Disney Draws Ire for Princess' Suitor

While some of the changes made by Disney to its upcoming animated feature "The Princess and the Frog" -- the first to feature an African-American princess -- have been applauded by critics, the UK's Times reports that others, including the princess' love interest, are drawing accusations of racial insensitivity.

According to the Times, Disney changed the name of the princess from Maddy -- which was seen by some as too similar to "Mammy," a term used for black female slaves -- to Tiana. Originally a chambermaid, Tiana is now an aspiring restaurateur in the film.

When it was revealed that that Tiana's love interest would not be an African-American man but an "olive-toned" man voiced by Brazilian actor Bruno Campos, some bloggers took offense. "What? No black prince? What’s up with this?" wrote James Collier on the blog Acting White. "It may be interesting to consider that little white girls associating with Tiana, in Disney’s view, might not swallow the princess or themselves swooning over a handsome black prince. Or perhaps Disney does not want the future mothers of dwindling white America being imprinted so early in their lives with the notion of a black suitor."

On BlackVoices.com, Angela Bronner Helm wrote , "Even though there is a real-life black man in the highest office in the land with a black wife, Disney obviously doesn't think a black man is worthy of the title of prince." A commenter named Najia added, "Little black boys and girls need to see a black couple. Period. Those who oppose are ignorant. We see white couples in the media every day. Why can't we be represented?"

An anonymous source close to Disney told the Times, "During the development of any movie it’s common to change titles, character names and story points," but did not address whether or not there would be any change to the prince character. The source went on to call Tiana "a strong role model for everyone."