Fans Disgusted by “Butchered,” White-Washed Disney Merchandise

in Disney, Merchandise, Movies

Posted on by Jess Colopy 7 Comments
Left: A Funko of Naveen and tiana dancing (Naveen is covered up with a shocked emoji). Right: Princess Tiana and Naveen smile in a still from 'Princess and the Frog.'

Princess and the Frog (2009) saw a cultural resurgence last year when it was revealed that Princess Tiana would take over Splash Mountain at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open at both Disney Parks in late 2024, and construction has already begun.

Related: Dr. Facilier Should Be Disney’s Next Live-Action Villain Backstory

The Disney Princess’s dream will also come true at Disneyland Park later this year with Tiana’s Palace, a restaurant inspired by the New Orleans cuisine from Princess and the Frog. 

Princess Tiana kisses Naveen (as a frog).
Credit: Disney

To celebrate, Walt Disney Animation Studios collaborated with Original Funko for a vinyl figure of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen dancing together. But you won’t find a record of the Funko Pop on official social media channels. Just a day after it was revealed, the Pop figure received so much backlash that it was deleted.

It started with a Quote Tweet from @dansenolsens, who shared the official photo of the Funko Pop side-by-side with a still from Princess and the Frog. Notably, Prince Naveen looks much whiter than he does on screen:

STOP THE MF MUSIC

WHO IS THAT WHITE MAN CUZ IK IT’S NOT NAVEEN. I’m so sick of Funko doing this sh*t, my *ss was excited to cop man H*LL NAWL.

The posts received hundreds of thousands of likes and retweets. The original poster told another upset Disney fan that they “butchered” Naveen:

NOT MY KING?

butchered him

@106andstevie wrote:

who is that white man…?

Some even alleged that they made Princess Tiana lighter than she is in the Disney movie:

And since we’re talking abt it, they could’ve put a little more darkness in the color mixer for Tiana too!

On January 27, Original Funko re-released an image of the Disney100 Celebration Funko Pop with a more accurate skin tone, alleging that the concept art posted did not accurately reflect the product:

*Our previous post showed an image of the Naveen Funko Pop! that is not true to the product, which is accurately shown here.

They also released the following statement:

We acknowledge that in our previous post Naveen’s skin tone was not accurate, nor was it reflective of the product itself. The image in this updated post is of the final product. We sincerely apologize for this error.

Entertainment Earth also updated its product page to reflect a version of the Funko Pop with an accurate skin tone for Prince Naveen. It can be pre-ordered for $29.99.

What do you think about the Princess and the Frog Funko Pop? 

*Editor’s Note: This story has been updated since it’s publication.

Jess Colopy

Jess Colopy is a Disney College Program alum and kid-at-heart. When she’s not furiously typing in a coffee shop, you can find her on the hunt for the newest Stitch pin.

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