Snippet from an extensive interview with Charita Carter at Forbes -
"Before the pandemic turned the world upside down, the Mickey and Minnie attraction was open for nine days. A few months later, the then President of Walt Disney Imagineering, Bob Weis, contacted Carter and told her that "we are bringing Princess Tiana to both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, and we would like you to be the producer," she disclosed as tears flooded her face. She communicates that her creative journey as an Imagineer was only just unfolding.
The preliminary conceptualizations by Blue Sky fueled the current ideas that helped to complete Princess Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction. Carter's team is presently solidifying the script for the ride, which is the synergistic phase, "People get together in a room, [with] a board, [and] start throwing stuff on the board, pin it up, and have a conversation, and you read people's body language."
However, the pandemic halted in-person creative interaction, and the group had to rely on Zoom calls to continue constructing the project. Carter worked with Carmen Smith, Senior Vice President, and Executive Creative Development Product/Content and Inclusive Strategies for Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products; she made sure to supply the teams with connections, knowledge, and the necessary tools to work on the design. Since the employees could not travel to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Princess Tiana's story takes place, one of their colleagues who worked in New Orleans provided the team members with virtual tours of the location by using her iPhone on a gimbal.
"We're getting ready to go into our production phase where we start building stuff, then next we'll be at a point where we start installing. We will have previews for our guests, cut that ribbon, and then we get to be opened up to the world," Carter promises of the ride that will be available to the public in late 2024.
When the animated film "Princess and The Frog" premiered in 2009, it was met with jubilation. "Finally, here is something that all little girls, especially young black girls, can embrace," Cori Murray, the then entertainment director at Essence magazine, said to CNN. The first Disney-animated African American princess impacted young girls to women who finally had the chance to see themselves reflected in a cherished art form.
Carter recollects, outfitted in a green dress, going to a fundraiser at a museum in New Orleans that selected Princess Tiana as the theme with a group of Imagineers. "There was a sense of inspiration and pride in seeing that, but I remember going to this particular ball, and the majority of the African-American people there were serving. They were either in the kitchen or doing various things. I remember walking in with my dress on, and one of the waiters asked, 'Do you have a minute?' I'm going to cry when I tell the story," Carter becomes visibly emotional as her voice shakes and eyes well up with tears as she retells the poignant story.
"And I said, 'Sure.' I walked back toward the back, and they had all lined up and started clapping. They shared what Tiana meant to them and what it meant for me to be at that ball. Tiana inspires me because she represents a woman who looks like me, has a dream, works very hard, and won't take no for an answer; she overcame and then wanted to turn back and make sure that everybody else was healthy and whole in realizing their dreams. So I see myself in her, and I wasn't planning on crying," she sentimentally remarks.
She attempts to choke back her tears as she continues to speak and acknowledges how attendees at the D23 Expo have expressed their gratitude. The people of New Orleans have also thanked her for building Princess Tiana's Bayou Adventure. "It's one of those realizations that it's so much bigger than me or anybody on the team to be a part of it; it's an honor," she weeps as her voice trails off, engulfed in an overwhelmingly gentle appreciation.
Within a few moments, as she returns to a tranquil composure, she addresses the concern about how the lack of representation on television and film has affected minorities, "We've learned to self-impose ourselves on the heroes that we face. I would see Wonder Woman and be able to self-impose, but it's not the same. When you look and say they look like me it's all the difference in the world. It's just so amazing that the Disney company is, in my mind leading right now, making sure that we have representation across the board. I think the impact that will have on our society and on young people we can't even imagine at this juncture, what the impact that will have on the future," she powerfully states."
www.forbes.com
"Before the pandemic turned the world upside down, the Mickey and Minnie attraction was open for nine days. A few months later, the then President of Walt Disney Imagineering, Bob Weis, contacted Carter and told her that "we are bringing Princess Tiana to both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, and we would like you to be the producer," she disclosed as tears flooded her face. She communicates that her creative journey as an Imagineer was only just unfolding.
The preliminary conceptualizations by Blue Sky fueled the current ideas that helped to complete Princess Tiana's Bayou Adventure attraction. Carter's team is presently solidifying the script for the ride, which is the synergistic phase, "People get together in a room, [with] a board, [and] start throwing stuff on the board, pin it up, and have a conversation, and you read people's body language."
However, the pandemic halted in-person creative interaction, and the group had to rely on Zoom calls to continue constructing the project. Carter worked with Carmen Smith, Senior Vice President, and Executive Creative Development Product/Content and Inclusive Strategies for Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products; she made sure to supply the teams with connections, knowledge, and the necessary tools to work on the design. Since the employees could not travel to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Princess Tiana's story takes place, one of their colleagues who worked in New Orleans provided the team members with virtual tours of the location by using her iPhone on a gimbal.
"We're getting ready to go into our production phase where we start building stuff, then next we'll be at a point where we start installing. We will have previews for our guests, cut that ribbon, and then we get to be opened up to the world," Carter promises of the ride that will be available to the public in late 2024.
When the animated film "Princess and The Frog" premiered in 2009, it was met with jubilation. "Finally, here is something that all little girls, especially young black girls, can embrace," Cori Murray, the then entertainment director at Essence magazine, said to CNN. The first Disney-animated African American princess impacted young girls to women who finally had the chance to see themselves reflected in a cherished art form.
Carter recollects, outfitted in a green dress, going to a fundraiser at a museum in New Orleans that selected Princess Tiana as the theme with a group of Imagineers. "There was a sense of inspiration and pride in seeing that, but I remember going to this particular ball, and the majority of the African-American people there were serving. They were either in the kitchen or doing various things. I remember walking in with my dress on, and one of the waiters asked, 'Do you have a minute?' I'm going to cry when I tell the story," Carter becomes visibly emotional as her voice shakes and eyes well up with tears as she retells the poignant story.
"And I said, 'Sure.' I walked back toward the back, and they had all lined up and started clapping. They shared what Tiana meant to them and what it meant for me to be at that ball. Tiana inspires me because she represents a woman who looks like me, has a dream, works very hard, and won't take no for an answer; she overcame and then wanted to turn back and make sure that everybody else was healthy and whole in realizing their dreams. So I see myself in her, and I wasn't planning on crying," she sentimentally remarks.
She attempts to choke back her tears as she continues to speak and acknowledges how attendees at the D23 Expo have expressed their gratitude. The people of New Orleans have also thanked her for building Princess Tiana's Bayou Adventure. "It's one of those realizations that it's so much bigger than me or anybody on the team to be a part of it; it's an honor," she weeps as her voice trails off, engulfed in an overwhelmingly gentle appreciation.
Within a few moments, as she returns to a tranquil composure, she addresses the concern about how the lack of representation on television and film has affected minorities, "We've learned to self-impose ourselves on the heroes that we face. I would see Wonder Woman and be able to self-impose, but it's not the same. When you look and say they look like me it's all the difference in the world. It's just so amazing that the Disney company is, in my mind leading right now, making sure that we have representation across the board. I think the impact that will have on our society and on young people we can't even imagine at this juncture, what the impact that will have on the future," she powerfully states."
Meet Charita Carter, The First African-American Woman Executive Producer Of Walt Disney Imagineering
Before embarking on the pathway to an Imagineering career, Carter served as a senior accountant.
www.forbes.com
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