Disney redraws first black princess after anti-racism campaigners claim her skin is 'too white'

Disney has promised to re-draw a Disney princess after anti-racism campaigners said her skin was "too white."

Princess Tiana was the first black Disney princess, created for the film 'The Princess and The Frog' in 2009. She has been re-animated for the new film 'Wreck It Ralph 2', in which all the princesses have a sleepover. 

When the trailer was released in May, fans noticed she looked considerably different - her skin was lighter and her corkscrew curls had been tamed to gentle waves.

Fans immediately criticised Disney, and anti-racism charity Color of Change created a petition to tell Disney to "stop whitewashing" their black characters.

The petition said: "Princess Tiana looks nothing like her original character. She is shown here with Eurocentric features  a slimmer nose, loose curly hair and a significantly lighter skin tone than her previous depictions.

"This is unacceptable. Yet again, Disney made the choice to whitewash an image that represents us. They’ve totally removed and replaced Princess Tiana’s full lips, dark skin and kinky hair. By doing so, they are showing us that they don’t care about reflecting the diversity of the Black community. "

Following the criticism, the animation company released a new image, featuring a markedly different looking princess, with darker skin and tighter curls.

The non-profit's senior campaign director Brandi Collins-Dexter said in a statement: "Disney’s decision to restore Princess Tiana’s image to that of an unapologetically Black princess with full lips, dark skin and dark hair in 'Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2' is a victory for Color Of Change members, Black children and their parents, and Black audiences who want to see the variety of shades, shapes and sizes of Black characters accurately represented in the arts."

She added, "By redrawing Princess Tiana — Disney’s first and only Black princess — in 'Ralph Breaks the Internet' as she was in 'Princess and the Frog', Disney has shown its commitment to addressing the concerns of Color Of Change members and the Black community. Disney is an incredibly powerful and influential company and its decisions have far-reaching implications for other companies that provide entertainment for children and adults around the world."

The company said it had been in conversation with Disney, which greed to restore the princess to her "original depiction."

Disney animators also consulted Disney Anika Noni Rose, the actress who voices Tiana, before redesigning the character.

They had to reanimate a portion of the film, inserting the new depiction of the princess.

A fan on Twitter pointed out: "Thank you for making Princess Tiana her actual color again. Should’ve never changed that to begin with."

Rashad Robinson, the CEO of Color of Change, tweeted: "Big news. Because of COC members and convos with @DisneyAnimation, Princess Tiana has been restored to her original depiction. Now when Black girls watch #WreckItRalph2, they’ll see Tiana and other princess of color that actually looks like them on screen #BlackGirlMagic"