The Princess and the Frog (2009)

A waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him.

Directors:

Ron Clements, John Musker

Writers:

Ron Clements (story by), John Musker (story by)

Stars:

Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Oprah Winfrey

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anika Noni Rose	...	Tiana (voice)
Bruno Campos	...	Prince Naveen (voice)
Keith David	...	Dr. Facilier (voice)
Michael-Leon Wooley	...	Louis (voice)
Jennifer Cody	...	Charlotte La Bouff (voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Ray (voice)
Peter Bartlett	...	Lawrence (voice)
Jenifer Lewis	...	Mama Odie (voice)
Oprah Winfrey	...	Eudora (voice)
Terrence Howard	...	James (voice)
John Goodman	...	'Big Daddy' La Bouff (voice)
Elizabeth Dampier	...	Young Tiana (voice)
Breanna Brooks	...	Young Charlotte (voice)
Ritchie Montgomery	...	Reggie (voice)
Don Hall	...	Darnell (voice)

Storyline

A modern day retelling of the classic story The Frog Prince. The Princess and the Frog finds the lives of arrogant, carefree Prince Naveen and hardworking waitress Tiana crossing paths. Prince Naveen is transformed into a frog by a conniving voodoo magician and Tiana, following suit, upon kissing the amphibian royalty. With the help of a trumpet-playing alligator, a Cajun firefly, and an old blind lady who lives in a boat in a tree, Naveen and Tiana must race to break the spell and fulfill their dreams.

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Plot Keywords:

new orleans jazz | prince | frog | frog prince | dream | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last Disney Princess Film as of 2016 to be Rated G by the MPAA.

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Goofs

When Tiana first becomes a frog, she asks Naveen if he was a frog, who did she see dancing with Charlotte so she knows there is a "fake" Naveen. Yet when she sees the fake Naveen on the float with Charlotte, she feels Naveen has betrayed her and hops off. She should know that that is not really Naveen, especially as she is still a frog and Mama Odie told them that they would both change back when the spell was broken.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Eudora: [telling a story to Tiana and Charlotte] "Just at that moment, the ugly little frog looked up with his sad, round eyes and pleaded, 'Oh, please, dear princess! Only a kiss from you can break this terrible spell that was inflicted on me by a wicked witch!'"
Young Charlotte: [to Tiana] Here comes my favorite part.
Eudora: "And the beautiful princess was so moved by his desperate plea that she stooped down, picked up the slippery creature, leaned forward, raised him to her lips, and kissed that little frog."
Young Charlotte: Aww.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Power Rangers (2017)

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Soundtracks

Dippermouth Blues
Written by Joseph Oliver

User Reviews

Neat but hollow

Disney returns to hand-drawn princess fairy tale animation after a stint of Pixar-esque computer animated films. This time the inspiration being the classic tale of The Frog Prince by Brothers Grimm. But, being Disney, they throw their own spin on it. The story takes place in 1920s New Orleans and features Disney's first African-American princess in Tiana.

I really like the setting a lot. New Orleans is a fantastic setup for this particular story, with its African-American culture, voodoo, bayou environment and all the music it inspires. Tiana and Dr. Facilier, the villain, are both fantastic characters and fully fleshed-out by the film. Dr. Facilier especially is very memorable and has one of the better villain songs in the entire canon. Charlotte, Tiana's childhood rich kid friend, is also absolutely hilarious.

Unfortunately, the story isn't quite that good. It feels more like Disney going through motions than it feels a proper fairy tale. We have the setup, the twist, the journey, the final battle, but you can practically see the story boards being switched behind the scenes. You don't buy the illusion. Plus, the songs are not that hot. The villain song is very good, and Almost There is not half bad either, but the rest are garbage. Especially Dig a Little Deeper, which is so painfully Oscar-crappy that you can't help but cringe.

All in all The Princess and the Frog is a mixed package. Its heart is in the right place and I love that we had this one final traditionally animated princess film, but it could have been a lot better, if we're being completely honest. Objectively a fine film, but not up to Disney's usual standards.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

11 December 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Frog Princess

Box Office

Budget:

$105,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$786,190, 29 November 2009

Gross USA:

$104,400,899

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$267,045,765

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1