Looking at the headlines that screamed out, I was a little saddened. For centuries the film industry (including Disney) has portrayed black people in a negative way, especially black women. Now some are attempting to put things right in this area. They have come up with a film where the beauty in the film, is 'black'. And we have absolute shock horror amongst racists who can't stand the thought of it! It's really quite ridiculous. For absolute centuries we have been fed the lie of Caucasina 'beauty' and Caucasian superiority. Sickening white supremicist garbage. But thankfull not everyone was brainwashed and fooled.by the film industries racist garbage.
As one of the most scrutinised films in Disney's history, The Princess And The Frog has been carrying the heavy burden of expectation on its slender shoulders ever since its inception four years ago.
Not only was the film going to herald a return to 2D, hand-drawn animation after a near glut of 3D fare, but it was to feature the first black princess in Disney's 86-year history.
Before a pencil had even been put to paper, concerns were rife: attempting to resurrect an artform that many considered dead was one thing, but dodging the expected race bullets was another.
From the start, the film was plagued with accusations that it had committed a series of racial faux-pas - based on rumours surrounding leaked versions of the script - but if the animators were feeling the pressure, they didn't let it show.
Today sees the release of The Princess And The Frog in the UK, and having already wowed critics in the U.S., the film-makers can afford to breathe a well-earned sigh of relief.
To say it had a lot riding on it is an understatement. Although Disney had 'princesses of colour' as protagonists before (in the 1995 film Pocahontas and in 1998's Mulan), it has found it hard to shake off its reputation of racial insensitivity.
A quick look at Disney characters stretching back in time will uncover certain questionable caricatures (the jive-talking monkeys in 1967 film The Jungle Book being one famous case).
So the film-makers have gone out of their way to ensure that this film would not make similar mistakes. And indeed the film, which has Oprah Winfrey voicing the princess's mother, has been widely hailed as a success - critically, politically and, most importantly, with audiences who simply want a great story well told.
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