“Apparently Disney isn’t the only animation studio pushing for an African-princess character. They announced last year that the lead of their movie The Princess and the Frog would be their first African character, with Anika Noni Rose voicing the character. Now Imagine Pictures in on their tail with The African Princess and a princess of their own: Alicia Keys,” reports Rafe Telsch at CinemaBlend.com.

Imagine Pictures announced that Alicia Keys will voice the lead character Princess Zya in their upcoming film The African Princess. The story follows a young African princess who loses her family and her memory, but with the help of her childhood companion Neebo she learns about her heritage and rises up to lead her kingdom.

According to Telsch, Imagine’s press release “goes a little overboard about the picture, talking about how supporters are already proclaiming it a beautiful and enriching tale, destined to go on to be one of the greatest animated films of the century, and that the picture is already receiving tons of support and invitations to film festivals across the country. Odd, then, that the movie has no listing at IMDb and not an actual frame of animation has been seen. The only released images are that of Zya and Neebo. What are these “supporters” basing an opinion on? Then again, press releases are supposed to build excitement, so I guess it’s just doing its job.”

He goes on to blog that “Alicia Keys is a good casting choice to anchor this kind of story, though, if for no other reason than the fact that her musical crowd will follow her career into the theater. Here’s hoping the story is good too and this isn’t just generated to compete with Disney’s next animated feature.” The African Princess is slated for a 2008 release.