This should be exciting for pretty much everyone, as this is not only their first black but also American princess – and it’s a very American story. Disney is known for drawing on the more magical aspects of a culture for its films, so it’s all the more appropriate that they’ve set it in the mythic south. And what’s more, they’ve set it to jazz and gospel, one of the few musical styles (perhaps the only ones?) to which America can lay sole claim.

If I’m worried about anything, it’s not voodoo, but whether it’s entertaining or not. There will definitely be some issues raised about it, and a lot of the discussion will be racially charged. Yes, it’s Disney’s first black princess, which will largely overshadow the fact that much of the plot draws upon our shared American cultural heritage (yes, one exists).

There’s also a lot of irony in this — many of our myths, our folklore, and those music forms that we can claim exclusively arose out of a culture that’s been largely marginalized and discriminated against. Black America had a huge role in shaping the unique cultural identity of the country as a whole. But how many people are going to watch this film and see that?

* Can you tell I’m dying to review this thing?