Tiana was the first Black Disney Princess holding a significant place in animation. Tiana’s character is groundbreaking for her race but also because she represents values of hard work and determination. The other princesses will wait for fate or magic to change their lives, but Tiana worked with perseverance and dedication to achieve her dreams making her one of the most relatable and inspiring princesses, especially now for modern watchers who have similar values who are people of color.
In the movie, The Princess and the Frog a Disney animated movie which came out in 2009, based in 1920s New Orleans. Tiana is a hardworking young black woman who has a dream of opening her own restaurant which she carries around a poster that looks like her dream restaurant. While Tiana is working, Prince Naveen, a carefree royal arrived in town, but that night is transformed into a frog by Dr. Facilier, an evil voodoo magician.
Naveen then mistakes Tiana for a princess, at a party thrown by her best friend’s father and kisses her wanting to break the spell, but she also turns into a frog. Together as frogs, they go through the Louisiana bayou, meeting an alligator and firefly. Throughout this time, they are trying to seek out a mystical Mama Odie, during which they fall in love realizing that that is how they will transform back into their human form.
After they fell in love, they started to realize that happiness isn’t about being wealthy but being with your loved ones. They get married and kiss as frogs and they spell breaks. Tiana then becomes a princess from this marriage. At the end, Tiana achieves her dream of opening her own restaurant, Tiana’s Palace, and finds her happiness with Naveen by her side.
Not only is her character groundbreaking because of her values, but she is also the first Black Disney princess, which is important for representation. Before they released this movie, Black women had no Disney princess that reflected them at all. Tiana becoming a princess expanded the idea of what a princess looked like and where they came from. It not only involves the look of her but also incorporated her African American culture, from the jazz music to the food and coming from a lower economic family, celebrating her culture and diversity.
Tiana is a powerful role model for the young black women, playing a role in not only representation but also in having values of hard work, intelligence, perseverance and dedication to their dream. As her being the first black princess, she had begun to pave a road of more diversity in Disney’s movie creations and inspire black women everywhere.