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Evangelicals Hate Princess Tiana
Disney just can’t catch a break, can it?
Yes, I said that with the full amount of irony due an expression of pity for a company that makes billions of dollars a year. But it’s pity nonetheless.
Because word has it The Princess and the Frog – which finally gave families of color a hero to root for, which finally gave feminists a princess with some gumption to crow over, is now driving away another core American audience.
The evangelicals don’t like Princess Tiana.
Or, at least the folks at places like ChristianAnswers.net – where the movie spotlight on The Princess and the Frog gives it a moral rating of “offensive” because the movie touches on the occult, with references to “friends on the other side” and voodoo dolls – are warning parents away from Disney’s latest princess.
Says Christian Answers reviewer Thaisha Geiger, “Practicing any sort of occultic magic is directly against God and is labeled as an abomination throughout Scripture. This movie displays that voodoo magicians hold all the power of both good and evil.”
At Hollywood Jesus, the reviewers take issue with the indirect references to hell in a children’s movie: “This is serious stuff, and the light-handed manner that it was often handled with made me a bit uncomfortable. One should never lightly toy with the spiritual world, especially the world of demons and their dark powers. Having a show-stopping Broadway-like song about dalliances with dark forces in an animated movie may make it seem like doing such things is really no big deal; not something I want my kids to pick-up on.”
A spoiler warning here – those “friends on the other side” are depicted as evil in the movie, and voodoo man Dr. Facilier is likewise a bad man who meets his end in a bad, bad way. The closest endorsement Disney makes on the occult is the presence of Mama Odie, a sort of voodoo witch who acts for good, helping Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen on their path to becoming human again.
They’re right in saying the occult is present. Geiger’s perhaps even right in her call for the movie to be rated PG rather than G (my daughter screamed out loud at one point in the middle of the theater, although she suffered no bad dreams and wanted to go back and see it again).
But the presence of a differing world view – in this case the brush with the occult is both geographically and historically accurate. To argue that it’s in poor taste to portray people of color as backward and superstitious is one thing (and that is a valid concern). But to argue that presenting an alternate world view is a reason to ignore a movie is further evidence of a group unwilling to face that they’re only a portion of the world – not the world at large.
Want to convince kids yours is the way, the truth and all that jazz? Face up to challenges – don’t hide from them.
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13 Comments
PlumbLucky commented on Jan 12 10 at 2:37 pmWonder what evangelicals think of the proliferance of good and evil magic throughout MOST of the Disney movies…
Notsurprised commented on Jan 12 10 at 3:31 pmMost of my friends growing up were not allowed to watch most Disney movies for this very reason. My own parents were capricious about what witchcraft/wizardry was okay and what wasn’t. For example: no Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Sleeping Beauty, but Snow White and Cinderella were fine. Years later, their logic is still sketchy (I think it boiled down to my mom not liking Maleficent or Angela Lansbury, but whatevs.)
The truth is this doesn’t matter. If a Christian evangelical family says no to movies like this, it doesn’t hurt anyone else. This site makes much of personal parenting choices. Well, this is a personal parenting choice. After all, it’s just a movie, and a highly stylized animated movie at that. No kid is going to get a realistic picture of a different worldview from The Princess and the Frog. Just sayin’
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jan 12 10 at 4:18 pmBut they rated the torture porn film “Passion of the Christ” as Good.
Sara commented on Jan 12 10 at 5:07 pmThe Princess and the Frog rated PG? Really? As my daughter said, it’s not as scary as sleeping beauty.
Mary commented on Jan 12 10 at 7:04 pm“The Passion” portrayed reality (if you believe in the Bible) and is for adults, not children. Those of us who believe Christ died for a reason also think there may be a good reason to be aware of what He went through. Movies like Schindler’s List also show excessive violence.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jan 12 10 at 7:44 pmExcept there is you know *evidence* to show that the Holocaust WAS excessively violent. And gee, I guess the Bible itself wasn’t enough to inform people of what Christ went through? It really needed Mel Gibson and bucket’s o’ blood? Interesting argument.
jenny tries too hard commented on Jan 12 10 at 8:09 pmuh, whether you believe Jesus is the Messiah or not, it is historical fact that criminals in that time were crucified. The artistic/educational merits of showing anything, rape, death, the holocaust, in graphic detail in a film for adults is an entirely different issue than whether religious parents ought to take their children to see a film that deals (in part) with the occult or voodoo.
I don’t know what the big deal is—ChristianAnswers didn’t like Harry Potter, either, right? That’s their deal, and they’re just putting their two cents out there for mostly like-minded folks, not bothering anybody else.
PlumbLucky commented on Jan 13 10 at 8:08 amI can’t recall either “Passion” or “Schindlers” being marketed as childrens’ movies though.
Eh, I suppose it is just an opinion, and we’re all entitled to them. I haven’t seen TPATF, but I know that Sleeping Beauty still freaks me out just a little bit.
My own parents took the tack that movie fantasy was just that…fantasy. Questions could be addressed as they arose. The only Disney movie I was not permitted to watch? Bambi.
Eric commented on Jan 13 10 at 9:12 am“To argue that it’s in poor taste to portray people of color as backward and superstitious is one thing (and that is a valid concern).” and
“Want to convince kids yours is the way, the truth and all that jazz? Face up to challenges – don’t hide from them.”
I’m trying to resolve those two. Do you have your kids watch Birth of a Nation or Triumph of the Will to expose them to a different viewpoints? If you think a movie portrays evil as good (or at least acceptable) would you let you small children watch it and buy the lunchbox?
ugh commented on Jan 14 10 at 9:12 pmWell, I don’t share any of those particular concerns, but I’ve been researching voodoo for a book for awhile now, and the most potentially offensive aspect of the movie is how that tradition is portrayed. I wonder if it were portrayed more authentically (not as evil “hocus pocus, but as an actual belief system”) if the evangelicals would still be upset. Probably (although it wouldn’t be as interesting of a movie, I suppose.)
Anyhoo, it’s a Disney movie–I’m not counting on it to teach my kids anything.
Marj commented on Jan 19 10 at 4:02 pmI had a friend whose parents wouldn’t allow them to watch Sleeping Beauty on the grounds that it encourages necrophilia. People are weird.
kevin commented on Nov 27 10 at 8:53 amComments these mental turds didnt like harry potter either… but…as it would seem…..their delusional prostations didnt seem to put a nick in harry potter’s success or fame. fuck’em.
kevin commented on Nov 27 10 at 8:53 amdelusional “protestations”
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