this movie was awesome, it was so funny and it showed passion. this movie is showing how keep on going with your dreams and not to give up. not matter the race or where you from you should keep on going and show everybody that you can do it and have love for what you want. i loved it!

ohhh!!!! I love it I think the characters are so perfect for this movie I cannot wait until it comes out!!!!

I'm sorry I'm not supporting this film. Why is it that down the line of the Disney princesses (excluding Pocohontas) that their costars or counterparts were of the same race? Why all of a sudden when it comes to the black princess that Disney wants to change it up? It would makes sense to follow the Disney formula or blue print. I tell you why they changed the scheme of things because Disney wanted to send a message. You know what that message is? It is not practical for a black woman and black man relationship to exist. It is not the norm; therefore, a black woman would have to look elsewhere for love for her prince. In addition it is also saying that a black man could never be a prince or atleast a prince to a black woman.

John Goodman did an amazing job voicing Sulley in Monsters Inc. I'm glad he pulled this role, and is on board for the film.

It's not just you. Also, that lady looks like she has processed hair.

Pixar movies never have female leads. I love Jessie a lot - and can definitely relate more to cowgirls than princesses - but she's there to back up Woody's story. The movie isn't about her. That's pretty typical in movies. When Pixar (or Disney) makes a movie ABOUT a female character who isn't a princess, we'll be in business. Pixar has some cool female characters, but they're supporting roles.

Have you not watch Mulan? SERIOUSLY? Where ahve you guys been for the last thirty years?

Mulan, where she dresses as a boy for most of the movie to be accepted? Mulan, where she is surrounded by male advisers? Where her goal is to get a guy, not to achieve something for herself? I love Mulan, but I don't think it's exactly a treatise on feminism. Also, if it were a feminist movie, one out of dozens isn't a good argument for "Of course Disney gives equal time to female characters!"

Also, for the last 30 years, I've been seeing women get the short shrift, both in movies and in life, and I don't think I'm the only person in the world who has noticed the dearth of good roles for women compared to good roles for men. It applies to animated characters, too, because that's just reflective of the world we're in - which doesn't make it okay.

Press kits usually don't consist of low resolution images that have been hastily filled with black backgrounds using Photoshop's select and fill tools.

And of course these haven't been drawn by animators, if they had been, we probably wouldn't be seeing this movie for another 4 years.

I'm hoping for this film to be a success. Hand-drawn animation is still such a beautiful art form with so much potential. There's a reason that people still love Disney's classic films today, and hopefully by returning a bit to their roots (and not relying so much on Pixar), Disney can make a big comeback with 2D animation.

As for the concept work, it looks pretty good to me (although the prince looks totally dorky XDD). One thing I'm kind of iffy on is the fact that they don't look like they're from 1920s New Orleans at all. They look like they came right out of Cinderella, which kinda bugs me (I'm a big fan of 1920s fashion and culture). I know Tiana is supposed to be a princess, but young women her age had finally said "screw this" to the big, poofy dresses and picked up the slim, low-waist flapper dresses. It's probably just me. -_-

I'm hopeful that the film is good; I know there has been a lot of criticism over early cuts because they were judged to be racist. I don't know; haven't seen anything yet.

I agree with all of this princess talk; there obviously is a time and a place, but I'm waiting for a Disney movie that features a strong woman protagonist who does not ultimately work towards the affection of a man.

*snickers*

Sometimes I find it difficult just to apply to the stupid comments on this page. Your turn, buttmunch.

The prinves just show up later. Most of the Disney films are about the protagonists; the girls and their stories. They just throw the guys in there.

you should watch some pixar movies :)

Word on Pixar. Jessie's kind of my favorite ever. And I love that they can do stories that have actual stories. Still haven't had a female lead from them, though. (Which is not meant as a criticism, given that they've done great work.) Can't wait until we do!

i think you'll enjoy this:
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/25/does-pixar-ha...

I feelthe character designs presented here are 100% successful in illustrating the spirit of New Orleans (Except maybe the prince, unless he has a thick bayou accent, which I think would be awesome). It's all there: trumpet playing alligators, bugs, frogs, voodoo, and racial diversity. Anyone who has actually BEEN to 'Nawlins can see that the setting of this movie will be the major catalyst for the plot. To do a cartoon movie that takes place in 'Nawlins any other way would be missing out on the unique and lively qualities that New Orleans has to offer.
(i.e. New Orleans = Crazy Party Town)

It would seem like a spoiler from that picture, but it would seem that the prince and the princess both turn into frogs, they look similar.

uh, no,. NEW ORLEANS is a prodominatenly African American.

Don't even try with them....it's not worth it.

"Conceptual" rarely means "Crap". Quite often, the concept art for an animated work is far more appealing than what ends up in the final project. In order for things to be animated on even a massive budget, concept drawings get simplified and "dumbed down", so that just about any animator can come on board and replicate the style. When the concept art is bad, it's bad news - things don't generally get better in final production. This, however, isn't concept art. The letter from the guy that supplied them (over on AICN) said they were from a press kit. Which brings us back to my point: probably not drawn by animators.

I guess you missed that part where it stated it was conceptual artwork.

Africa-America isn't a place.

I love 2D probably more than most, so I'm excited to see a new film, but I'm really not excited to see a generic princess fairy tale. I'm still waiting for Disney to figure out why Lilo and Stitch was successful. It would seem that they ignored everything that film did and choked on the last few.

Yes, do a classically animated film, but don't suck out everything cool or fun in the process. 2D needs a film that shows off the strengths of the medium. With the use of Flash animation, the constraints of smaller budgets, and the problems with outsourced animation, the beauty and fun of simple "squash and stretch" animation has been getting lost.

It would seem that this film is aimed at 30 year old women with a lot of nostalgia for big-dress Disney. Good luck.

*snort* remember...everyone has there own opinion. I never liked Lilo and Stitch that much porecisely because it wasn't a princess movie.

As usual, disgusting character design. Good taste and cartoon design are generally mutually exclusive - especially when it comes to mainstream animation. Thankfully the stuff in the trailer looks a bit better than these drawings, which were no doubt drawn by the marketing department, and not actual animators.

Isn't this the movie that AICN ran a piece on where they were slaughtering Disney because they were claiming the princess was black, but she appeared half-cast? Well it looks like they've turned the contrast down now.

yep

Is the prince white? I mean, I have no problem with that, but it sure is a step up for Disney to have an African American princes and Caucasian prince. I can't wait for this one!

The prince is from a fictional Mediterranean country. So his race is probably Middle-Eastern. I'm with you, an interracial relationship is a good thing for a Disney movie.

Disney hasn't had an African American princess in their movies before, so I think they're feeling they need to have one. Until I see how they do it I won't know whether this is a good idea or not. I think the bigger problem is that movies can't be pitched to girls without making it a movie about a princess. As a girl who has never for one minute wanted to be a princess, I think they're oversimplifying girls, and also selling the idea that being a princess is the most a girl can aspire to. Being a princess is, in fact, terribly constraining (they do acknowledge this in movies like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid). Also, when they stop making their heroines stick figures and start making them look like their audience, it will be a major step forward for humanit.

Yep. They look like typical Disney animated characters. Is it just me or have they all looked the same since Aladdin?

I think it must be you...Pocahontas, Hercules, Atlantis, Lilo and Stitch, Treasure Planet...all of those had very different and distinctly original animated characters.

The guy obviously isn't black Steve. But since when does New Orleans have princesses? To be honest, this movie looks like crap.

The problem with the internet is that anyone can use it.

um, duh, it's a New Orleans fairy tale with a black princess. Disney have never had a black princess before.

It takes place in New Orleans.

The artwork is beautiful. I've got high hopes for this film because I'm fearful that hand-animation has become a lost art. As I wrote in a previous thread, I grew up near the Disney animation studios and it was upsetting when they basically closed down the whole shop.

The one in LA? With the Wizard hat?

I lived right by there too, when I was little we used to drive there every day and I really wanted to work there. Sad stuff :(

hear hear

I'm really excited for this one, as long as it has a great story. That's what Disney needs to learn from Pixar...story first, then everything comes from that.

Hopefully we get some Rapunzel news soon..