Fix It Ralph: Disney reanimates Wreck It Ralph scenes after whitewashing Black princess
Anyone who has seen the trailer for Disney’s upcoming Wreck-It Ralphsequel may have noticed a scene that included all of the previous Disney princesses, including Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.
However, she didn’t look anything like the 2009 film. This Princess Tiana was lighter skinned with a narrow nose and curly hair and that raised the ire of viewers accusing the company of whitewashing its only black princess.
Well, according to the Wall Street Journal, Disney has corrected the error and reanimated the scenes with a more true-to-life looking Tiana.
Brandi Dexter, a senior campaign director with Color of Change – an advocacy organization that focuses on issues of racial representation and political inequality, including portrayals of black characters in Hollywood – traveled to Disney’s Burbank headquarters last week for a review of the changes, which she described as having darker hair and a wider nose and fuller lips.
In a statement last Thursday, Color of Change praised Disney’s decision to “restore Princess Tiana’s image to that of an unapologetically black princess with full lips, dark skin and dark hair.”
Disney got feedback from Anika Noni Rose, who voices Tiana in the film, along with representatives from Color of Change. Tiana was the latest in a line of animated films that Disney produced centered around nonwhite princesses including Mulan and Pocahontas.
Tiana’s 2009 debut was seen as a complete 180-degree shift from its questionable history. Its infamous 1946 film Song of the South has been widely viewed as racist in its depiction of African-Americans. So much so that it and has never been released for home video in the U.S.
