Sentinel editorial board: In praise of Tiana

Princess Tiana aboard the Liberty Square Riverboat in "Tiana's Showboat Jubilee!"/Joe Burank, Orlando Sentinel

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board today praises Princess Tiana, the Walt Disney Co.’s first African-American princess:

Disney is cranking up the hype machine for its newest make-believe princess, and this one’s worth talking about.

Tiana is the star of Disney’s upcoming animated movie The Princess and the Frog. This princess also happens to be African-American, a first for a company whose early films included some unfortunate stereotypes. And critics already have started firing off broadsides at the Tiana character.

The sensitivity is understandable, but there’s a lot to like about giving African-American girls a princess who looks more like them. Yes, we understand the movie and the character are ultimately designed to make truckloads of money.

That’s OK, especially if the latest addition sparks the imagination of youngsters who until now have felt left out