In a press release last Friday, Disney revealed some new details about this upcoming Princess and the Frog attraction at the ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans. The event featured jazz music and a Q&A with the imagineers who worked on the ride as well as Stella Chase, the daughter of the late Chef Leah Chase, who provided inspiration for Tiana's character. It looks like it was a lot of fun to attend and reminds me of the 10th anniversary event I went to for the film in 2019. The press release features video footage of an interview panel with Stella Chase in which she discloses the positive princess traits that her grandmother brought to the character such as chasing after her dreams and accepting people from all walks of life at her restaurant. These are indeed admirable traits that were represented beautifully in the film, but this interview discussion has very little to do with the ride itself.
Another topic discussed at the ESSENCE Fest in the press release is the new outfit that was designed for Tiana to wear on this ride, which takes place after the ending of the film. Despite being a frog for most of her movie, Tiana has more original looks in her premiere film than any other Disney Princess, so this adventuring gear is just one more historical dress up piece to add to her extensive closet. Costume Designer Ida Muldrow forgoes Tiana's glamorous gowns for a pair of 1920s style khakis, a yellow button-down shirt, red bandana ascot, cloche hat, and hiking boots perfect for navigating the swampy terrain of the bayou. The ride is the first time since Wreck-It Ralph 2 that Tiana is featured with her hair down, an intentional decision to show off her glamorous curls and place emphasis on the versatility of black women's hair and its significance to their identity around the world. The new look reflects how "Tiana was equally at home in the bayou as she was at a banquet". It makes sense for her to wear something more comfortable for this adventure after instead of any of the fancy gowns Charlotte leant her in the film.
One thing that surprised me about this press release is the lack of references to the original Splash Mountain ride. I know it's a controversial topic, but if the ride is being rethemed to be about Tiana, some things will likely remain the same, such as the log flumes and the big drop. How will they justify falling down a big waterfall as part of Tiana's story? It may seem like a silly question for any other theme park ride, but Disney is all about storytelling. Splash Mountain takes you on a complete journey with colorful characters from Song of the South. Similarly, Tiana's Bayou Adventure is supposed to immerse parkgoers in Tiana's first Mardi Gras as a princess alongside friends like Louis. I would have loved to hear more about how the ride would function to tell this story, but the event seemed to focus entirely on the culture behind the ride's retheming. The short film about the research the imagineers did in New Orleans seems to avoid telling us anything about the actual ride. However, I'm sure there will be more specifics revealed as we get closer to the release date in two years.
As a big fan of Princess Tiana, I am cautiously excited for this "new" ride that will replace one I was mostly indifferent to. It was great to see so many people come together to celebrate the film at the ESSENCE festival, and I love how much care they are taking in being authentic to the culture of New Orleans and the 1920s. I just wish I knew more about the ride itself as the press release seemed to discuss everything but. Are you eager for a Princess and the Frog ride to join the ranks of the Disney Parks, or would you rather see something brand new featuring these characters? Let me know in the comments!
Only one month after my recent obsession with Find Me in Paris , the time-traveling ballerina princess drama dropped its third and final season on Hulu today. Though somewhat predictable, this season offered a satisfying conclusion to the show's unique concept that combined dance with science fiction and tied up all remaining loose ends from the previous seasons. We finally learned the truth about Lena's birth and why she's always being chased by anyone remotely interested in time travel. Nearly every character got paired off at the end, even if it meant some questionable decisions on behalf of the writers. The season also offered some of the most beautiful dance sequences in the show yet for its key story moments. While I could have done without the repetitive recap sequences, the final episodes made it clear that this was always meant to be the end and gave the cast and crew many happy memories to look back upon. The final season of Find Me in Paris incorporated the ...
The latest princess movie on Netflix is inspired by an old Japanese legend, but it isn't a direct retelling \like The Tale of Princess Kaguya . Instead, Cosmic Princess Kaguya takes place in a futuristic world where most young people are obsessed with a popular virtual reality game, similar to the anime movie Belle . It also follows the recent trope of modern musicals like Six and Between the Lines of taking back the narrative by attempting to give Kaguya a happier ending than she had in the fairy tale. Many aspects of the movie are fun and interesting, but it tends to jump around between too many different ideas. Cosmic Princess Kaguya tells the story of Iroha, a teenage girl whose mother all but abandoned her, leaving her to grow up quickly at a young age. When she finds a baby trapped in a utility pole, she struggles with the decision to take it in or bring it to the police. The baby magically grows into a preteen overnight and bonds with Iroha, wh...
As soon as I saw the previews for Netflix's new animated series, Unicorn Academy , I couldn't get over how similar it looked to Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders . Teenagers forming magical bonds with unicorns to save the world from evil? Yes, please! With a Jewel Riders graphic novel on the horizon, this is the perfect time to revisit that premise. Unicorn Academy is loosely based on a book series of the same name that got picked up by Netflix and recently aired its first season. The premiere movie and successive eight episodes follow six unicorns and their riders on their quest to protect the magical realm from the evil Ravenzella, who performed reprehensible acts to previous generations, including the father of the main character, Sophia. The show contains a lot of teen angst and drama as well as rainbows, sparkles, and magic. Although Unicorn Academy features an entire school full of unicorn riders training to be protectors, it only focuses on the six students liv...
Today is a major accomplishment for me. I started this blog 100 days ago, and I've managed to write a new post in it every day since then. Some of the topics were easier to come up with than others. I also had to go back and edit some after the fact due to poor proofreading. Speaking of which, I'm really sorry about the disastrous short story from my first Story Saturday post . The whole thing was written on my phone on the way to a Mermaid Art Show event in San Diego, so I was a little distracted. I promise to put more effort into future Story Saturdays, which should be easier now that I will no longer be writing new posts every day. Don't worry, though. I will still keep everyone informed of the latest princess news and review all the new princess movies and specials. Without further ado, in celebration of my 100th post, here is a list of 100 princesses with all of the posts I've made about them (in no particular order). Thank you so much for reading my blog. 1-11:...
Today is the day that Disney's live-action Snow White comes out on Disney+, providing an opportunity for the many people who did not see it in theaters to watch it. In honor of this occasion, I have explored many of the previous live-action interpretations of this character that have come before. Although I still have strong feelings about remaking the first feature-length animated movie of all time in a live-action format, I did not think that Disney's newest adaptation was the worst one. Yet, it had so much competition from its predecessors that it did seem a bit unnecessary. Let's explore all the live-action Snow Whites that came before and see where this one falls. Please note that this is purely for fun and not an official ranking by any means. All opinions are my own. Feel free to share yours in the comments, whether you agree or disagree with my list.. 10. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) I tried to watch this movie again recently because I didn't remember i...
The first time I saw preview footage from Bye Sweet Carole , I thought it had been rotoscoped from Disney's Beauty and the Beast . It wasn't, but this perception was a result of the game's distinct look that is reminiscent of hand-drawn films from Disney's Renaissance and Golden Age eras. The nostalgic aesthetic is a huge selling point for the game. It is difficult to find anything in the modern era that recreates this style so perfectly. The game's protagonist, Lana, bears features that are similar to the character models for both Belle and Snow White. It is not unheard of for a video game to use hand-drawn animation. Dragon's Lair and Cuphead are some examples of this. However, it is an exceptionally rare medium for interactive storytelling due to the amount of time it takes to animate every possible player scenario. Few people are willing to put this amount of time and effort into modern games because of how much easier it is to take advantage of new tec...
In case you missed it, there was a huge info drop today on social media about the upcoming sequel series, Sofia the First: Royal Magic . Over a month after the initial trailer dropped, Disney has provided some crucial details about the show, including the release date, platforms, theme song, and princess guest stars. We also got an official poster and several cute promo animations. Let's dive back into the world of Enchancia and explore! The new series poster features Sofia up front and center with her new friends, Layla, Zane, and Camila in the background, as well as her old animal sidekick, Clover, and her new pet, Pepper the puppycorn. Though many of these faces are new, it has been confirmed through the teaser and the new theme song that Sofia's family will be returning for the new show, including King Roland, Queen Miranda, Prince James, and Princess Amber, along with her reformed nemesis, Cedric. The theme song is a remix of the show's original theme with a few upda...
Bye Sweet Carole is a horror adventure game that is entirely hand-drawn in the style of classic Disney movies. It has been in the works for about four years, which seems reasonable, considering how time-consuming it is to draw every frame by hand in the style of Dragon's Lair . The gameplay is inspired by an old Super Nintendo game called Clock Tower , but its plot, themes, and overall vibe resemble a more obscure point-and-click adventure game called Tsioque . Although Bye Sweet Carole is classified as horror, it is not particularly scary and is made to appeal to the Disney Princess crowd, which has a tepid relationship with horror . A better description of the game's genre would be "psychological thriller," which tends to be reserved for movies and books, even though many games fit this genre as well. Bye Sweet Carole tells the story of Lana, who lives in a Gothic-inspired orphanage called Bunny Hall in Victorian England. She spends the majority of the game chas...
This week, I'm going to talk about different types of princesses, beginning with digital ones. I am no expert on video games, but princesses have been a big part of them ever since the NES era of the 1980s. They have become a staple of the ever evolving technology. The two most famous video game princesses are Zelda from The Legend of Zelda , a series that began in 1986, and Peach, who evolved from Princess Toadstool in the Super Mario Bros. series that started 1985. Though they both began as stereotypical blonde princesses in pink dresses who needed to be rescued by the hero of their corresponding game, Peach and Zelda each stand out as very different characters. I would say it's no contest which one of them is the better princess. Even though Zelda began as a damsel in distress, the many incarnations of the series have evolved her into a wise, graceful, and confident leader. In many ways, she is no more of a damsel in distress than Princess Leia is from St...
Update: I just received confirmation from Christy Altomare (Wow!) that she will be attending the fall leg of the Disney Princess concert tour and was unable to attend the first few months because she is performing in a new musical at the Paper Mill Playhouse and that Anneliese has always been part of the concert. If you attend this concert in the fall, you will have the good fortunate of seeing her live! It's been ten months since Disney launched the Ultimate Princess Celebration when they announced that they had acquired the Broadway Princess Party and retooled it into Disney Princess - The Concert . After several cast changes and the cancellation of the entire 2021 leg of the tour, I was fortunate enough to attend one of the first successful performances at the Bass Concert Hall . Initially, I was excited to see Anastasia's Christy Altomare , but she was replaced with Disney Channel's Anneliese van der Pol , who played Chelsea Daniels in That'...
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