I may be 20 years old but that did not quell any of my excitement at the fact that Disney would be releasing (A) a new movie and (B) a princess one!!! It was the first Disney princess in 11 years!?! I grew up with the princesses and loved each one of them for one reason or another.
SIDE NOTE: one reason I know I have always been a feminist - even before I knew what that was - my favorite Disney heroine was Mulan (the defiant fighter in a man's world and very patriarchial society)... followed closely by Pocahontas (who wasn't afraid to defy her father in the name of love and who stood up for what she believed in) and, lastly, Belle (who was brunette, a big fan of books, and didn't fall for the muscle head who was quite the sexist).
Anywho, the current Disney female lead was Tiana, a hard-working waitress who was African American and living in New Orleans. There were concerns about her - the first black princess - from the get go. People were worried she would look to white, had a name that sounded like a slave (her previous name was Maddy), would not be as glamorous as other princesses, etc. A full list of these worries can be found here.
However, that article brings up a good point "Aren't we all just overreacting here? After all, this is an animated movie for kids about people who transform into frogs; the main characters even spend most of their screen time as... amphibians." For the most part, I agree.
Overall, the movie was cute with good music and some memorable characters like the gator who played music and Ray the lightning bug. However, it did not completely wow me. Maybe I have just grown up too much to be mesmerized by the princesses anymore. As a southerner though, I really enjoyed seeing her cooking shrimp or hearing them say "y'all" or seeing the plants and trees that I have grown up around all my life.
I did have a couple issues though.
1) She was still mostly white painted black. She did have a bit bigger butt and lips and maybe nose but mostly this just added to her waist looking even tinier than usual. Disney still sets up that almost impossible beauty standard :(
2) Her prince - A) he wasn't black like her BUT (as the previous linked article points out) his different race is positively showing an interracial relationship B) he was laaaaazy (she was the one that had to nag him to help with cooking, getting back to town, etc).
Overall though, it is pretty cute. I hope this is the first of many more princesses to come from Disney - let's just get them looking a little more like the girls who look up to them!!!
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