Newest Disney Dream Portrait -- Jennifer Hudson as Princess Tiana

I'm a huge fan of Annie Leibovitz's Disney Dream Portraits -- specifically the one with Julianne Moore as Ariel and surrounded by Olympian swimmers as merpeople. The newest one in the series was released online a few days ago and features Jennifer Hudson as Princess Tiana:

It's a stunning photo, IMHO, and I think Hudson was a good choice to portray Tiana. (I think she would have been a good voice for the animated character as well and wonder why she wasn't...)

But what's of greater interest to me is the response to it. I haven't seen that much feedback -- yet -- and it will be interesting to see what people's reactions are. (Because people always have reactions to these sorts of things. Particularly when we throw diversity into the mix.)

And I'll be honest. I love reading random user comments. They're hilarious to me. Like the first one of the HuffPost website:

"If people knew their history, there weren't any prominent families in the Renaissance times. It is absurd to have a Black princess. Maybe in Africa but not in Englad. Let's get with some reality shall we?"

Oh, dear. Some of the other users quickly call this person out for being a little racist -- even the one who points out that Princess and the Frog is a "fairies tail" -- but I'd have to go with "ignorant" over "racist" -- in this instance. While the earlier Disney princess films are set in some vague, medieval Anglo-European setting, Princess and the Frog is one of the few movies to have a very distinct setting -- 1920's New Orleans. Dr. Facilier is involved with voodoo after all, and most of the film takes place in the bayou.

But the phrase "It is absurd to have a Black princess," is troubling on so many levels. Is it absurd because Renaissance royalty is typically thought of as Caucasians?  Is it absurd because this person can't envision African-American (or African) royalty outside of Africa? (How would the world reacted if Prince William had married a black woman?) Or, is it absurd because the black princess in question is a Disney one?

I also wonder if Hudson will meet with some of the same criticism that Tiana did. The film was often criticized for its portrayal of Tiana: some thought that she was too black, some that she wasn't black enough. Some thought that her skin was too light and her hair too "white." Will Hudson face the same attacks, or, because this is merely an ad campaign rather than the "official" face of the Disney princess, will she be immune?