The induction of a new Royal at Walt Disney Parks is always a grandly ceremonious affair, involving the unfurling of comically oversized scrolls and the bellowing of decrees by stately Magic Kingdom spokespeople in tri-cornered hats, the various members of their adoptive family looking on in delight. (And, in select cases -- specifically at Disneyland Resort Paris -- they celebrate afterward with a two-day orgy.)
And so it shall be, and so it is written, that The Princess and the Frog's Princess Tiana -- the first hand-drawn star in some time for the family studio, and the first African-American princess to star in her own Disney movie -- should receive such a warm welcome. Hers was accompanied by an earsplitting riverboat cruise, reminiscent of the kind all New Orleanians take regularly to pick up the groceries. Look closely and you'll notice a man in purple tails and a skull-adorned top hat atop the vessel: It's none other than Frog villain Dr. Facilier, or as your children will refer to him, "AAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGG!!!!!!!"