Anika Noni Rose Addresses A Whitewashed Version Of Princess Tiana In “Wreck-It Ralph 2”

After the original trailer for the new “Wreck-It Ralph 2” appeared, it was clear that the animations of some princesses of color was changed from it’s original, like Princess Tiana and Pocahontas (view featured image in story).

Anika Noni Rose is the actress who originally voiced Tiana in “The Princess and The Frog,” and like many people, took issue with the apparent lightening and whitening of Princess Tiana. However, having power, Rose went and talked to the animators and they explained to her what happened, they listened to the concerns, and adjusted Tiana accordingly.

“I’ve been very quiet on this subject because it was important for me to do my due diligence before publicly addressing something as near and dear to my heart (and face),” Rose begins as she issues a statement on her behalf in protecting Princess Tiana’s image. Rose continues to explain what happened, and her stance. Doing all she can do to change this new updated version of Tiana, pointing out the differences.

“Three weeks ago I had a meeting in person with the Wreck-It Ralph team, my original animator Mark Henn, and others. They explained how CGI animation did different things to the characters’ color tones in different light compared to hand-drawn original characters, and I was able to express how important it is to the little girls (and let’s face it, grown women) who felt represented by her that her skin tone stay as rich as it had been, and that her nose continue to be the little round nose that Mark so beautifully rendered in the movie; the same nose on my very own face and on so many other little brown faces around the world, that we so rarely get to see represented in fantasy.”

You can swipe through her entire post below where it appears Rose has gotten through to people to explain why representation is important.