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Movie Review | 'The Princess and the Frog'

That Old Bayou Magic: Kiss and Ribbit (and Sing)

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By Manohla Dargis

• Nov. 24, 2009

It’s not easy being green, the heroine of “The Princess and the Frog” discovers. But to judge from how this polished, hand-drawn movie addresses, or rather strenuously avoids, race, it is a lot more difficult to be black, particularly in a Disney animated feature. If you haven’t heard: Disney, the company that immortalized pale pretties like Snow White and the zip-a-dee-doo-dah of plantation living in “Song of the South,” has made a fairy tale about a black heroine, a character whose shoulders and story prove far too slight for all the hopes already weighing her down. It’s no wonder she’s soon jumping into the bayou, green legs and all.

But before she leaps, Tiana is just another child of New Orleans. When we first meet her, sometime before World War I, Tiana (initially voiced by Elizabeth Dampier) is keeping company with her mother, a seamstress, Eudora (Oprah Winfrey), who sews princess dresses for Charlotte (initially Breanna Brooks), the pint-size daughter of the richest white man in the Crescent City, Big Daddy LaBouff (John Goodman). Life is more humble back at Tiana’s home, where her own father, James (Terrence Howard, silky as always), an aspiring restaurateur, makes a gumbo that draws neighbors from their homes and, later, he helps tuck her into bed. Wearing work boots and suspenders, his sleeves rolled up, James cautions Tiana that it’s fine to wish upon a star, but that hard work gets the job done.

Hard work is a recurrent theme in “Princess,” which the directors John Musker and Ron Clements, who wrote the script with Rob Edwards, further underscore when the adult Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) swans into the Jazz Age. Though the theme certainly serves the story — like her father, Tiana yearns to open a restaurant — it also displaces race, which the film, given the commercial stakes, cannot engage. Hard work separates her from Charlotte (voiced as an adult by Jennifer Cody), not race (or segregation). It drives Tiana, feeding her savings and dreams. “I don’t have time for dancing,” she sings. “This old town can slow me down/people taking the easy way./But I know exactly where I’m going,/I’m getting closer and closer every day.”

Hard work, though, also makes the adult Tiana something of a drudge and a bore. Like a lot of classic Disney heroines, Tiana is good and sweet and pretty as a meticulously animated picture, from the top of her sleek chignon down to her high-stepping shoes. Although she can be a whirlwind of activity, as when she balances multiple plates at the cafe where she works double shifts, Tiana doesn’t have the verve of the spunky little girl who bounces through the first few minutes of the movie. What she does have, like most Disney heroines, is a prince charming, Naveen (Bruno Campos), a well-chiseled slab from the fictional kingdom of Maldonia, who rolls into town with a jazzy flourish and a devious manservant, Lawrence (Peter Bartlett).

The prince, disappointingly if not surprisingly, becomes not only Tiana’s salvation but also that of the movie, largely by bringing some slapstick comedy and a touch of suspense into the proceedings, along with the expected romance. Though he catches Tiana’s eye (and she his), Naveen is soon set upon by both Charlotte, who’s angling for a match, and Dr. Facilier (a terrific Keith David), a villain who, as is true of many movies, easily steals the show. As thin as an exclamation mark and just as excited, Dr. Facilier wears spats and a top hat emblazoned with a skull and bones. Long, inky shadows follow his every step, sprouting around him like dark thoughts, as in the bravura musical number “Friends on the Other Side.”

Gorgeously animated with bursts of bright purple and acid green — the realistic lines of the characters explosively give way to increasingly jagged, graphic and surreal shapes — this number erupts early in the story, setting false expectations for the rest of the movie and its songs and animation. Despite some ensuing comic relief, largely in the hefty form of a musical alligator, Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), and a snaggletoothed Cajun firefly, Ray (Jim Cummings), the film sags without Dr. Facilier and his menace. That’s even the case after Tiana, in a sparkling fairy tale moment, kisses a frog and becomes one herself, a transformation that carries her on an extended journey through the bayou and, yes, into her own heart.

There are some lovely and odd interludes on that voyage, notably in the strange, swampy residence of an ancient conjurer, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), who, gumming her lines and charming her pet snake, urges Tiana to “Dig a Little Deeper” (written, like most of the forgettable songs, by Randy Newman). Big girls and little know what happens next, but, my, the movie takes an awfully long time getting there. That finale, like the story itself, represents progress of a kind, I suppose, even if this princess spends an uncommonly long time splashing around as a frog. A frog whose green hue suggests that, if nothing else, Disney finally recognizes that every little girl, no matter her color, represents a new marketing opportunity.

“The Princess and the Frog” is rated G (General Audiences). The shadowy monsters might be a little intense for very young viewers.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

Opens on Wednesday in New York and Los Angeles.

Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements; written by Mr. Musker, Mr. Clements and Rob Edwards, based on a story by Mr. Clements, Mr. Musker, Greg Erb and Jason Oremland; music by Randy Newman; produced by Peter Del Vecho; released by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

WITH THE VOICES OF: Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Terrence Howard (James), John Goodman (Big Daddy), Keith David (Dr. Facilier), Jim Cummings (Ray), Jenifer Lewis (Mama Odie), Oprah Winfrey (Eudora), Bruno Campos (Prince Naveen), Jennifer Cody (Charlotte LaBouff), Peter Bartlett (Lawrence), Michael-Leon Wooley (Louis), Elizabeth Dampier (Young Tiana) and Breanna Brooks (Young Charlotte).

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Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog

Disney's newest animated tale will please kids and grown-ups alike

Young viewers of The Princess and the Frog won’t give a croak that the marvelous new ? adventure from Walt Disney Animation Studios has been created using the same hand-drawn, 2-D techniques that entertained those viewers’ Bambi -loving grandparents more than 65 years ago. But adults should: This old-fashioned charmer holds its own beside the motion-capture elegance of Disney’s A Christmas Carol , the engrossing stop-motion universes of Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox , the CG-enhanced genius of Up , the wonder of 3-D technology, and, indeed, the unique, hand-drawn Japanese artistry of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo as the year’s deepest, most affecting, and most inventive movies.

Still, for the greenest or the grayest in the audience, the inclusive story of a resourceful African-American girl in 1930s New Orleans who kisses a frog with unexpected, funny results is its own reward: This A-level, G-rated entertainment is a fresh twist on the classic fairy tale about a handsome prince temporarily out of commission due to a malicious magic spell, a royal catch requiring the smooch of the right kindhearted, risk-taking heroine to restore him to his waiting throne. (As an added benefit, the smoocher gets to stand alongside her royal as his princess.) Only this time, the kiss that the lovely heroine, Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), bestows on frog-bodied Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) backfires. He ends up in the same shape that he hopped into — and Tiana turns amphibian too. The patient, beautiful, hard-?working, entrepreneurial young woman is particularly irked because she has no desire to be a princess at all; what she really wants to do is open her own restaurant.

Great swampy mess! The race to restore happily-ever-after order involves a jazz-loving alligator named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley); Ray (Jim Cummings), a bebopping Cajun firefly; Dr. Facilier (Keith David), a shady New Orleans gent who dabbles in dark arts; and Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), ancient royalty of the bayou magic world with the power to undo Dr. Facilier’s treachery. And this being the Disney kingdom under the beneficent creative rule of veteran directors Ron Clements and John Musker ( The Little Mermaid , Aladdin ) and composer Randy Newman ( Cars , Toy Story ), the frolic also includes songs of gumption (”Almost There”), mischief (”Friends on the Other Side”), optimism (”When We’re Human”), spiritual uplift (”Dig a Little Deeper”), and ? the love of something up above — in this case, an evening star (”Ma Belle Evangeline”).

But while little kids laugh at the froggy humor (summed up in the excellent, repeated punchline ”that’s not slime you are secreting — it’s mucus!”), the firefly antics, and the cute sight of a fat alligator wailing on his trumpet like Louis Armstrong, adult viewers are rewarded with something more moving — a Proustian remembrance of the durable ? power of Disney at its old-school best. The filmmakers trust in story over special effects, and character over celebrity voices (there are almost none here, save for a brief cameo by queen-of-all-she-surveys Oprah Winfrey as Tiana’s saintly mother, Eudora). They steep the movie in colloquial American culture. They offer a sophisticated musical experience (ragtime, zydeco, gospel, Tin Pan Alley) ? accessible even to the youngest ears. And in doing so, the creative team behind The Princess and the Frog upholds the great tradition of classic Disney animation.

The Princess and the Frog happens to introduce an African-American heroine, a Disney animation first. The story also ? happens to be set in an idealized New Orleans of an earlier time, a city whose historic beauty and cultural importance will forever be ? filtered by contemporary adults through grimmer awareness of the natural and man-made disasters of Hurricane Katrina. It’s all the more effective, though, that this Big Easy of a movie needs no overt mention of Katrina to move our hearts, and inserts no overt lesson in the history of civil rights to distract from the groundbreaking matter-of-factness of Tiana’s equality. What matters is that Tiana triumphs as both a girl and a frog, that dreams are fulfilled, wrongs are righted, love prevails, and music unites not only a princess and a frog but also kids and grown-ups. A

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You review: The Princess and the Frog

Disney's return to old-fashioned hand drawn animation may take the rare step of pitching an African-American character in the lead, but some critics reckon it's a pretty formulaic concoction. Yet others point out that the film is filled with rich, vibrant characters and ravishing images from the paintbrushes of legendary animation directors Ron Clements and John Musker.

The Princess and the Frog is a traditional musical romance (only loosely connected to the Grimm Brothers fairy tale The Frog Prince) which recalls a cavalcade of similar Disney offerings stretching all the way back to 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. This time the "princess" is a lowly waitress, Tiana, working two jobs in 1920s New Orleans in the hope of saving enough money to one day own her own restaurant, a dream her late father never had the cash to realise. And the frog? Well he's a foreign prince of spurious extraction (Naveen of Maldonia), a playboy who's been cut off by his parents and has arrived in the Big Easy in the hope of marrying someone independently wealthy in order to continue living his life of luxury. By the time the two first meet, the latter has been transformed into the amphibious creature of the title, and when Tiana kisses him in the hope of returning him to his human form, the usual result is reversed and the two find themselves hopping off into the bayou in the hope of discovering a cure. On the way, they meet a jazz-mad alligator named Louis, and a lovelorn Cajun firefly, Ray, who resembles a tiny, winged version of Bubbles from The Wire.

"The geniuses at Pixar have revitalised the art of animation," writes our own Peter Bradshaw . "How weird then to see Pixar's guiding spirit, John Lasseter, as executive producer of this very old-style Disney animation, which could have been made during the Nixon administration. It's a moderate film, nowhere near the Toy Story league."

"The plot is thin but fun … and the story is uneven," writes Time Out's Tom Huddlestone . "But there are some great characters, some even better jokes, a general sense of good humour and that entrancing, eye-ravishing old-school animation."

"The real surprise here is not about race, but how Disney has mined its own heritage for inspiration," writes The Times' Kevin Maher . "The visual references are especially arch, and include nods to the Pink Elephants sequence from Dumbo, the Bear Necessities number from The Jungle Book, and Robin Hood's co-starring snake, Hiss. In short, it's like a refresher course in Disney past, but in a good way."

"The opening scenes of Disney's The Princess and the Frog are like a cool shower after a long and sweaty day," enthuses Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times . "This is what classic animation once was like! No 3-D! No glasses! No extra ticket charge! No frantic frenzies of meaningless action! And … good gravy! A story! Characters! A plot! It's set in a particular time and place! And it uses (calm me down here) lovingly hand-drawn animation that proceeds at a human pace, instead of racing with odd smoothness. I'm just gonna stand here and let it pour over me."

Ebert may have found his old school champ in the form of The Princess and the Frog, but I can't help feeling the film represents a slightly missed opportunity for Disney to show that old-fashioned animation doesn't have to mean old-fashioned storylines. Randy Newman's rousing songs and some genuinely exquisite musical fantasy scenes conjur up a vivid, sumptuous vision of jazz age New Orleans, and there are some deliciously dark moments reminiscent of Tim Burton's excellent The Nightmare Before Christmas in the shape of voodoo-practicing villain Dr Facilier.

Yet in their efforts to present a timeless, "classic" Disney animation, the writers have erred too far on the side of caution: if Pixar's people are now in charge at Disney, where are the imaginative, widely varied storylines to compare with those featured in The Incredibles, Wall-E, Finding Nemo or Ratatouille? Why does the movie have to centre on a predictable romance?

What did you reckon to The Princess and the Frog? Were you delighted to see Disney's hand-drawn animators working once again and captivated by the spellbinding storyline? Or did the film strike you as a troubled attempt to recapture the company's illustrious historical allure?

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• John Lasseter

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The Princess and the Frog Parent Guide

While this film includes some fun jazz music and a strong message about the ethics of work, parents will want to be aware of scary voodoo scenes..

Disney returns to the craft of traditional animation with this modern twist on an old fairytale. Set in the New Orleans French Quarter, a young girl named Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose) might just be the princess who can undo the spell cast on a prince-turned-frog (voice of Bruno Campos).

Release date December 11, 2009

Run Time: 97 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) is a girl with lots of gumption and a fabulous gumbo recipe. She’s determined to achieve her dream, which she shared with her late father, of opening a restaurant that will be the toast of New Orleans. Until she can save up the money to start her business, she’s waiting tables and serving her mouth-watering beignets to all and sundry.

Her transformation from New Orleans’ waitress to amphibian takes place when she is entreated for a kiss by a talking frog claiming to be the handsome Prince Naveen (voice by Bruno Campos). It seems the royal scion has had an ill-fated run-in with Dr. Facilier (voice by Keith David), a charlatan and shyster who practices black magic and voodoo on the seedier side of the city. Only a smooch will restore the prince to his human form.

Accompanying them on the journey is Ray the Firefly (voice by Jim Cummings) and the jazz loving alligator Louis (voice by Michael-Leon Wooley). While the small company fights off frog-eating hillbillies and other hungry predators, Dr. Facilier is back in the French Quarter using his magic to marry off the Prince’s advisor (voice by Peter Bartlett) to the wealthy daughter (voice by Jennifer Cody) of ‘Big Daddy’ La Bouff (voice by John Goodman).

Along with the studio’s return to traditional animation, the script also brings back the inclusion of large-scale musical numbers with an infectious jazzy beat. Most of them are a lot of fun, but one song sequence involving the evil Dr. Facilier resembles a hallucinogenic dream sequence with dark shadows, wild colors and a scary musical score. The characters in the story are also repeatedly exposed to moments of peril and ghoulish spirits — portrayals that are clearly too intense for most young viewers.This film does have a much stronger fear factor than some other Disney productions, and parents will want to carefully consider their kids’ tolerance for scary imagery before deciding if The Princess and the Frog is a good choice for family movie night.

Prior to experiencing life as a frog, Tiana lives with loving parents (voices by Oprah Winfrey and Terrence Howard) who try and teach their daughter about the important things in life. But like many children, Tiana has to come to an appreciation of those on her own. After decades of endorsing the idea of “wishing on a star” or having helpless princesses rescued by dashing princes, this Disney adaptation gives kids a clear message that success results from hard work, sacrifice, and deferred gratification - a bandwagon parents are going to jump on to with enthusiasm.

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The Princess and the Frog Rating & Content Info

Why is The Princess and the Frog rated G? The Princess and the Frog is rated G by the MPAA

Voodoo and other forms of black magic are depicted in this film. A character makes a deal with the evil powers from the “other” side and uses it to cast spells. Dark spirits slither through the streets and chase down unsuspecting characters. A band of hillbillies capture the frogs, hit each other with sticks and shoot at one another. Other characters are also shot at. A young girl unintentionally tortures her pet cat and repeatedly has temper tantrums. A man is portrayed in a comedic fashion falling down a set of stairs, running into people and getting his head caught in a tuba. Small animals are smashed with a book and another is stepped on. The death and funeral of a central character is depicted. Moments of peril are repeatedly shown. A girl discusses her father’s death. A male character comments on his interest in a variety of women. Secondary characters are shown drinking on several occasions.

Page last updated May 30, 2020

The Princess and the Frog Parents' Guide

What talent does Tiana have? What things does she do to develop her skills? Try your own hand at making gumbo and other New Orleans’ cuisine.

How do Tiana’s parents help her pursue her dream? Why is it important to balance different aspects of life?

Loved this movie? Try these books…

Readers looking for more princess stories should find a copy of "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine, which re-imagines the story of Cinderella, with a dangerous spell, and even more devious stepmother, and a slightly hapless Prince Charming. Younger kids might like Robert Munsch' "The Paper Bag Princess", in which the damsel is neither in distress nor in need of rescue.

Vivian Vande Velde retells the age old fairy tale in Frogged. In this version of the story, Princess Imogene gets kissed by the amphibian, and becomes a frog. But the only way she can become human again is to convince someone else to give her a peck.

Princess Esmerelda is clumsy and graceless – not like the ideal princess. And it only gets worse when she kisses a frog and becomes one as well. Find out how she breaks the spell in E.D. Baker’s The Frog Princess.

Garth Nix’s Frogkisser tells the tale of Princess Anya, who has the ability to break curses with a kiss. Forced on the run, Anya has hilarious adventures…and the chance to save her kingdom.

The most recent home video release of The Princess and the Frog movie is March 16, 2010. Here are some details…

Release Date: 16 March 2010 The Princess and the Frog releases to DVD with the following extras: - Deleted Scenes - The Princess Portraits Game - Audio Commentary By Filmmakers - Music Video By Ne-Y The Princess and the Frog releases to Blu-ray also offers: - The Disney Legacy - The Making Of A Princess - Conjuring The Villain - The Return To Hand-Drawn Animation - The Disney Legacy - Disney’s Newest Princess - Bringing Life To Animation The Princess and the Frog releases in a Combo Edition that includes: - All of the above bonus materials - The movie in Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Copy.

Related home video titles:

The creative team of Ron Clements and John Musker also worked on Disney’s Aladdin and The Little Mermaid . A frog convinced he’s a prince appears in the animation The Swan Princess. Magical kisses have an unexpected result in Shrek and Shrek 2 .

Movie Review | ‘Princess and the Frog’ is a hearty hop

The last time we heard from the hand-drawn animators at Disney, they offered up the barnyard tale “Home on the Range.” The 2004 ’toon was so forgettable it seemed as though it really might be the last time we ever heard from the hand-drawn animators at the studio where the art form was pioneered.

Thankfully, the spirit of animation maestro Walt Disney lives on. The studio has gone back to its roots with a fresh, funny retelling of a classic fairy tale in “The Princess and the Frog,” Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation after a five-year hiatus.

Like everyone else, Disney and subsidiary Pixar Animation mostly are fixated on computer animation. But Pixar masterminds John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, who now supervise all Disney animation, love cartoons of every kind and have renewed the studio’s commitment to the pen-and-ink variety along with the pixelated.

“Princess and the Frog” isn’t the second coming of “Beauty and the Beast” or “The Lion King.” It’s just plain pleasant, an old-fashioned little charmer that’s not straining to be the next glib animated compendium of pop-culture flotsam.

Updating the Brothers Grimm tale “The Frog Prince” into a toe-tapping musical set on the Louisiana bayou in the 1920s, directors Ron Clements and John Musker deliver a satisfying gumbo of snappy dialogue, lovable characters and bright-hued images, spiced up with just the right touch of voodoo peril.

Starting off in New Orleans, the film centers on hardworking waitress Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), who saves every dime in hopes of opening the restaurant that was the dream of her late father (Terrence Howard). In a small role, Oprah Winfrey provides the voice of Tiana’s mom.

Tiana is sidetracked by some dark magic after Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), a jazz-loving dreamboat from a land far, far away, comes to sample the vibrant New Orleans music.

Naveen falls under the spell of voodoo practitioner Dr. Facilier (voiced with oozing menace by Keith David), who turns the prince into a talking frog as part of a plan to unleash his evil “friends on the other side” in New Orleans.

The frog prince encounters Tiana dressed as royalty at a costume ball in the mansion of her childhood pal Charlotte (Jennifer Cody) and her genteel dad (John Goodman).

The inevitable kiss Naveen talks Tiana into doesn’t restore his human form, though. Rather, Tiana is transformed into a frog herself, and the two wind up pursued by Facilier’s evil allies through swamp country.

In fine Disney inter-species tradition, Tiana and Naveen find comic sidekicks in Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a goofy alligator who dreams of playing trumpet with a jazz band, and Ray (Jim Cummings), a gap-toothed Cajun firefly with a heart as big as the heavens.

The songs and score by Disney stalwart Randy Newman, including a tune sung by Dr. John, are brisk and catchy, while there’s plenty of action and slapstick humor for boys and dads in what is largely a love story for girls and moms.

Sure, the romance is a little sticky and cloying. But even the hardest of hard cases might sniffle a bit over how the unobtainable love of firefly Ray plays out.

Clements and Musker, whose credits include such hits as “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” but also the mega-bomb “Treasure Planet,” present rich worlds both in the city and on the bayou. Some of the animated sequences are downright trippy — Disney influenced by the wild imagination of such masters as Hayao Miyazaki, whose U.S. releases the studio handles.

Like the jerky stop-motion animation of “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” the silky canvas of “Princess and the Frog” stands as a nice counterpoint to the sharp virtual worlds of computer imagery that dominate today’s cartoons. The hand-drawn style is where Disney feature animation started seven decades ago with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” but eventually, in Hollywood at least, everything old is new again.

“Princess and the Frog” mostly ignores the racial divides of the times. Tiana’s a poor black girl, her best friend’s a rich, spoiled white girl. How often did that happen in 1920s New Orleans?

But this isn’t “Roots,” it’s a Disney family affair. In her favor, Tiana joins a list of ethnically diverse Disney heroines — Pocahantas, Mulan, Lilo — that show how far things have come from the days when a pasty-faced princess hung out with seven little white dudes.

“The Princess and the Frog,” a Walt Disney Pictures release, is rated G. Running time: 95 minutes. Three stars out of four.

The Princess and the Frog

Disney goes back to the drawing board with results more diverting than captivating.

By Justin Chang

Justin Chang

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Disney goes back to the drawing board with results more diverting than captivating in “The Princess and the Frog .” Conspicuously outfitted with an African-American heroine and a vibrant 1920s New Orleans setting, this cheeky update of a classic fairy tale boasts almost as many talking points as merchandising opportunities, and should enjoy jazzy holiday biz starting with its Thanksgiving weekend bicoastal engagement and extending well past its Dec. 11 wide release. But whatever it accomplishes for Disney’s reputation or bottom line, this long-anticipated throwback to a venerable house style never comes within kissing distance of the studio’s former glory.

While it will be criticized and defended by op-ed writers with equal vigor, the company’s first traditionally animated picture since 2004’s “Home on the Range” — and, coincidentally, its first inhouse toon of the Obama era — behaves much like any Disney movie. It grafts easy stereotypes and funny accents onto warm, likable supporting characters; it telegraphs its setting via recognizable cultural cliches (in this case, beignets and voodoo); and it revolves around a lovely maiden who, headstrong though she may be, is in the end so blandly honorable that her ethnicity is pretty much beside the point.

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But Tiana, unlike Snow White (to say the least), lives not in a castle but in a poor, predominantly black Big Easy neighborhood. In a prologue that immediately establishes the film’s hip, self-aware sensibility, we learn why sassy-but-classy Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) has grown up believing not in stars or fairy godmothers, but in ambition and hard work. Devoted to the memory of her late father (because it wouldn’t be a Disney movie without at least one dead parent), she’s determined to fulfill his long-held dream of opening the finest restaurant in New Orleans.

But Tiana is thwarted when she crosses paths with visiting royalty: handsome, dark-skinned Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), who, through an elaborately silly chain of events, has been transformed into a frog by devious voodoo-peddler Dr. Facilier (Keith David). Mistaking Tiana for a princess, the frog prince begs her to restore him with a kiss, only to have the spell rebound on Tiana and turn her into a frog as well.

Unlike most tales of its type, in which the heroine spends the whole movie in pursuit of Prince Charming, “ The Princess and the Frog ” follows the modern romantic-comedy template, granting its amphibious duo plenty of shared screen time and making them polar opposites — he’s cocky and lazy, she’s uptight and bossy — who initially can’t stand each other.

Of course, it’s only a matter of time before Naveen realizes Tiana’s his dreamgirl, but not before they leap through the Louisiana swamps to seek the help of wizened priestess Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis). Along the way, they form friendships — food chain be damned — with trumpet-playing alligator Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and gap-toothed Cajun firefly Ray (Jim Cummings), who do their part to make the picaresque adventure more engaging as it goes along.

All of this is delivered in the usual riotous explosion of color and song. From the mansions of the city’s upscale Garden District and the cast-iron balcony railings of the French Quarter, New Orleans clearly offered the animators no shortage of visual inspiration and architectural variety. And whatever one makes of the material — which sanitizes voodoo for mass moppet consumption and even serves up a G-rated Mardi Gras climax — it’s an unmistakable pleasure to behold an old-school, hand-drawn toon, assembled with pristine craftsmanship and attention to detail, at a time when CG, 3D and even stop-motion animation are all the rage.

Making less of an impression are Randy Newman’s score and songs, which, though they encompass an impressive range of Southern musical styles, won’t have kids or their parents humming on their way out of the theater. With the exception of the film’s strongest tune (Mama Odie’s delightfully upbeat hymn to soul-searching, “Dig a Little Deeper”), most of the numbers play like rehashes of past Disney showstoppers, in purpose if not in style: Dr. Facilier’s sinister “Friends on the Other Side,” for example, recalls Scar’s “Be Prepared” from “The Lion King” (while the bad doctor himself resembles “Aladdin’s” Jafar with a bared midriff).

That derivative quality pervades the entire production, as directors John Musker and Ron Clements — who collaborated on such Disney new-wave masterpieces as “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” but also 2002’s poorly received “Treasure Planet” — seem content to sample the company’s back catalog and riff on classic conventions rather than forge an actual classic. Admittedly, Musker and Clements (who scripted with Rob Edwards) are working in a looser, more insouciant mode than the tradition of vintage Disney storytelling; for many viewers, the mere effort will be enough, even if it primes one’s appetite for better things to come.

Voicework is expectedly top-notch. Rose makes an eminently appealing lead, while Campos invests his grinning frog prince with real charm; Lewis and Cummings upstage everyone with the pic’s most endearing and politically incorrect vocal turns. Jennifer Cody also amuses as Tiana’s spoiled-rich-girl chum, Charlotte, who says things like, “Why, aren’t you just as pretty as a magnolia in May!” and seems to have been conceived along the lines of a young Blanche Devereaux.

• Production: A Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release of a Walt Disney Pictures presentation. Produced by Peter Del Vecho. Executive producers, John Lasseter, Aghi Koh. Directed by John Musker, Ron Clements. Screenplay, Clements, Musker, Rob Edwards; story, Clements, Musker, Greg Erb, inspired in part by "The Frog Princess" by E.D. Baker.
• Crew: (Deluxe color domestic, Technicolor international); editor, Jeff Draheim; original songs and score, Randy Newman; music supervisor, Tom MacDougall; art director, Ian Gooding; supervising sound editor/sound designer (DTS/Dolby Digital/SDDS), Odin Benitez; re-recording mixers, David E. Fluhr, Dean Zupancic; visual effects supervisor, Kyle Odermatt; technical supervisor, Kimberly W. Keech; associate producer, Craig Sost; casting, Jen Rudin. Reviewed at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, Nov. 14, 2009. MPAA Rating: G. Running time: 95 MIN.
• Cast: Voices: Tiana - Anika Noni Rose Prince Naveen - Bruno Campos Dr. Facilier - Keith David Louis - Michael-Leon Wooley Charlotte - Jennifer Cody Ray - Jim Cummings Lawrence - Peter Bartlett Mama Odie - Jenifer Lewis Eudora - Oprah Winfrey James - Terrence Howard "Big Daddy" La Bouff - John Goodman

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Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

Flower Power 2122 days ago

I watched this once or twice when I was a kid, now I am 17 and after watching this again, I even love it more. The animations about the food are just so refreshing and inspiring. The meaning behind the story is lovely. And the best of all is the characters! Especially the prince, Naveen. Why? Well, he has his own personality, not like almost other princes in other Disney movies. Tiana and Naveen definitely have a fantastic romance development, not just ''love-at-first-sight'' like ShowWhite''s or Cinderella''s. <br/>I feel like this should be appreciated more than those trashy movies out there...

Sai Sardar 2944 days ago

NICE TO SEE............................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................

Mauli Agarwal 2956 days ago

Mauli agarwal 2960 days ago, aman jain 35178 3684 days ago.

Disney's new animated feature is a delightful revisionist tale. It not only features a black princess in the traditional fairy tale, showcasing the usual white one as a bimbette, it opts for an Indian prince too. Believe it or not, the frog prince goes by the name Naveen and is the archetypal brown Asian. Reason enough for India/Indians to welcome the film with open arms -- and open hearts.

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The princess and the frog.

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More Joyful than Scary, great music & art

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Scary scenes, warning: spoilers inside of this review, disappointed., very dark very scary, disappointing and too much for a disney movie, will not recommend to anyone..

Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog

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The Princess And The Frog Movie Review

Bad voodoo transforms Tiana into a frog—will she ever break the spell? Check out Kidzworld’s review of The Princess and the Frog to find out.

After his parents cut him off, Prince Naveen decides he’ll marry Charlotte —a rich white girl who’s always wanted to marry a prince—to gain access to her fortune. All goes according to plan until Naveen meets the evil Doctor Facilier who transforms the prince into a frog! Naveen must convince a princess to kiss him or he’ll remain a frog forever!

Wish Upon A Star

Tiana’s father always taught Tiana the value of hard work and told her wishing on stars will only take her so far. As a result, Tiana has never expected a prince to sweep her off her feet and save her from her troubles. Instead, she’s worked hard to make her dreams come true. After toiling away at two waitress jobs , Tiana eventually saves up enough money to buy her own restaurant, but another buyer puts down a higher offer and Tiana has to come up with more money fast. Desperate for help, she wishes on a star—but instead of help, she gets Naveen instead! The frog prince mistakes Tiana for a princess and thinking it will break the spell, he asks her to kiss him. Tiana plants one on him and is transformed into a frog herself! The two must set out across the bayous of New Orleans to find a 197-year-old voodoo queen in hope that she’ll know how to break the spell.

The Bottom Line

The Princess and the Frog is being promoted as Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation as well as their first animated feature starring an African-American princess and the movie doesn’t disappoint on either front. The Princess and the Frog pays tribute to New Orleans and jazz culture and the classic animation harkens back to Disney’s heyday of the Little Mermaid , Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Even though this movie follows these usual Disney formulas—the usual critter sidekicks come in the form of Louis the trumpet-playing alligator and Ray the firefly—it’s such a treat for the eyes that you won’t mind a bit.

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The princess and the frog.

Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. From the creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (ANIKA NONI ROSE), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG marks the return to hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, with music by Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman.

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The Princess and the Frog Reviews

No All Critics reviews for The Princess and the Frog.

The Princess and the Frog Movie Review Summary

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of the princess and the frog, script analysis of the princess and the frog, plot & themes, main character, writing style, movies with storylines, themes & endings like the princess and the frog.

Movie Review

Plot Summary

Film Review

Last year, Disney returned to hand-drawn animation, after a 5-year hiatus, with The Princess and the Frog . From the first animation cel, it's obvious that this project was a labor of love from Disney animators who first got into the business due to a love for 2D animation. With the success of Pixar's computer animated projects and its successors, CGI animation has, sadly, made hand-drawn work a thing of the past. But Disney hopes to bring it back, starting first with The Princess and the Frog .

And really, the only significant problem with The Princess and the Frog lies in the "Louisiana Voodoo" elements. While the black magic of the Shadow Man paints the Voodoo practices in a negative light, a sort of "fairy godmother" found through a 197 year old Voodoo practicing woman named Mama Odie is more like the white witch of the story (she even wears white, while Facilier wears black). And while the story doesn't come out and tell kids to practice "good" Voodoo, it's a little weird to be watching a fairytale that brings a real pagan belief system into its story. Perhaps I'm just more sensitive to this kind of thing as an adult Christian rather than just a child watching a cartoon story, but both my wife and I were a little unsettled by this plot point that we were not aware of going into watching the movie. And throughout the story, we see Voodoo dolls (and one is almost used, apparently to kill an innocent character), a shrunken head, and African tribal Voodoo masks, as well as evil shadow spirits. It all adds up to some intense imagery, the most creepiest being impish, fang-drawn shadows that are likely to scare the socks off of the younger audiences. On the other hand, none of the film's heroes practice Voodoo or act like they intend to at some point - other than having a sort of Wizard Of Oz hope that Mama Odie could help them out of their troubles in the same way that The Wizard would be able to help out Dorothy and the gang.

Overall, I was impressed with the quality and end result of The Princess and the Frog . It's a great Disney fairytale, although parents might want to screen it first to check out the Louisiana Voodoo content for themselves. Also, the shadow spirits make for multiple frightening and eerie scenes, so don't let the G rating lure you into a false sense of security (it probably should have at least been PG for "thematic elements" or "scary images"). There are plenty of intense moments to take into consideration here. Otherwise, the rest of the story is a fun fairytale that encourages its audience to dream and pursue those dreams to fruition. Hopefully this marks an unending return to hand-drawn animation from the Disney Studio!

Blu-Ray Special Features Review

The most comprehensive featurette is "The Making Of A Princess," which takes a look at Disney's return to hand-drawn animation, the story of The Princess and the Frog , and some of the voice actors (especially Anika, who voices Tiana). The subsequent featurettes dive a little bit deeper into the villain, our newest princess, and the music behind the film. We're treated to lots of insight into the progression of the hand-drawn animation as well as some of the history of animation at Disney (including old photos of the original "Nine Old Men" who were the very first Disney animators!). The only thing I thought was missing was a little bit more interaction with the voice actors. But I'm, admittedly, a stickler for that. I love to get to know more about who voiced what characters and to hear them talk about their roles. I was pleased to see a little bit of Disney voice actor Jim Cummings talk about his role as firefly Ray, since Cummings has voiced characters in some of my favorite Disney cartoons of the 80s and 90s, including TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck . Unfortunately, it was exceptionally brief, but I was happy to see him in the flesh for a change.

One of the most intriguing featurettes is "Bringing Life To Animation," which places live action reference footage, involving real actors acting out scenes to give the animators something to work with, side by side with the finished footage from the movie. Two scenes (including a musical number) are featured and it's just enough to be satisfying without losing the viewer's interest. And if the behind-the-scenes insights weren't enough for you, there's a feature-long version of the movie that allows you to view The Princess and the Frog with a picture-in-picture look at the rough sketches and pencil work on top of the finished product. Of course, this does take away the ability to see part of the actual movie since the rough work is literally shown in the upper corner on top of the feature film, but those familiar enough with the movie already will especially enjoy this bonus nugget. And it's the kind of thing animation buffs will love.

All in all, Disney does a great job bringing home their return to hand-drawn animation to fans of the film company. Blu-ray is still the ultimate home viewing experience and Disney's home video release of The Princess and the Frog looks especially great in high definition.

Parental Guide: Content Summary

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Every Disney Princess Movie In Chronological Order

• Disney Princess movies blend different time periods and cultures to create timeless stories for audiences to enjoy.
• The source material, architecture, and fashion within the princess movies give clues to the era the stories are set, though not with complete accuracy.
• From Medieval Scotland to 1920s New Orleans, each Disney Princess movie offers a glimpse into different historical settings and time periods.

Disney Princess movies take inspiration from different folktales and the Disney Princess timeline shows the various time periods that have been explored in these animated movies. Although Walt Disney Pictures has produced a variety of films over the decades, their princess movies have struck a special chord with audiences. The studio’s first animated movie was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , released in 1937, and since then, Disney has taken viewers to different times and places, such as Germany, Jordania, Scotland, and even the bottom of the sea to meet all types of princesses.

Given that the Disney Princess movies are animated adventures that are not overly concerned with the historical elements of their story, it can be a little tricky narrowing down exactly when some of these stories take place. However, looking at elements like princess movies' source material , the architecture, and the clothes of the characters, the movies can be placed in certain eras, though not with complete accuracy – especially as Disney tends to blend different styles, perhaps in an effort to make the stories as timeless as possible.

10 Times Disney Princesses Were Way Too Relatable

Raya and the last dragon - n/a, disney princess: raya, raya and the last dragon.

Director Don Hall, Carlos Lpez Estrada

Release Date March 5, 2021

Cast Izaac Wang, Thalia Tran, Lucille Soong, Gemma Chan, Patti Harrison, Sandra Oh, Benedict Wong, Alan Tudyk, Awkwafina, Kelly Marie Tran, Ross Butler, Daniel Dae Kim

Runtime 112 minutes

Raya and the Last Dragon is the most recent Disney Princess movie which introduces the heroic and skilled warrior Raya. Set in a world in which dragons and humans coexisted until the dragons were wiped out protecting humanity from a powerful evil. When that evil returns, Raya bravely ventures out to find the last dragon who could possibly save the world.

While most Disney Princess movies contain elements of fantasy, Raya and the Last Dragon is the only one that directly sets itself in an alternate fantasy world, the kingdom of Kumandra. Like a fantasy series like Game of Thrones, Raya and the Last Dragon is not meant to take place in Earth's timeline despite having some similarities to Earth and is therefore impossible to place.

Moana – c. 100 AD

Disney princess: moana.

Director John Musker, Ron Clements

Release Date November 23, 2016

Cast Nicole Scherzinger, Alan Tudyk, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Rachel House, Jemaine Clement, Auli'i Cravalho

Runtime 1h 47m

Moana may be one of the most recent Disney princesses to be introduced, but her story is set further in the past than any of her peers. The story of Moana is set on a Polynesian island. It focuses on a time when the Polynesian communities abandoned their culture of long-distance ocean exploration which took place roughly 3000 years ago.

However, as the culture has been this way for some time, more time has passed with the Disney Princess Moana trying to encourage her community to embrace that way of life once again before deciding to go out on the ocean by herself. The filmmakers have cemented the movie taking place two thousand years ago . With the live-action Moana remake on the way, it might give a more accurate timeline.

Aladdin – c. 300s

Disney princess: jasmine, aladdin (1992).

Release Date November 25, 1992

Cast Lea Salonga, Brad Kane, Jonathan Freeman, Linda Larkin, Scott Weinger, Gilbert Gottfried, Robin Williams, Frank Welker

Runtime 90 Minutes

While Robin Williams' Genie in Aladdin is often seen as the highlight of the movie, Jasmin makes for a strong and likable Disney Princess who helped define the new era of the Disney Renaissance. She is the daughter of a sultan who is being pressured to choose a suitor to secure her future but wants to choose based on love rather than on the wealth her partner could provide. Aladdin is based on the Arabic folktale of the same name from the One Thousand and One Nights collection, setting it around the 300s .

Brave – c. 900s

Disney princess: merida.

Director Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell

Release Date June 21, 2012

Cast Kelly Macdonald, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly

Runtime 1h 33m

Brave is the first Pixar movie to also be a Disney Princess movie. With the more modern approach comes one of the most heroic princesses from the studio in the form of Merida who refuses to bow to the customs of her time and fill the role society thinks is appropriate for a woman.

It’s clear that Brave takes place in Medieval Scotland, but exactly when was a bit hard to figure out. Brave takes many elements from Scottish folktales, such as the will-o’-the-wisp, and Merida defies age-old customs, which can be difficult to place. However, at D23 Expo in 2011, it was confirmed that it takes place in the 10th century , fitting with the elements shown in the movie.

Merida is the first Disney Princess to have brothers.

Sleeping Beauty – c. 1300s

Disney princess: aurora, sleeping beauty.

Director Wolfgang Reitherman, Clyde Geronimi

Release Date January 29, 1959

Cast Bill Thompson, Barbara Jo Allen, Barbara Luddy, Eleanor Audley, Bill Shirley, Mary Costa, Verna Felton

Runtime 75minutes

Though it was a box office bomb that nearly ended Disney's animated movies, Sleeping Beauty has become one of its iconic movies. This is partially thanks to Princess Aurora, the protagonist of the story who is cursed by a sorceress upon her birth and must be protected from her untimely death at the age of 16. Though a classic, Sleeping Beauty is often looked at as an early example of the Disney Princesses without agency of their own.

Sleeping Beauty is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault with a lot of changes to make it kid-friendly. However, despite the changes, the setting is helpfully provided thanks to Prince Philip when he tells his father he’s “ living in the past! This is the 14th century! ” .

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Mulan – ~1400s, disney princess: mulan, mulan (1998).

Director Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft

Release Date June 19, 1998

Cast BD Wong, June Foray, George Takei, Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Pat Morita, Miguel Ferrer, James Hong

Runtime 87 Minutes

The original Disney Mulan movie provided a Disney Princess like no other with Mulan being the action hero of her own story rather than relying on a heroic prince to save her. It is another example of the more independent Disney Princesses of the Disney Renaissance as Mulan pushes back against the desire for her to be a "proper lady" and takes her father's place in the war by posing as a male soldier.

Mulan is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, which goes all the way back to around the 300s. However, there are many versions on the legend’s origins, and the movie took elements from different eras, making it difficult to place in just one. Taking the addition of landmarks like the Forbidden City as well as the use of gunpowder as reference, then Mulan is set around the 1400s , or maybe earlier.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - c. 1500s

Disney princess: snow white, snow white and the seven dwarfs.

Director David Hand, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Wilfred Jackson, Ben Sharpsteen, William Cottrell

Release Date December 21, 1937

Cast Roy Atwell, Pinto Colvig, Adriana Caselotti

Runtime 83 Minutes

The very first Disney Princess is still one of its most iconic. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs follows the beautiful and kind Snow White whose only crime is being more beautiful than the evil queen. In an attempt to hide from her wrath, Snow White finds a new home in the woods with the helpful seven dwarfs.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm and was released in 1937. Details like the storybook’s style and the fact that the dwarfs yodel (as yodeling was first recorded in Europe in 1545) place Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in mid-to-late 1500s Germany .

Pocahontas – 1607

Disney princess: pocahontas.

Director Eric Goldberg, Mike Gabriel

Release Date June 16, 1995

Cast Irene Bedard, Mel Gibson, Russell Means, David Ogden Stiers, Linda Hunt, Christian Bale, John Kassir

Runtime 81 minutes

As Disney entered the Disney Renaissance era, there was more of an effort to use the movies to highlight other cultures while still telling entertaining stories. Pocahontas was one of the earliest examples, taking a look at early Native Americans and their ways of life. While the real-life figure who inspires the story is far more interesting and complex than what the movie explores, Pocahontas was seen as an early inspiration for other brave Disney Princesses who can act on their own desires.

Pocahontas is among the easiest ones to place thanks to its historical context (even though the story is not accurate, which has infuriated fans for years). Pocahontas is based on the life of the Native American woman of the same name who met Englishman John Smith when he and company arrived in Virginia in 1607 .

Beauty And The Beast – c. 1700s

Disney princess: belle, beauty and the beast (1991).

Director Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale

Release Date November 21, 1991

Cast Jerry Orbach, Bradley Pierce, Jesse Corti, Richard White, Robby Benson, David Ogden Stiers, Paige O'Hara, Angela Lansbury

Runtime 84 Minutes

Belle in Beauty and the Beast is the Disney Princess at the center of one of the studio's most beloved romances. She is also one of the rare Disney Princesses that starts the story as a commoner. When her father is taken prisoner by a vicious beast, Belle takes his place. While the imprisonment aspect of the story remains controversial, Belle coemes to see another side of the Beast beyond his monstrous exterior and violent temper.

Beauty and the Beast is based on the 1756 French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Looking at the style of the clothes, how Cogsworth describes the castle’s style (“ unusual Rococo design ” and “ another example of the late Neoclassic Baroque period ”), and the fact that the Beast is a prince, Beauty and the Beast would then be set before the French Revolution in 1789 .

The Little Mermaid – ~1700s

Disney princess: ariel, the little mermaid.

Release Date November 17, 1989

Cast Jason Marin, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Rene Auberjonois, Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes

Runtime 63 Minutes

Often regarded as the movie that kicked off the Disney Renaissance , The Little Mermaid also helped to usher in a new era of Disney Princesses. Ariel is the daughter of King Triton of the merpeople. However, while she is expected to attend court and be among her people, Ariel dreams of another world above the water and the lives of the humans above.

The Little Mermaid is, perhaps, the trickiest one to place as Disney blended styles from different centuries. The story is based on the 1837 Danish tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen (again, with various changes to make it appropriate for a young audience), but it takes elements from the 1600s and early 1900s. Many fans and experts on the matter choose to place it in the 18th century due to the relation between pirates and mermaids, so there’s that. Watch on Disney+

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Cinderella – c. 1800s, disney princess: cinderella, cinderella (1950).

Director Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske

Release Date March 4, 1950

Cast Eleanor Audley, James MacDonald, Verna Felton, Ilene Woods

The so-called "Cinderella story" has been used countless times in entertainment over the years, being a rags-to-riches story. However, Disney's take on Cinderella is one of the most popular examples as it follows the titular Disney Princess who is mistreated and made to work as a servant for her evil stepmother and stepsisters until she is given a chance to meet Prince Charming and find true happiness.

Cinderella is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Charles Perrault. Cinderella is set in France, and based on the style of the clothes, many have concluded that it takes place in the mid-to-late 1800s , as the characters don’t offer any clear clues as to when the story is set.

Tangled – c. 1700s-1800s

Disney princess: rapunzel.

Director Nathan Greno, Byron Howard

Release Date November 24, 2010

Cast Brad Garrett, Zachary Levi, Ron Perlman, Donna Murphy, Mandy Moore, Jeffrey Tambor

Runtime 100 minutes

Tangled is loosely based on the German fairy tale Rapunzel , from the collection of folktales by the Brothers Grimm. Like many of the Disney adaptations of fairy tales, the movie softens many of the darker aspects of the story while introducing a new funny, spirited, and loveable Disney Princess in the form of Rapunzel.

Many have taken Mother Gothel’s style as starting point to place the story in time, but that only makes it more difficult as the character was designed to look way older than the rest of the sets and costumes. Tangled is quite possibly set in the late 1700s , though given its connection with Frozen , it could be set in early-to-mid 1800s.

Frozen & Frozen II – 1839 & 1842

Disney princess: elsa and anna.

Cast Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel

Created by Shane Morris, Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee

Another first in the Disney Princess timeline, Frozen introduces two princesses in the same movie, the sisters Elsa and Anna. As such, Frozen struck an effective emotional chord with audiences by being a movie that was more about the love between sisters rather than a story of a princess finding her prince.

Frozen is inspired by the 1844 fairy tale The Snow Queen . Frozen ’s creators have shared they based the look of the movie in 1840s Norway, and a map shown in Frozen Fever helps place the story in July 1839 . As Frozen II is set three years after the first movie, that means it’s set in 1842. It remains to be seen where the upcoming Frozen III lands on the timeline.

The Princess And The Frog – 1926

Disney princess: tiana, the princess and the frog.

Director John Musker

Release Date December 10, 2009

Cast John Musker, Keith David, Anika Noni Rose

Runtime 97minutes

Though still taking place close to a century before it was released, The Princess and the Frog is the most modern of the Disney Princess movies so far. The Princess and the Frog is loosely based on the novel The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker and follows Tiana, a struggling waitress who kisses a frog prince only to find herself transformed into a frog and desperately trying to find a way to switch back.

From the beginning, it’s clear the story is set in 1920s New Orleans, and there’s one detail that shows the exact year: a newspaper seen when Prince Naveen gets off the boat reads “April 1926.” The clothes, buildings, music, and more pay homage to jazz culture and life in New Orleans in the 1920s, so it’s very easy to place in the timeline of Disney Princess movies .

Screen Rant

Tiana's bayou adventure: all details on disneyland's new water ride.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is replacing Splash Mountain at Disneyland California, but what do parkgoers need to know about the upcoming ride?

• Tiana's Bayou Adventure is replacing Splash Mountain, offering a new experience with characters from The Princess and the Frog .
• Tiana's Bayou Adventure is slated to open in 2024, and it will be a water ride with the big drops that its predecessor was known for.
• Riders will join Princess Tiana on a journey through the Louisiana bayou, and there will be music from the 2009 film and twists.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure will replace Splash Mountain at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and there are already details about the upcoming Princess and the Frog ride surfacing online . Anyone who frequents Disneyland will have noticed that Splash Mountain is currently closed for renovations. The classic attraction will be very different when it reopens, as it's getting a story update and name change. Given all the problems with Disney's Song of the South , which Splash Mountain was based on, the changes are long overdue.

And Tiana's Bayou Adventure offers an exciting opportunity to introduce a new ride to Disneyland , all while adding to the theme park's lineup of movie-inspired attractions. The Princess and the Frog is a great story to build a ride around, and it offers hope that other modern Disney movies will eventually make their way to the parks. With Tiana's Bayou Adventure still under construction, it's unclear just how different the water ride will be from its predecessor. However, the new attraction will be open soon enough — and Disneyland has offered some details in the meantime.

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When will tiana's bayou adventure open at disneyland, the splash mountain replacement is slated for a 2024 opening.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure doesn't have a specific opening date as of this writing, but Disneyland.com confirms that the renovated ride will be up and running sometime in 2024 . Given that the year is halfway over, parkgoers can assume it'll be during the latter half of it. A summer debut would be fitting, considering the water elements of the ride. This is the approach Walt Disney World Resort in Florida seems to be taking, as its version of Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens in summer 2024.

For Disneyland California, it's possible that Tiana's Bayou Adventure will begin running during Disneyland's fall 2024 season or even later. Parkgoers should keep an eye out for more updates about the ride. And until Disney makes an official opening announcement, it's probably best to avoid purchasing Disneyland tickets with this attraction in mind.

What Kind Of Ride Tiana's Bayou Adventure Will Be

The princess and the frog attraction will still be a water ride.

For all intents and purposes, Tiana's Bayou Adventure shouldn't be all that different from Splash Mountain — at least not when it comes to the physical elements of the attraction. Although the exterior of Splash Mountain was partially torn down (via Inside the Magic ), it's still listed as a water ride on Disneyland's website. Disneyland also categorizes the upcoming attraction under " big drops ," suggesting it will keep this element of its predecessor. While Tiana's Bayou Adventure might differ in appearance from Splash Mountain due to its recent renovations, it will still bear some resemblance to it. Its story, however, will not.

What's Been Revealed About Tiana's Bayou Adventure Theme & What Guests Can Expect

It will take visitors on a journey with princess tiana from the princess and the frog.

In addition to the opening timeline and nature of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, Disneyland has revealed some story details about the upcoming ride . The attraction is set during " the next chapter of Princess Tiana's story " in The Princess and the Frog, and it will see riders embarking on an adventure through the Louisiana bayou with her. Concept art suggests they'll ride in log boats, much like the ones used in Splash Mountain. Disneyland.com also confirms that the ride will be a musical experience, so parkgoers can anticipate songs — likely ones from The Princess and the Frog.

The attraction is set during " the next chapter of Princess Tiana's story " in The Princess and the Frog, and it will see riders embarking on an adventure through the Louisiana bayou with her.

Disneyland's website also reveals that characters from the 2009 Disney movie will appear , helping Princess Tiana and the riders prepare for Mardis Gras. It's unclear who will crop up, but Louis the Alligator and Prince Naveen seem like safe bets. In fact, Louis is even confirmed for Disney World's version of the ride, so it seems inevitable he'll show up in California, too. The most surprising element of Tiana's Bayou Adventure revealed online is that there will be major twists. These will remain under wraps until the ride opens, but they offer something to look forward to when it does.

Why Tiana's Bayou Adventure Is Replacing Splash Mountain

The movie splash mountain was based on featured offensive racial stereotypes.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure is an exciting addition to Disneyland California, but those less updated on Disney news might be wondering why it's replacing Splash Mountain. After all, Splash Mountain was as popular as attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. Unfortunately, the movie Splash Mountain was based on — 1946's Song of the South — featured racial stereotypes that were rightfully criticized by modern parkgoers and audiences. There was even a petition to change the theme of the ride, and it seems Disneyland listened to the backlash and vowed to fix it. The result is Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

Source: Disneyland.com , Inside the Magic