claimed it reinforced prejudice and demeaned black people. Even the setting and story for the film, the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1920s, was questioned as it had overtones of voodoo and slavery. Disney has insisted its choice of a black princess is to give their characters as much diversity as possible … Anika Noni Rose, the actress who voices the character of Princess Tiana, has insisted that people should look beyond the colour of the character. “Not only is she the first black princess, she’s the first American princess. We’ve never had an American princess,” said Rose. “The scope and the significance is larger than people even realize.” Rose has starred in ‘Dreamgirls’ but is best known in Britain as the officious secretary Grace in the new BBC series ‘The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency’. The film also features the voice of chat show queen Oprah Winfrey as Tiana’s mother called Eudora and is scheduled for release in December. Although set in 1920s New Orleans it is an adaptation of the classic tale The Frog Prince. In the Disney version Prince Naveen is turned into a frog by a voodoo magician and asks Princess Tiana to kiss him to break the spell. But she turns into a frog and the pair must reverse the spell, while in fairy tale tradition, fall in love.

It’s really unfortunate that things always have to come back to skin color … even with something as seemingly light-hearted as a children’s animated film. On the one hand, I suppose I can see the point of some critics that feel that it is also time for an Black prince to be featured in an Disney film. For me, tho, the fact that the characters are of different races expresses that love knows no color. In the end, it is impossible to please everyone … no matter what changes are made to the story, someone will take issue with something. I think I’d rather celebrate the arrival of Disney‘s first Black princess rather than find something else to be bitter and angry about. Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen make a very hawt couple, don’t you think?

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