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Home · Entertainment

Fans Accuse Disney Of Lightening Princess Tiana’s Skin In New ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Film

Fans Accuse Disney Of Lightening Princess Tiana’s Skin In New ‘Wreck-It Ralph 2’ Film
By Britni Danielle · Updated October 23, 2020
When Disney released The Princess and the Frog in 2009, fans hailed it as revolutionary. For the first time in the company’s history, a young Black woman not only fronted her own animated feature, but she also joined the ranks of legendary Disney princesses. Since then, Princess Tiana has gone on to be one of the company’s most popular characters. So fans were elated over her appearance in the upcoming sequel to Wreck It Ralph…until they actually saw her on screen. Now some are accusing animators of lightening the character’s skin in the forthcoming film.

#Disney's iconic princesses’ are serving up brand new looks in #RalphBreaksTheInternet, as seen in this exclusive new image!👌🏽In the upcoming 'Wreck-It Ralph' sequel, 14 of Disney’s most famous regal women meet Vanellope when the little racer encounters the ladies on a fan site. After discovering that she, too, is technically royalty, Vanellope and the princesses strike up a friendship. Click the link in our bio for more details. 📷: Disney

A post shared by Entertainment Weekly (@entertainmentweekly) on Aug 10, 2018 at 6:25am PDT

Last week, Entertainment Weekly shared a still from Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 that shows several Disney princesses gathered together for a girl’s night in. While many were excited to see them all together, others pointed out Princess Tiana’s new look, which includes lighter skin and different features.  

I’m extremely confused as to who this is... was Princess Tiana’s skin tone and dark hair too hard to digitalize? pic.twitter.com/M2f30gjiBR

— Lauren (@lolobaybee_) August 10, 2018

Okay... As hyped as I am for this amazing still of Ralph Breaks the Internet... Why the hell are Pocahontas and Tiana's skintones lighter than what they truly are? Are you kidding me right now? I'm tired of this crap. pic.twitter.com/Ntsd5Mmmhu

— Ꭵ'ᏞᏞ ᎪᏞᎳᎪᎽs sᎬᎬ fᎥᏉᎬ (@TheLoyalShawol) August 10, 2018
“In today’s edition of ‘you tried it,’ Disney decided to reinforce colorism by lightening Princess Tiana’s skin in #RalphBreaksTheInternet,” one Twitter user wrote. “Tiana was a dark skin Black woman in Princess and the Frog, now she has light skin and Eurocentric features. What happened to her wide nose?” Others pointed out that in the latest Ralph Breaks the Internet trailer, Princess Tiana looks different than she did during the first trailer.

why does princess tiana look so different from the wreck it ralph trailer we got 2 months ago to today’s new still..........let me know pic.twitter.com/h63b4DXE03

— َ (@thebaudeIaires) August 9, 2018
In spite of some progress, colorism in Hollywood is still a major issue. So it makes sense that people are protective of Princess Tiana’s character and her legacy. For many young Black girls, seeing her onscreen felt affirming and they don’t want her skin and features whitewashed just to make her fit in with her fellow princesses. So far, Disney hasn’t responded to the criticism.
TOPICS:  Colorism Princess Tiana
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