WHO'S WHO IN "THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG"
The Cast of Characters

TIANA (English-language voice of Anika Noni Rose) is certainly not the typical fairy tale princess. Her daydreams are not of far away kingdoms or castles in the clouds, but of personal success and a thriving restaurant business. She is an attractive and independent African-American woman, hardworking and strong-willed, but still a loving and loyal friend and a compassionate soul. She treasures her mother and holds her father near and dear to her heart, and although she knows the way won't be easy, believes that anyone can achieve their ambitions.
In her sensible pursuit of her life's goals, however, Tiana never seems to appreciate what is happening on her way to them. She can never simply slow down and enjoy herself. She has no time for romance, and is certainly not about to waste her time mooning over men--let alone kissing any frogs.
But supervising animator Mark Henn notes the character's gentleness, "She's a little more vulnerable right off the bat, so I think you can more easily identify with her, or want to cheer her on. Our animated leading ladies have evolved over the decades, from just being 'princesses in peril' like Snow White--characters to whom events happen, rather than figures of action motivating their own story. It was an easy character to fall in love with and get in her corner. Tiana has her own motivating desire, and decisions that drive her and make her interesting and sympathetic."

PRINCE NAVEEN (English-language voice of Bruno Campos) The alluring qualities of New Orleans drew Prince Naveen from his far-off kingdom of Maldonia. Although spoiled and irresponsible, Naveen has an irresistible charm and joie de vivre that captivate those around him, and a passion for the Dixieland jazz being popularized by Paul Whiteman, Jimmie Noone, Earl Hines, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong.
"Disney has a long tradition of princes, but they all fall short of being characters in and of themselves," says Randy Haycock, supervising animator of Naveen. "They're functional. They give the princesses somebody to fall in love with. We've never had a prince that really influenced a heroine, it was always love at first sight. For once we have a girl that meets a guy and it follows a romantic-comedy idea where the couple meets and they really don't like each other."
Like anyone, Naveen's flaws are actually part of his virtues. The heroine has a flaw, too--she doesn't know how to appreciate life. She doesn't know how to enjoy herself. "And that's what Naveen teaches her," Haycock says. "He teaches her to settle down once in a while and simply appreciate what's going on. Have some fun, enjoy, be happy with what you have around you."

DR. FACILIER (English-language voice of Keith David) Facilier is a devious scoundrel, the shadowy figure of threat who causes no shortage of predicament and menace to Prince Naveen and Tiana. He's a smooth operator who works his magical spells and uses his connection to "friends on the other side" toward getting what he wants by way of his mysterious, menacing and dangerous charm.
"He's musical, he's threatening, he's tall, he's lean, he's thin. He can be very sweet. He's handsome. He's graceful. And I think all that stuff is, in very contemporary animation anyway, rare to see that type of villain," says Bruce Smith, supervising animator of Dr. Facilier, "It's always great as an animator to get the villain, and the villain is always that character that holds up the film and keeps everything interesting and on edge. Luckily in this case I've really got a very unique villain--a great villain."

MAMA ODIE (English-language voice of Jenifer Lewis) Mama Odie is the bright side of Facilier, a sassy, eccentric and witty 197-year-old magic Queen of the Bayou who guides Tiana and Naveen in their mission to undo Dr. Facilier's spell. According to the story, Mama Odie dwells in "the deepest, darkest part of the bayou." In an old shrimp boat, improbably wedged upside down in a giant tree, Mama Odie and her pet snake Juju dispense spells, heyacalls and gris gris to those in need.
"I remember completely gravitating toward Mama Odie," supervising animator Andreas Deja says. "This blind little shriveled up old woman who was eccentric and has this seeing-eye snake, and everything about her was just so unusual."
Much of the spirit of Mama Odie was guided by the filmmakers' appreciation of famed New Orleans storyteller Coleen Salley, author of several picture books, esteemed University of New Orleans professor and an ambassador for children's literature.

RAY (English-language voice of Jim Cummings) is the laid-back, love-struck Cajun firefly.  Alight with Southern charm, gentle humor and even romantic passion--Ray's heart's desire is a "firefly" named Evangeline, the most beautiful firefly in all creation. His admirable devotion for his unattainable, but no less true love anchors the movie. 
"He's the romantic," supervising animator Mike Surrey says. "He is what Naveen and Tiana are, but he has no problem expressing his love, openly and with not a care--where he knows the two of them are in the same boat he is, but they just can't. It's hard not to feel for a character like that. He brings a real embodiment of the idea of the transcendent power of love. All from this lumpy, gap-toothed, goofy-looking little guy."

LOUIS (English-language voice of Michael-Leon Wooley) is a syncopated swamp hipster, an engaging and charming alligator with a passion for jazz and trumpet playing whose suspect "assistance" to Tiana and Naveen add fun and comedy to their bayou adventure. "He's manipulative, he's needy," supervising animator Eric Goldberg says. "He's full of neuroses. But he has this one gift--playing jazz, and when he gets to play his jazz, that's when he really is who he is."
"Here was an alligator playing a trumpet--what's not to love?" says screenwriter Rob Edwards.

BIG DADDY (English-language voice of John Goodman) Eli La Bouff , known to many as "Big Daddy," is a solid, stout, funny Southern gentleman of wealth and station, who wants nothing more than her heart's desire for his "little princess" Charlotte--he even arranges a Mardi Gras Ball as the stage for Charlotte to debut as a "princess."
Big Daddy is homage to an American literary character made vernacular in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte," the rich and powerful patriarch. But where those characters were motivated by power and station to destroy their children, this Big Daddy has a motivation not of control or authority, but rather unbridled adoration for his only daughter.

CHARLOTTE (English-language voice of Jennifer Cody) the spoiled, demanding and flamboyant daughter of Big Daddy is the ultimate early-20th century little rich girl, but Charlotte is by no means the stereotyped bratty daughter of wealth.
Big Daddy dotes on his blonde, blue-eyed dear one, taking every opportunity to shower her with custom-made dresses and feed her fantasies, which include marriage to a prince (and becoming a princess in the process), even if she has to kiss a few frogs. Part of the grounding provided to Charlotte is the friendship of the little girl, Tiana, daughter of the finest seamstress in New Orleans--a sensible, non-frog-kissing girl who grows to become Charlotte's lifelong friend.

JAMES (English-language voice of Terrence Howard) is Tiana's inspiration and she is the legacy of his love. A strong, loving father who has instilled his daughter with her ethics and with a familiar bond in New Orleans residents: their love of good food. "You see," James tells little Tiana, "Food brings folk together from all walks o' life. It warms 'em right up, and puts smiles on their faces--and when I open my own restaurant people are gonna line up for miles, just to get a taste of my food."
"Our food," Tiana lovingly corrects him.
Supervising animator Ruben Aquino says, "It's the core of what she wants and why she is the way she is. I've got to sell the audience on showing how much love there is in the family and how James loves Tiana so much. He is always present in Tiana's heart."

EUDORA (English-language voice of Oprah Winfrey) is Tiana's foundation, both anchor and inspiration. Tiana sees in her mother the successful and respected businesswoman she aspires to be. As a girl, Tiana's happiest moments are spent with her mother, playing in the home of one of her wealthy clients with a little girl named Charlotte. But where Tiana's father James is a romantic, Eudora is a pragmatist. She knows the tough times Tiana will face as an independent woman.
"Eudora has a particular personality," supervising animator Ruben Aquino says. "She's more about being the nurturing mother who also has her own career, she's a seamstress and it's a modest living, but she's very good at what she does, and she loves her daughter, and wants what's best for her, too."

ANIMATION ALL-STARS: The Greatest Talents in Disney Animation Reunite
Directors Ron Clements and John Musker teamed up yet again for "The Princess and the Frog."  Their credits include "The Great Mouse Detective," "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," "Hercules" and "Treasure Planet."
In putting together a team of artistic talent to bring "The Princess and the Frog" to the screen, the producer and directors wondered if animators who were now doing well in digital animation would want to return? They did.  As much as they enjoyed other animation forms and were successful with them, they wanted to return to the more personal and visceral expression that hand-drawn animation offers. They yearned to express themselves through drawing.
There was also a whole new generation of artists who had grown up watching the classic Disney films, and those films that Musker, Clements, and their colleagues had made, back when they were the young guys. Many of the new recruits for "The Princess and the Frog" had seen films such as "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast" as children, and were equally as exited and enthusiastic to join in the production of another in the long line of Disney animated features.

"I think it behooves the Studio to do something pretty traditional. Right now, even with as much good CG work as there has been done, there is a fan base out there. People come up to me and say 'Gosh, I just really want Disney to be Disney'--they really want to see the hand-drawn stuff again."

Eric Goldberg, Supervising Animator, Louis

"We're trying to reinvent everything," art director Ian Gooding ("Tarzan," "Hercules," "Pocahantas") says. "It's so hard to just pick up this animation style again--it's not like it was in the freezer and you just thawed it out. There are lots of challenges--there's a lot of training and…trying to figure out where to buy paper from again."
"It has been a very interesting process," Peter Del Vecho says. "Fortunately, we have a lot of collective memory here, so we know how we wanted to do it, but since we are starting from scratch, we also had to think about how we want to do it going into the future. So we talked about doing paperless hand-drawn. But, since technology hasn't quite caught up to that ability yet, the best thing to do for now was to animate on paper. I'm really glad we made that decision."

RENEWED ENTHUSIASM
"It is a process that is akin to laying the track as the train is going down the line," Del Vecho says. "It's not easy, and it causes a fair amount of anxiety, but we're trying to only pay attention to the things that matter. We're putting our efforts into what gets up on the screen. To us, it's all about what the audience ultimately sees."
"We want everything gold," Gooding says.
"As producer," Del Vecho says, "I'm really fortunate, in that we brought back to the Studio the best of the best. If you think about the animators we have on the team--it's almost like we're bringing back our modern day version of the Nine Old Men (Walt Disney's collective group of key animation talent, named as a joke after FDR's Supreme Court justices); they all get to collaborate on one movie together, they're at the top of their form."
Supervising animator Mark Henn ("The Lion King," "Aladdin," "Beauty and the Beast") agrees, "I got that kind of reaction when the cleanup crew started coming in. It was like old home week, and we've got the best of the best. Everybody is happy to be here, and they love the film, and everybody is just so excited just to be on the team and make this work."

"I think there's something about hand-drawn animation--where  the animator's really expressing himself almost directly through his hand, through the pencil onto the paper--nothing else matches that. It's fun  for a lot of these animators to be returning to their roots."

Peter Del Vecho, Producer

"One of the things that John Lasseter brought in is this idea that our communication could be more open," supervising animator Randy Haycock ("The Lion King," "Hercules," "Tarzan") explains. "We can be passionate about it. We don't have to be afraid of somebody getting freaked out because somebody's passionate about an idea. It's passion and it comes from the same place that everybody else's passion comes from--a desire to make this movie great."
"I think this film benefits highly from the skill level of all the artists," supervising animator Bruce Smith ("Home on the Range," "Tarzan") says. "I can't recall a film outside of ones the Nine Old Men did where there was such a concentrated group of talent in the animators' positions, and it really shows up on the screen. It's sort of a baseball cliché of everybody leaving it on the field, but it's like that. I think everybody's really pouring their guts out on the screen. You're really getting some great performances."

FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT THE MOVIE AND ITS CHARACTERS:

· The film features Disney's newest princess, Tiana.

· It's the studio's first fairytale ever to be set in America, and to be set in an actual time (period) and in a real city.

· It is the 49th animated feature film from Disney, a tradition established nearly 75 years ago with the release of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

· The film was inspired by the Grimm Brothers' The Frog Prince fairytale.

· It marks a return to classic Disney animated feature films with hand-drawn animation, hand-painted backgrounds and classic Disney fairytale storytelling.

· The princess, Tiana, is not a typical Disney fairytale princess - she doesn't dream of faraway kingdoms or castles in the clouds, but of personal success and running her own business.

· The prince, Naveen, is the first Disney prince ever to play more than a 'functional role' as a character for the princess to merely fall in love with. This prince has attitude and positively influences Tiana to change her life.

· The film presents a twist on the old tale, and both the prince and the princess are turned into frogs. In fact, it's the prince's ironical belief in the old fairytale that if Tiana kisses him (in his amphibious form) he will be returned to human form which lands the two in trouble in the first place.

· A 197-year-old voodoo priestess called Mama Odie is the fairy godmother of this tale.

· The film is a musical, but not in traditional Disney-Broadway style - it features a distinctly American sound through its specially-crafted tapestry of zydeco, blues, gospel and jazz-oriented songs.

FASCINATING FACTS FROM BEHIND THE SCENES:

· The animation was done by hand, marking a return to traditional 2D Disney animation, but put together in new and different ways using current technology.

· All the characters were drawn in pencil on paper first and then scanned into the computer against either hand painted or digitally created backgrounds.

· A special animation team had to be assembled to create the movie, as 2D animation has taken a back seat to computer generated imagery in recent years. In fact, this is Walt Disney Animation Studios' first hand-drawn animated film in five years. The team included both older, renowned hand animators and a new generation of artists who were trained specifically for the film.

· New Orleans was chosen as the location for the film because of its diverse settings and sense of otherworldliness, which helped to shape the combined magical, enchanted and villainous atmosphere in which the story is set.

· Within this setting the film uses three distinct locales - the suburban Garden District, the famous French Quarter, and the swampy bayous. In terms of this, the production team ranked the film as having the most locations out of any they'd ever done before.

· The production team visited specific places within these locales and photographed or filmed them in order to create true imitations of these destinations on screen.

· One member of the team spent an entire site visit just filming a bayou from the ground up to get snapshots of this environment from the perspective of the frogs.



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