The amazing song sequence, Almost There, from The Princess and the Frog was inspired by African American painter, Aaron Douglas.
Here are some comparisons.
Left: Princess. Right: Douglas.
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Douglas' artwork employed strong figurative silhouettes against stylized minimal backgrounds to represent raw emotion.
Now that's a great basis for animation. The sequence was animated by Eric Goldberg.
Aaron Douglas was a muralist and illustrator who was instrumental in capturing social justice issues.
Learn more about him here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Dou…
He died in 1979, 30 years before The Princess and the Frog was released in 2009.
Look at the silhouetted faces in Douglas' painting.
That stylization was honored quite well in waiters at Tiana's Place.
I recently discovered Aaron Douglas. In browsing his work, I recognized the style from Princess and the Frog.
Doing more research, I found that indeed the animated sequence paid homage to his work.
Most people probably think it's a visual style developed at Disney, but the animators chose to pull inspiration from black history.
Hopefully when the film was released, it introduced people to Douglas' powerful work.
Credit for Aaron Douglas likely got lost in the hype of the film’s success.
It’s unfortunately another historical example of corporate appropriation of black culture.
But the film was also a groundbreaking celebration of black culture, though through the Disney lens. #dichotomy
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