Disney's new animated feature 'The Princess and the Frog' was tops at the box office over the weekend.The new film, which opened nationwide Dec. 11, brought in close to $25 million at the domestic box office, making it the highest-grossing start ever for an animated movie in December.
According to studio estimates, its worldwide total is currently $32 million.
A new take on the Grimm Brothers' classic fairy tale about a prince turned into a frog, with the princess becoming the amphibian., 'Princess' features the voices of Tony Award winning actress Anika Noni Rose as Princess Tiana. The film, which takes place in New Orleans during the Jazz Age, is written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, who together worked their magic on 'Aladdin' and 'The Little Mermaid.'
The musical, which also features the voices of Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, Jenifer Lewis and Keith David, is Disney's first hand-drawn animated tale in five years – a departure to the computer-animated films that now dominate the animation industry.
Princess Tiana is making headlines as Disney's first African-American princess, but according to a spokesperson, she is also making history as the first American-born princess. Other notable "princess" characters – Snow White, Mulan, Cinderella – do not have native American birthplaces. Tiana does.
Other top earners over the weekend include the feel-good Sandra Bullock drama 'The Blind Side' ($15.4 million), Morgan Freeman's critically-acclaimed Nelson Mandela-inspired flick 'Invictus' ($9 million), the sensational vampire sequel 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' ($8 million) and Disney' other big animated movie of the season, 'A Christmas Carol' ($6,8 million).
Comments: (50)
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By: mimi on 12/14/2009 2:38PM
Why is everything about you men, it's a childrens film you are so damn insecure!
and i guess Disney is run by black women and we decided the script and love interest LOL...how many of you wealthy black men have married outside your race? 50% in the U.k are with women outside their race, the world is expanding, black women are in education more than before and are meeting and socislising with different races.
You men always want to control and abuse black women, instead of seeing them happy and supporting them you insult them as always, tell them their ugly, weave is horrible, no other men will want them. Im glad a film like this tells them not to limit themselves just to black men and some me who just want to use them as baby banks to fund their criminal lifestyles, wont put a ring on it, impreganate them have 8 baby mommas and don't want to commit,
WHY SHOULD 42% never married remain. They should look for love in all different races, is it not better to find love than end up alone.
EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO HAPPINESS :D
YOUR A DAMN DISGRACE OF A MAN, ARGUING OVER AND ABUSING AND BREKAING LITTLE GIRLS HEARTS OVER A CHILDRENS ANIMATION! Grow up!
The film is fantastic 5 starts! x
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By: 2Peace on 12/14/2009 3:21PM
Well, well, well:
Black folks snapping at one another over an ANIMATED FILM... this is what happens when folks take things a LITTLE TOO SERIOUSLY....
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By: cici on 12/14/2009 2:58PM
you pathetic man, how old r u? this is a great movie....u should grow up you have 2 much hate wats the big deal of the prince being whit(infact he is french, the movie is set in new orleans) not that, it matters but the point is there is no such thing black prince in america!!! that would be too unrealistic. and by the way how we decide who's in the movie or when did we say we wanted to have a white prince, its white ppl who run disney. this movie should appeal to anyone...newayz im sooo glad its doing big. p.s bring your hate elsewhere
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By: Hawkinz on 12/14/2009 5:04PM
The theme of this classic story is to NOT judge a person by their physical appearance, but instead love and appreciate them for who they are at heart.
While wonderful for children, clearly some adults would also benefit from understanding this timeless truth. =)
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By: Stacey Lewis on 12/14/2009 6:18PM
I have been anticipating the release of The Princess and the Frog for the last year! When I first heard that Disney was finally debuting an African American princess, I could hardly maintain my composure. Like most Americans, I have been enamored with Disney since my first visit to the Magic Kingdom in 1969, as a bright eyed and curious three year old. Through the years, Disney has been a staple in my life. My son celebrated his 5th birthday at the Magic Kingdom. We own every Disney movie known to man. So the introduction of a princess that not just resembled, but actually looked like that bright eyed three old, now turn 43 year old mother of two amazing daughters would be the icing on the cake.
To show how excited I was about this film, I purchased tickets to attend the exclusive premiere engagement of the film at the Walt Disney Studio in Burbank. Not one to do things in a small fashion, I purchased the Royal Package, which included reserved seating, commemorative beads and a limited edition lithograph picture. My daughters and I could hardly maintain ourselves as our premiere day rapidly approached. With all the TV commercials, advertisements and banners announcing The Princess and the Frog, we knew we were in for an event of a lifetime. Finally, it arrived! We had reservations for five (my two daughters, their friend, her mother and myself) for the 7:00 p.m. show of The Princess and the Frog!
We showed up an hour early, just to make sure we didn't miss anything! We parked and in the impeccable fashion of Disney, followed the "frog feet" that lead to the entrance. We showed our tickets, pontificated about the fact that the popcorn was not included in the $50 Royal Package, and followed "our yellow brick road" to the grand theater. Due to the fact that the movie has not been released nationally, we had to turn in our cellphones and go through a metal detector. A mere inconvenience for what was about to take place. We found our "royal" seats in the back of the theater and settled in for one of the "best films we had ever seen". I was shocked to see that the majority of the patrons in the theater did not look anything like me. However, let's face it....everyone loves Disney!
As the live entertainment played his last note and the lights dimmed, my heart started racing as I look over to the three young girls sitting next to me with smiles that appeared to be as wide as the building. The music came on, and my long awaited film began. I sat there a watched every single moment. I was in awe! Then my princess a.k.a Tiana turned into a frog! Now, I was okay with that because I knew that was part of the story. Here where things went south for me........................
I didn't realize that my princess was going to remain a frog for the greater part of the movie. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for her to again look like me and my daughters. As a matter of fact, at one point I thought Disney was going to send me into cardiac arrest and have her remain a frog. The next time I saw my princess' face was when she kissed frog Naveen and the two of them became human again. She stayed on the screen for another 5-7 minutes, and wala it was over and she was gone! There was brief silence, a small around of applause and everyone started exiting the theater. I sat in my chair, horrified and extremely disappointed! I could hardly speak. I looked over at my friend. The look on her face spoke the sentiments of my heart! Our three young girls were happy, yet surprisingly reserved. Walking out the theater, I said to my friend "So, what did you think?" She replied "Not right now. I need to gather my thoughts and regroup."
The two of us walked silently to the "interactive" show where all of the Disney Princesses were waiting to greet the guest. Our daughters ran around the room, taking photos with all of the princesses. I decided to go and retrieve my "limited edition lithograph". What awaited me was indescribable. I opened up the envelope and inside is a picture of my princess and Naveen as FROGS! Not as the beautiful princess she turned into. Not the handsome prince Naveen from Macedonia - but FROGS! I was done! My friend was so done, that she asked if we could leave and she left her lithograph at the lot. Speechless and stunned, the two of us just walked to our car in pure amazement. How could something so special be reduced to something so........demeaning? Of all the wonderful ads Disney has used to promote this movie, the only picture they could find for a "limited lithograph" was Tiana and Naveen as frogs! Wow!
Now, I am definitely not one to immediately jump onto the "race" bandwagon. I am astute enough to know that everything is not racial, however, I realize that some things are racial. I began to think of all the Disney princess movies (Snow White, Ariel, Mulan, Belle) and I cannot recall any of them not showing the face of the primary character throughout the film. So, that begs the question "why did Disney decide to go a different route with Princess Tiana?" "Why does she have to be a frog for the majority of the movie?" What is the subconscious message? I know, I know - folks are going to say that I should be glad that Disney finally created an African American princess. For the record, I do applaud Disney for their effort, however, that does not change the end result for me. I also realize that Disney has to appeal to the "masses", so this may have been their way of doing just that - having an African American princess and mass appeal! After all, would the masses sit in a movie theater and watch an animated African American girl for over an hour, with or without Disney's "rubber stamp?" Well, that remains to be seen.
Okay, realizing that I might have been reading a little too much into this whole frog thing, I did my own mini survey. A number of my friends attended the exclusive engagement. Not baiting them or even letting them know my disappointment, I personally asked all of the same question, "So, how did you like the movie." Every single one of them made the same or similar statement, " I was really disappointed about her being a frog for so long in the movie. That really bothered me." When I asked about the lithograph, the majority of them said they threw it in the trash, because they were appalled . Ah ha, so it wasn't just me. My feelings were real!
Hundred of people are going to flock the theater this weekend to see the debut of Princess Tiana. I'll let you be the judge. What's great about America is that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and we can always agree to disagree. To that end, again I have to say I appreciate Disney for their effort. Nonetheless, I would be remissed if I didn't express my sadness at the finish product. Many folks would argue that we are currently living in a post racial nation; yet I would contend that true progress continues to be slow. It continues to be slow.
Thank You,
Stacey Lewis, http://www.everywaywoman.com/
Title Blog Entry I have been anticipating the release of The Princess and the Frog for the last year! When I first heard that Disney was finally debuting an African American princess, I could hardly maintain my composure. Like most Americans, I have been enamored with Disney since my first visit to the Magic Kingdom in 1969, as a bright eyed and curious three year old. Through the years, Disney has been a staple in my life. My son celebrated his 5th birthday at the Magic Kingdom. We own every Disney movie known to man. So the introduction of a princess that not just resembled, but actually looked like that bright eyed three old, now turn 43 year old mother of two amazing daughters would be the icing on the cake.
To show how excited I was about this film, I purchased tickets to attend the exclusive premiere engagement of the film at the Walt Disney Studio in Burbank. Not one to do things in a small fashion, I purchased the Royal Package, which included reserved seating, commemorative beads and a limited edition lithograph picture. My daughters and I could hardly maintain ourselves as our premiere day rapidly approached. With all the TV commercials, advertisements and banners announcing The Princess and the Frog, we knew we were in for an event of a lifetime. Finally, it arrived! We had reservations for five (my two daughters, their friend, her mother and myself) for the 7:00 p.m. show of The Princess and the Frog!
We showed up an hour early, just to make sure we didn't miss anything! We parked and in the impeccable fashion of Disney, followed the "frog feet" that lead to the entrance. We showed our tickets, pontificated about the fact that the popcorn was not included in the $50 Royal Package, and followed "our yellow brick road" to the grand theater. Due to the fact that the movie has not been released nationally, we had to turn in our cellphones and go through a metal detector. A mere inconvenience for what was about to take place. We found our "royal" seats in the back of the theater and settled in for one of the "best films we had ever seen". I was shocked to see that the majority of the patrons in the theater did not look anything like me. However, let's face it....everyone loves Disney!
As the live entertainment played his last note and the lights dimmed, my heart started racing as I look over to the three young girls sitting next to me with smiles that appeared to be as wide as the building. The music came on, and my long awaited film began. I sat there a watched every single moment. I was in awe! Then my princess a.k.a Tiana turned into a frog! Now, I was okay with that because I knew that was part of the story. Here where things went south for me........................
I didn't realize that my princess was going to remain a frog for the greater part of the movie. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for her to again look like me and my daughters. As a matter of fact, at one point I thought Disney was going to send me into cardiac arrest and have her remain a frog. The next time I saw my princess' face was when she kissed frog Naveen and the two of them became human again. She stayed on the screen for another 5-7 minutes, and wala it was over and she was gone! There was brief silence, a small around of applause and everyone started exiting the theater. I sat in my chair, horrified and extremely disappointed! I could hardly speak. I looked over at my friend. The look on her face spoke the sentiments of my heart! Our three young girls were happy, yet surprisingly reserved. Walking out the theater, I said to my friend "So, what did you think?" She replied "Not right now. I need to gather my thoughts and regroup."
The two of us walked silently to the "interactive" show where all of the Disney Princesses were waiting to greet the guest. Our daughters ran around the room, taking photos with all of the princesses. I decided to go and retrieve my "limited edition lithograph". What awaited me was indescribable. I opened up the envelope and inside is a picture of my princess and Naveen as FROGS! Not as the beautiful princess she turned into. Not the handsome prince Naveen from Macedonia - but FROGS! I was done! My friend was so done, that she asked if we could leave and she left her lithograph at the lot. Speechless and stunned, the two of us just walked to our car in pure amazement. How could something so special be reduced to something so........demeaning? Of all the wonderful ads Disney has used to promote this movie, the only picture they could find for a "limited lithograph" was Tiana and Naveen as frogs! Wow!
Now, I am definitely not one to immediately jump onto the "race" bandwagon. I am astute enough to know that everything is not racial, however, I realize that some things are racial. I began to think of all the Disney princess movies (Snow White, Ariel, Mulan, Belle) and I cannot recall any of them not showing the face of the primary character throughout the film. So, that begs the question "why did Disney decide to go a different route with Princess Tiana?" "Why does she have to be a frog for the majority of the movie?" What is the subconscious message? I know, I know - folks are going to say that I should be glad that Disney finally created an African American princess. For the record, I do applaud Disney for their effort, however, that does not change the end result for me. I also realize that Disney has to appeal to the "masses", so this may have been their way of doing just that - having an African American princess and mass appeal! After all, would the masses sit in a movie theater and watch an animated African American girl for over an hour, with or without Disney's "rubber stamp?" Well, that remains to be seen.
Okay, realizing that I might have been reading a little too much into this whole frog thing, I did my own mini survey. A number of my friends attended the exclusive engagement. Not baiting them or even letting them know my disappointment, I personally asked all of the same question, "So, how did you like the movie." Every single one of them made the same or similar statement, " I was really disappointed about her being a frog for so long in the movie. That really bothered me." When I asked about the lithograph, the majority of them said they threw it in the trash, because they were appalled . Ah ha, so it wasn't just me. My feelings were real!
Hundred of people are going to flock the theater this weekend to see the debut of Princess Tiana. I'll let you be the judge. What's great about America is that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and we can always agree to disagree. To that end, again I have to say I appreciate Disney for their effort. Nonetheless, I would be remissed if I didn't express my sadness at the finish product. Many folks would argue that we are currently living in a post racial nation; yet I would contend that true progress continues to be slow. It continues to be slow.
Thank You,
Stacey Lewis, http://www.everywaywoman.com/
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By: loved it on 12/14/2009 6:42PM
you are reading too much into it Ms. Lewis. Aurora was asleep the whole movie in Sleeping Beauty, Ariel wasn't even human and when she was she couldn't speak, Cinderella was a maid servant, Belle was into beastiality. It was just a twist on the story and Tiana had to be a frog to find love because if she would've stayed human she would've kept on working hard for her restaurant and not looking for love. I loved the movie.
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By: Kekeli on 12/15/2009 7:45AM
Ms. Lewis, Your comments are on point. It reminds me of when teen and bridal magazines debuted Black women on the covers: we supported them for years with no type of love back, but when they finally showed our faces, we "shared" the cover with White women, by being in group shots. It was a step, but horribly disappointing. Things opened up slowly, but we were still pushed into the background, with the overwhelming percentage of representation (white faces) not matching the support (ours and other races). I was initally excited about Tiana as well. The little girl in all of us has been waiting decades for such change, only to be slapped in the face with...webbed flippers! Africa has real Black princesses. Please get your daughters (or yourself) African Princess by Joyce Hansen. It shows the real lives of Africa's royal women. We had the royalty thing down long before Disney tentatively reached for a brown marker (and quickly switched it to green!). Teach them about Elizabeth Toro of Uganda. As for "loved it"'s remark, she should change her name to "doesn't get it". As for me and my house, we ill serve the bootleg man on this one! Great blog, by the way.
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By: Barbara on 12/16/2009 5:20AM
I felt I was right there with you the entire time on the roller coaster of feelings you had experienced before, during and, most importantly, after you saw the film. Your ability to express your emotions in a manner that made me feel as tho I was experiencing them myself, is something quite special and if you presently don't write, as a profession, you surely must be missing the boat. I was expecting this huge crescendo at the end of the story and experienced instead, a let down of enormous proportions ... and I am not a black woman. Perhaps Disney should employ you to assist in their next ATTEMPT to be socially correct.
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By: alexa on 12/14/2009 8:31PM
i haven't seen the movie yet but i will definitely make an aeffort to leave my house and see this movie.
@mike
you are very prethatic, your so insercure, how are you going to blame black women about what disney have done. finally little black girls have a princess that looks, and your going on about little boys being misinterpreted it. it's black man who needs to stand up for boys. be a father to them, show them how to love women and appreciate them not be a minasce to society. little girsl growing up without a father a round, when they reached adulthood, you would think they are posess. too many black man are prison, to told you to rob that liquor store, shot your own brother in the back, beat up your kids, set you wife and G/F on fire, violates and destroy your mother, wives,sister and your daughters. that's why today most black kids who now adults have been through the systems. no black women told you to do no such a thing.
stop going on the down low, stop bringing aids to your wives and kids, stop shaming the black women. STOP
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By: CG on 12/14/2009 10:15PM
If you're going to "go off," please use proper English. This is giving me a headache.
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