For once, it seems the story of a big Hollywood studio facing criticisms over poor representation ended with a happily ever after.
In the months since teasers for Wreck-It Ralph sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet, started showing a Disney princess reunion scene, fans have been calling out the studio behind the movie for whitewashing one of its few princesses of color: Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.
According to a statement from advocacy group Color of Change and a report in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Sept. 20, Disney actually listened and re-did her scenes.
When a new image of Tiana from Ralph surfaced back in May, fans quickly pointed to the dramatic difference between this 2018 version of the first black Disney princess versus her original design in 2008. Most notably, her skin looked several shades whiter and her corkscrew curls were reduced to messy tresses more akin to Merida’s from Brave.
Stranger still, previous images and trailers of Ralph Breaks the Internet depicted Tiana in much the same way as she appeared in her original movie. Then in August, Entertainment Weekly published new images of the princesses in a slumber party type scenario.
While all the Disney princesses’ appearances changed somewhat to fit the different animation style of Wreck-It Ralph, the more drastic changes made to Tiana invited criticisms of whitewashing and colorism.
For once, those critiques were met with actual change from the studio rather than half-assed excuses.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney went through the process of reanimating the scenes in question based on feedback from Tiana’s voice actress Anika Noni Rose, and representatives from Color of Change. The advocacy group, known for fighting against inequality and racism in portrayals of black characters in media, met with the animators and reviewed the changes to help ensure the problems were addressed properly.
One senior campaign director from Color of Change, Brandi Collins-Dexter, reportedly went to Disney’s headquarters, describing the changes to Tiana as giving her character, “darker hair and a wider nose and mouth.”
Color of Change president Rashad Robinson celebrated this rare win for positive representation in a tweet, writing:
“Princess Tiana has been restored to her original depiction. Now when Black girls watch
#WreckItRalph2, they’ll see Tiana and other princess of color that actually looks like them on screen#BlackGirlMagic that Disney had restored “Princess Tiana’s image to that of an unapologetically black princess with full lips, dark skin and dark hair.”
Mashable has reached out to both Disney and Color of Change for confirmation or comment on the story, and will update this article with any responses.
Just watched the new Wreck It Ralph trailer and:
1. Thank you for making Princess Tiana her actual color again. Should’ve never changed that to begin with
2. Movie looks dope. Trying to go see it with somebody’s daughter— Tittynope of Tolerance (@Only_After_Ours) September 21, 2018
It’s important to praise these vital steps in the right direction. But as some people pointed out online, examples like these are evidence of why diversity among animators, producers, and writers matters — especially at big studios like Disney.
Disney’s influence over young children and culture at large cannot be overstated. It is the studio’s responsibility to make sure its audience, which very much includes young black girls, see themselves represented accurately in the glamorous spotlight of a Disney princess.
The company has made strides toward this in the past decade, with beloved hits like Moana adding to the diversity of the still predominantly white lineup of Disney princesses. Visibility matters, and as shown in the case of Tiana, the details of that visibility matter too.
Hopefully in the future, more people of color will be in positions of power at the studio to ensure things like this are done right the first time around.
You can catch Ralph Breaks the Internet and the newly restored beauty of Tiana in theaters on Nov. 21.
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