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The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 49th Disney animated feature film, it is inspired in part by the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which in turn is based on the German folk tale "The Frog Prince" as collected by the Brothers Grimm. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Peter Del Vecho, from a screenplay that Musker and Clements co-wrote with Rob Edwards. The directors also co-wrote the story with the writing team of Greg Erb and Jason Oremland.
The film stars the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jennifer Cody, John Goodman, Keith David, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, and Terrence Howard. Set in New Orleans during the 1920s, the film tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing a prince who has been turned into a frog by an evil witch doctor, Tiana becomes a frog herself and must find a way to turn back into a human before it is too late.
The Princess and the Frog began production in July 2006, under the working title The Frog Princess. It marked Disney's brief return to traditional animation, as it was the mainstream animation studio's first traditionally animated film since Home on the Range (2004). Musker and Clements, directors of Disney's The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), and Treasure Planet (2002) returned to Disney to direct The Princess and the Frog. The studio returned to a Broadway musical-style format frequently used during the Disney Renaissance, and the film features a score and songs written, composed, and conducted by Randy Newman, well known for his musical involvement in Pixar films such as the Toy Story franchise.
The Princess and the Frog premiered at the Roy E. Disney Animation Building on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank on November 15, 2009, and first opened in a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on November 25, followed by its wide release on December 11. The film received largely positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation (particularly the revival of the hand-drawn form), characters, music, and themes; however, it was criticized for its depiction of Louisiana Voodoo and alleged historical negationism of its depiction of the Southern United States during the Jim Crow era. It was a qualified success at the box office: it somewhat underperformed Disney's targets yet finished in first place in North America on its opening weekend and grossed around $271 million worldwide (becoming, in the process, Disney’s most successful traditionally animated film since Lilo & Stitch in 2002). It received three Oscar nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards: one for Best Animated Feature and two for Best Original Song.
Disney had once announced that 2004's Home on the Range would be their last traditionally animated film. After the company's acquisition of Pixar in 2006, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, the new president and chief creative officer of Disney Animation Studios, reversed this decision and reinstated hand-drawn animation at the studio. Many animators who had either been laid off or had left the studio when the traditional animation units were dissolved in 2003 were located and re-hired for the project.
Tiana was inspired in part by famed restaurateur Leah Chase, whom Clements and Musker met on their research trip to New Orleans. Clements elaborated, "There's a woman in New Orleans named Lee (sic) Chase who was a waitress and ultimately opened a restaurant with her husband … we met with her and we talked with her and she went to kind of into her story, her philosophy about food, which is a big element of the movie."
Animation and design
Clements and Musker had agreed early on that the style they were aiming for was primarily that of Lady and the Tramp (1955), a film which they and John Lasseter feel represents "the pinnacle of Disney's style". "After that, everything started becoming more stylized, like Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians—which are fantastic films as well, but there's a particular style (to Lady and the Tramp) that's so classically Disney." Lady and the Tramp also heavily informed the style of the New Orleans scenes, while Disney's Bambi (1942) served as the template for the bayou scenes. Bambi was described as a stylistic reference for the painted backgrounds, as according to art director Ian Gooding "Bambi painted what it feels like to be in the forest instead of the forest" so The Princess and the Frog would in turn try capturing the essence of roaming through New Orleans.
Release
The film premiered in theaters with a limited run in New York and Los Angeles beginning on November 25, 2009, followed by wide release on December 11, 2009. The film was originally set for release on Christmas Day 2009, but its release date was changed due to a competing family film from Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, scheduled for release the same day. The Princess and the Frog received a limited re-release in AMC Theatres, lasting for one week from October 6 to October 12, 2017, as part of the Dream Big, Princess campaign.
Marketing
The Princess and the Frog was supported by a wide array of merchandise leading up to and following the film's release. Although Disney's main marketing push was not set to begin until November 2009, positive word-of-mouth promotion created demand for merchandise well in advance of the film. Princess Tiana costumes were selling out prior to Halloween 2009, and a gift set of Tiana-themed hair-care products from Carol's Daughter sold out in seven hours on the company's website. Other planned merchandise includes a cookbook for children and even a wedding gown. Princess Tiana was also featured a few months before the release in the Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate! show. The film itself was promoted through advertisements, including one from GEICO where Naveen, as a frog, converses with the company's gecko mascot.
A live parade and show called Tiana's Showboat Jubilee! premiered on October 25, 2009, at the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and on November 5 at Disneyland in California. In Disneyland, actors in New Orleans Square paraded to the Rivers of America and boarded the park's steamboat. From there, the cast, starring Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Louis the alligator, and Doctor Facilier, would sing songs from the movie, following a short story line taking place after the events of the film. The Disneyland version's actors actually partook in singing, while the Walt Disney World rendition incorporated lip-syncing.
Tiana's Showboat Jubilee! ran at both parks until January 3, 2010. At Disneyland Park, the show was replaced by a land-based event called Princess Tiana's Mardi Gras Celebration, which features Princess Tiana along with five of the original presentation's "Mardi Gras dancers" and the park's "Jambalaya Jazz Band" as they perform songs from the movie. "Tiana's Mardi Gras Celebration" officially ended on October 3, 2010. However, it returned to Disneyland from 2011–2013 as part of the "Limited Time Magic" family-fun weekends.
Tiana also appears in Disneyland Paris's New Generation Festival. Some of the characters appear frequently during World of Color, the nightly fountain and projection show presented at Disney California Adventure. Disney announced on June 4, 2009, that they would release a video game inspired by the film and it was released on November 2009 exclusively for Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. It has been officially described as an "adventure through the exciting world of New Orleans in a family-oriented video game", featuring events from the film and challenges for Princess Tiana.
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and twice for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to Up and Crazy Heart, respectively. It was also nominated for eight Annie Awards and, at the 37th Annie Awards Ceremony on February 6, 2010, won three.
Future
In June 2020, Disney announced that the Splash Mountain theme park attraction, which is themed to Disney's 1946 film Song of the South, would be rethemed based on The Princess and the Frog in Disneyland and Magic Kingdom, which was stated to have had been in development since 2019.
The attraction's story line will take place after the events of the film, with Tiana hosting a party for the people of New Orleans during Carnival season. Tiana discovers that the celebration is missing a key ingredient and needs the guests' help to find it as they join her and Louis on a trip to the bayou.
Upcoming sequel television series
In December 2020, Disney announced a television spin-off titled Tiana would be released on Disney+ in 2023. It was also announced that Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Tiana would be reprising her role in the series. On November 12, 2021, Stella Meghie was announced as writer and director, making her the first African-American director to helm a Walt Disney Animation Studios project. Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer Jennifer Lee contacted Meghie for the project following the latter's attempt to pitch a live-action remake of The Princess and the Frog. The series will center on Tiana as she explores her city of New Orleans.
Potential live-action adaptation
In January 2022, Jennifer Lee revealed that Stella Meghie, writer and director of Tiana, wanted to develop a live-action adaptation of the film. On March 16, 2023, it was reported during the DisInsider Walt's Apartment Podcast that it is in development.
(Wikipedia)