“Dreams do come true in New Orleans”: American fairy tales, Post-Katrina New Orleans, and Disney’s The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Authors

  • Radhiah Chowdhury University of Sydney, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21153/pecl2010vol20no2art1144

Keywords:

Disney, racism, The Princess and the Frog, New Orleans, American fairy tales

Abstract

The review and analysis of the film 'The Princess and the Frog' by Walt Disney is discussed. Then film shows the sentimentalized and romanticized depiction of New Orleans and its surroundings, and seems to suggest that dreams come true in New Orleans.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biography

  • Radhiah Chowdhury, University of Sydney, Australia

    Radhiah Chowdhury recently completed her PhD in children‟s fantasy and fairy tales at the University of Sydney.

References

Artz, L. (2005) “Monarchs, Monsters, and Multiculturalism: Disney‟s Menu for Global Hierarchy” in M. Budd and M. H. Kirsch (eds) Rethinking Disney: Private Control, Public Dimensions. Middletown, Wesleyan University Press.

Bradford, C. (2006) “Multiculturalism and children‟s books” in J. Zipes (ed.) The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. New York, Oxford University Press.

Camp, J. T (2009) ““We Know This Place”: Neoliberal Racial Regimes and the Katrina Circumstance” American Quarterly 61, 2, 693-717.

Campbell, J. T. (2005) "“Looting‟ vs. "Surviving,‟ Media Missed the Nuance” Houston Chronicle, 17 September. Available from: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/3357805.html [Accessed 12 August 2010].

Eisentein, S. M. (1986) Eisenstein on Disney (ed J. Leyda, Trans. A. Upchurch). Calcutta, Seagull Books.

Fussell, E., Sastryn, N. & VanLandingham, M. (2009) Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Return Migration to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Population Studies Centre, University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

Giroux, H. (2004) “Are Disney Movies Good For Your Kids?” in S. Steinberg & J. Kincheloe (eds) Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood (2nd edn). Boulder, Westview Press.

Green, M. J., Sonn, C. C. & Matsebula, J. (2007) “Reviewing whiteness: theory, research and possibilities” South African Journal of Psychology 37, 3, 389-419.

Hall, S. (2009) “Film reviews: The Princess and the Frog”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 December. Available from: http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/film/film-reviews/the-princess-and-the-frog/2009/12/31/1261982360911.html [Accessed: 23 May 2010].

Hartnell, A. (2009) “Katrina tourism and a tale of two cities: visualizing race and class in New Orleans” American Quarterly 61, 3, 723-747.

Heldenfels, R. (2010) "“Princess‟ leaps to DVD: Disney animated film features lots of extras, including music video”, Akron Beacon Journal, March 14, E2.

Jackson, K. (1993) Walt Disney: A Bio-bibliography. Westport, Greenwood Press.

Jagger, S. (2008) “Bernard Madoff: the „most hated man in New York‟ seeks $3m for bail”, The Times, December 18. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5362075.ece [Accessed: August 3, 2010].

King, S. (2009) “Q & A with „Princess and the Frog‟ animators: Ron Clements and John Musker talk about their fairy tale „valentine‟ to New Orleans”, Los Angeles Times, November 22. Available from: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/22/entertainment/la-ca-princess22-2009nov22 [Accessed: 11 August 11, 2010].

Maggi, L. (2008) “Katrina Dead Interred at New Memorial”, New Orleans Metro Real Time News, August 29. Available from: http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/katrina_dead_interred_at_new_m.html [Accessed August 11, 2010].

Newman, R. (2009) The Princess and the Frog: Original Songs and Score. Burbank, Walt Disney Records. Sound Recording: Compact Disc.

Regis, H. (1999) “Second Lines, Minstrelsy, and the Contested Landscapes of New Orleans Afro-Creole Festivals” Cultural Anthropology 14, 1, 472-504.

RestoreTheGulf.gov (2010) “August 2, 2010: The Ongoing Administration-Wide Response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill”. Available from: http://app.restorethegulf.gov/go/doc/2931/840851/ [Accessed August 11, 2010].

Salvaggio, R. (2008) “Forgetting New Orleans” The Southern Literary Journal 40,2: 305-316. “Sign of Katrina Fatigue? Memorial Delayed,” The Associated Press, July 13, 2008. Available from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25655773/ [Accessed August 11, 2010].

Song of the South (1946) motion picture. Walt Disney Productions, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, United States of America.

Sothern, B. (2007) Down in New Orleans: Reflections from a drowned city. Berkeley, University of California Press.

The Oprah Winfrey Show (2005) television program. Harpo Productions, Chicago, September 6.

The Princess and the Frog (2009) motion picture. Walt Disney Animation Studios, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures Studios, United States of America.

Thevenot, B. & Russell, G. (2005) “Rape. Murder. Gunfights. For Three Anguished Days the World‟s Headlines Blared That the Superdome and Convention Center Had Descended into Anarchy. But the Truth Is That While Conditions Were Squalid for the Thousands Stuck There, Much of the Violence NEVER HAPPENED”, The Times-Picayune, September 26. Available from: http://global.factiva.com/ [Accessed August 13, 2010].

Towbin, M. A., Haddock, S. A., Zimmerman, T. S., Lund L. K. & Tanner, L. R. (2004) “Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length Animated Films” Journal of Feminist Family Therapy 15, 4, 19-44.

Tuggle, L. (forthcoming) “Flooding, Enclosure, and Invitation: Strategies of Incorporative Mourning in the Memorialisation of New Orleans”, Invisible Culture: An Electronic Journal for Visual Culture: The Cultural Visualization of Hurricane Katrina 16. Will be available from: http://www.rochester.edu/in_visible_culture/ [Cited with permission from the author].

Vince, G. (2005) “Gauging the health crisis in Katrina‟s wake,” New Scientist, September 6. Available from: http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/hurricance/dn7959-gauging-the-health-crisis-in-katrinas-wake.html [Accessed: August 12, 2010].

Warner, C. (2008) “Feds to examine Danziger Bridge shoortings,” New Orleans Metro Real Time News, September 30. Available from: http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/feds_to_examine_danziger_bridg.html [Accessed: August 12, 2010].

When the Levees Broke (2006) motion picture. 40 Acres and A Mule Filmworks, distributed by HBO, United States of America.

Whitley, D. S. (2008) The idea of nature in Disney Animation. Aldershot, Ashgate.

Downloads

Published

2010-07-01

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

“‘Dreams do come true in New Orleans’: American fairy tales, Post-Katrina New Orleans, and Disney’s The Princess and the Frog (2009)” (2010) Papers: Explorations into Children’s Literature, 20(2), pp. 25–40. doi:10.21153/pecl2010vol20no2art1144.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 37

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.