Princess Tiana's Coronation
It was lush. It was big. It was fancy. There were lots of flashbulbs at the coronation of the newest Disney Princess. And momlogic was there!
We were graciously invited by Disney to cover the coronation of Princess Tiana, an incredibly majestic shindiggie at the New York Palace Hotel to celebrate the release of the Academy Award-nominated film, The Princess and the Frog (now on DVD/Blu-ray). My own daughter was a bit too young, so I borrowed my friend's 6-year-old girly-girl -- and must report, I couldn't imagine a more magical realm for a tiny chicklet like her to walk into. We're talking the full-on royal treatment, people. There was pomp. There was circumstance. It was truly like waltzing into a Disney dream sequence. And the little girls in attendance were pampered into feeling like the real live princess idols they got to meet for real. And in bearing witness to the gleam of joy in their eyes, I sort of did, too!
The first order of business was to pick out an appropriate getup (the event was co-sponsored by Mattel and CDI) and take a spin through the mind-blowing product room. To kick off the ceremony, the real Tiana -- actress Anika Noni Rose -- took the stage and gave a lovely speech about how being Princess Tiana was her dream come true: "I'm so excited to be the voice of Princess Tiana, who sort of changes what princesses used to do," Rose said. "She comes to the party with her own mind-set, with her own dream, with a plan on how to do things. She's not waiting for the prince to come love her, take care of her and sweep her off. But when she meets him it's a wonderful thing, because it just helps to complete what she'd already started on her journey in life. So I want all you little princesses out there to remember that when you do [meet your prince], that's a wonderful thing -- but make sure you know who you are and you follow what you want to do."
Following a brief, appreciative speech by the film's cowriters and directors (Ron Clements and John Musker), the Fairy Godmother invited the rest of the princess contingency -- Ariel, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas and Snow White -- to step up and take a bow. Finally, Tiana was crowned the ninth Disney Princess by Prince Naveen, and the kids were invited to "boogie" in celebration -- a very happy ending.
And for my little buddy (a hardcore princess-to-be if ever there was one), dreams really did come true.