Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. They sell it as such, and even though I know it’s a marketing tagline that was probably brainstormed in a boardroom, every time I descend onto the streets of Disneyland Resorts in Anaheim, California, I buy into the magic. Every time. This trip was no different. For the celebration of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland, Disney brought together Black press from around the world to experience the ride ahead of its opening on November 15, 2024. For so many of us, The Princess and the Frog’s Princess Tiana was an answer to decades of feeling excluded from the Disney Princess cinematic universe. When she stepped on the scene with her New Orleans’ twang and ambitious spirit, Tiana felt like a gift for all of us Black girls who yearned to see ourselves reflected in these fairytales, and like an invitation for all the Black girls who get to grow up in a world with Tiana to dream a little bigger and let their imaginations run wild.
“Princess Tiana is everybody’s princess,” Charita Carter, Executive Creative Producer for Walt Disney Imagineering, said while speaking to press at the Disneyland hotel the morning after the attraction’s opening. In 2022, Carter became the first African-American Woman Executive Producer Of Walt Disney Imagineering, according to Forbes. “She’s an American princess. She’s a relatively modern princess. She hails from a real place, the beautiful city of New Orleans. She wasn’t born to royalty. She has a working mom who has her own shop now. She has family ties to the military. She’s worked hard for her dreams.” Carter went on to explain all the ways in which Tiana is relatable — from her cooking to her perseverance.”She really believes in this universal truth that what lies in us has the potential to make our dreams come true.”
Carter’s colleague Carmen Smith, also a Black woman and the senior vice president of Executive Creative Development, Content and Inclusive Strategies at Walt Disney Experiences, spoke about how important it was to them to see Tiana’s story come to life. She told us that she knew, even in the early stages of developing the character, that Tiana’s “story had a bigger destiny.” Of course, Princess Tiana was inspired by legendary New Orleans chef Leah Chase also known as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine”. Smith described Chase as “The iconic figure of New Orleans who imbues all of the attributes of kindness, warmth, community, family and a great source of inspiration for all of us.” When Chase was still alive (she died at 96 in 2019), she spoke to Oprah.com about when Disney first approached her to adapt her life into Tiana’s story. “They had a Cinderella, they had a Snow White, they had all types of little white princesses, so …read more
Source:: Refinery29