Walt Disney Animation Studios serves up a joyous gumbo of adventurous storytelling, captivating characters, offbeat comedy and memorable music in the all-new feature “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.
Everyone knows the story in which a princess finds true love by kissing a frog that magically turns into her handsome prince. In this telling of the story, the girl still kisses a frog, but the result is quite different; it’s only one of dozens of surprises in this mix of wacky humor, thrills, melody and emotion. Love eventually finds a way-between a prince and a princess… between frogs, perhaps… or maybe between a firefly and the object of his affection. But it’s clear that the most important details lie well beneath the skin. The film features Disney’s newest princess, its next great fairy tale and the Studio’s return to the Disney musical, reminiscent of classics like “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.”
The voice cast for “The Princess and the Frog” features a varied and renowned troupe of actors. Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, for her role in “Caroline, or Change”) stars as Tiana, international star Bruno Campos is Prince Naveen. Emmy Award winner Keith David is the magical and menacing Dr. Facilier; romantic Ray, the Cajun firefly, is illuminated by Emmy Award nominee Jim Cummings. Jenifer Lewis casts a spell as the mystical Mama Odie, Michael-Leon Wooley lends his voice to Louis the trumpet-playing alligator, and Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner John Goodman provides the voice of the Southern gentleman Big Daddy. Academy Award nominees Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow”) and Oprah Winfrey (“The Color Purple”) provide the voices of Tiana’s loving parents, James and Eudora.
“The Princess and the Frog” is executive produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer John Lasseter (director of “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2” and “Cars”). Disney veteran Peter Del Vecho is the film’s producer. “The Princess and the Frog” is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker (the team behind “The Great Mouse Detective,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Hercules” and “Treasure Planet”) from an original story by Clements & Musker and Greg Erb & Jason Oremland; the directors teamed up with writer Rob Edwards to create the screenplay. Don Hall is story supervisor.
Oscar-winning composer Randy Newman (“Cars,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Toy Story”) created an all-new score for the feature in a range of styles, including jazz, blues, gospel, Dixieland and zydeco; and featuring seven new songs, plus the featured end-credit song by multi-platinum, three-time Grammy Award-winning Def Jam recording artist Ne-Yo, who sings “Never Knew I Needed.”
Read the Full Production Notes
The Princess and the Frog
Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Ritchie Montgomery, Bruno Campos
Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker
Screenplay by: Ron Clements, John Musker, Peter Del Vecho
Release Date: December 11, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content and smoking.
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $104,400,899 (39.1%)
Foreign: $162,644,857 (60.9%)
Total: $267,045,756 (Worldwide)