Into It with Sam Sanders
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She looks like me.
Do either of them pass the Black princess test?
Everybody was a different color.
Its a really Black film in a lot of ways.
But they never talk about race.No.
He knows shes Black.
The film is saying some interesting things about how girls should feel wanted and loved and desired.
Its a slightly different narrative than we get from otherCinderellas or even other princesses.
The other narrative is You better be attractive enough for a man to want you and save you.Exactly.
Because youre going to get saved.
So its different when shes like,Im hitting the road on my own to find something better.
I deserve to be loved.
Is that a Black thing?I think it is.
Theyd already done Rodgers and HammersteinsCinderellaa couple of times; it was on TV in the 50s.
She didThe Preachers Wifewith Houston and Denzel Washington.
We should want to be loved and be treated well regardless of our circumstances.
And its tied to the fact that shes Black and that her fairy godmother is Black.
A strong Black woman.Exactly.
Its gonna feel familiar to us because its a story that we already know.
If love is not being served there, you leave.
Thats what we know.
Does it pass the Black princess test?I think it passes the Black princess test.
We get this narrative of her going from nobody to somebody.
Its the quintessential princess story.
Youre not really a princess, you become a princess, and youre beautiful.
Shes Black and shes a princess, so it passes the Black princess test.
They are singing in this movie.Listen.
Impossible is really the only thing that puts that film together.
Youre getting Whitney Houston singing, and in 1997, thats all you need.
Lets talk aboutThe Princess and the Frog, which also has a Black princess.
I already know this might not pass the Black princess test for you.Oh my.
So now theyre both frogs.
So the first time theres a Disney animated Black princess, she turns into a frog.Yes.
What do you think was up with that?
Because Im assuming the folks who wrote that movie thought they were doing the lords work.They probably did.
I think they wanted it to be modernized.
Its giving you a little bit of folklore around New Orleans, and this is after Hurricane Katrina.
And there arent other princess films where somebody else is kissing the prince.
So its really interesting: Are they friends or are they not?
Anyway, her friend Charlotte is technically princess of Mardi Gras because her dad is king of Mardi Gras.
So she had to watch her white girlfriend kiss …Kiss her boo for her.
What happens at the end when they become human again and get together?She works at a restaurant.
Her whole dream this entire film is to own her own restaurant because its what her dad wanted.
So her whole life was dedicated to developing this restaurant called Tianas Place.
Shes not interested in dating, she doesnt hang out with her friends, she barely sees her mama.
Shes working two, three jobs to get enough money to start this restaurant.
You make me a princess, Im not doing food service, baby.
DoesThe Princess and the Frogpass the Black princess test?Barely.
Im very critical of this film, but some of my Black sorority sisters and friends love this film.
This is the first animated Black princess, right?
Its a big deal.
When it came out, Carols Daughter was merchandising around hair-care products so you could look like a princess.
Oprah Winfrey was in it, Jenifer Lewis.
Do you thinkThe Little Mermaidwill pass the Black princess test?I think it already has.
They want to hug her, they want to know her, they want to be attached to that.
They want to be a part of that world with her.
I think theyve already done that.
