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- “You can't get what you want just by wishing for it.”
- ―Tiana
Princess Tiana is the protagonist of Disney's 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. The storyline centers on young Tiana, a waitress and aspiring restaurant owner living in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the Jazz Age, and a prince named Naveen who has been transformed into a frog by the evil voodoo magician Dr. Facilier. She is voiced by Anika Noni Rose and is the ninth official Disney Princess.
Development
Tiana made history as the first African American princess in the Disney Princess franchise.
Early in development, Tiana was originally called Maddy and worked as a chambermaid in the La Bouff household. However, public criticism eventually caused her character's name to be changed to Tiana and her job, a waitress. Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta later stated "Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney’s rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity." This reworking of the story itself was greatly inspired by the life story of New Orleans chef Leah Chase, and she in turn would contribute to the "Tiana's Cookbook" that was published when the film came out.
Ron Clements and John Musker decided not to hire "big stars" to voice the film's main characters because "it can help with the identification of that animated character with the voice if you don't get an instant mental picture of the real actor." Several well-known African American actresses and singers had expressed an interest in voicing Tiana, among them recording artists Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys, as well as actress and fashion model Tyra Banks. After enduring three auditions, the role ultimately went to American actress and singer Anika Noni Rose, with whom Hudson co-starred in the musical film Dreamgirls.
A longtime fan of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Rose had always wanted to voice a Disney animated character. When the film was brought to her attention, she was drawn to it more by its "story of the young woman" than by the fact that she would be voicing Disney's first black princess. Rose told The Root that the film "wasn't really pitched to me that way...I don’t think the cultural significance hit me until later". Rose was also fairly confident in the role. "To be perfectly honest, I thought it was for me from the moment I got the audition."
Rose described the recording process as "very solitary work" that required her to do much research. To prepare herself for the role, Rose "called people in New Orleans...listened to their voices to hear what they sounded like...did a lot of reading up on the city, and listened to a lot of music in the jazz era." Rose only met with her co-star Bruno Campos twice to record a few scenes together. At her first session, Rose recorded all her dialogue "from top to bottom" in a session that lasted eight hours.
Mark Henn served as the supervising animator for Tiana. Henn was hired by John Lasseter because he had animated nearly every Disney Princess since The Little Mermaid's Ariel. Describing Tiana, Henn said that she is following "a new trend in our princesses," likening her to Ariel from The Little Mermaid. "When animating Tiana, Henn was inspired by voice actress Anika Noni Rose, borrowing from her dimples and left-handedness. Henn was also inspired by studio employee Jaimie Milner, a film intern who was working in post production." The fact that Tiana is African American was "never a big issue" for Henn when it came to animating her, but drawing her as both a human and a frog proved difficult." Tiana appears in the movie in so many different forms...she's a little girl, she's an adult human, and then she's a frog."
Background
Young Tiana
Tiana was born to James and Eudora in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they raised her in an all-black neighborhood. Tiana has been a talented cook since she was very young, and shared the dream of opening a restaurant with James, which he called 'Tiana's Place'. Tiana's father taught his daughter that in order to achieve her dreams, wishing was only part of it, and that she would need to work hard for them. However, James also told her to never forget what was most important, which, though Tiana thought that her father was talking about her dreams and getting the restaurant, what he truly meant was love. After James died, Tiana worked long and hard to earn enough money to achieve her goal, working two jobs and almost never taking time for fun.
Tiana has been best friends with Charlotte La Bouff since they were little girls, and Eudora read stories to them, such as "The Frog Prince". As a child, Tiana was frightened of frogs, and swore that she would never kiss one, but 12 years later, she did kiss a prince turned into a frog, which is where her adventure began.
Physical Appearance
From left to right: Tiana's night job outfit, waitress outfit, and masquerade costume.
Tiana is a beautiful young woman of African-American heritage. She is tall and slender with a sculpted figure, has dark skin, medium-length, wavy, black hair usually tied in a low ponytail, light brown eyes, a bright smile and dimples.
Throughout the movie, much like Jasmine in Aladdin, Tiana undergoes various outfit changes. The first of which being her work outfits. When working her night shifts, Tiana wears a blue outfit, brown shoes, as well as a headband style maid's hat. When working her day job at Buford's Diner, Tiana wears a yellow dress over a white shirt, a white apron, with brown shoes. She also owns a dark green coat, with a matching hat which she wears on her way to the diner in the mornings. With this outfit, Tiana wears a low ponytail, wrapped up in a green band.
From left to right: Tiana's blue princess gown, Tiana's gown from Facilier's vision, and Tiana's bayou wedding gown.
Originally, at Charlotte's masquerade ball, Tiana wore a renaissance costume, with honey yellow and a light green/brown as its primary colors. Later than same night, she dawns her iconic blue princess gown, lone to her by Charlotte. The dress also came with a matching tiara, as well as a necklace, complete with a blue diamond. During her confrontation with Dr. Facilier, Tiana was put in a white, sleeveless gown, with golden straps, diamond earrings, a golden necklace, and a white feather, resembling the classic 1920s swinger outfits. Along with this, came a beige, fur shawl.
Tiana's iconic lily pad outfit is a green, sparkling, strapless, sleeveless ball gown. The gown's petticoat is a light yellow color. Along with the gown, Tiana wears light green opera gloves, green shoes to match the gown, a light blue, diamond necklace with matching earrings, and a lily pad tiara to top it all off. With this outfit, Tiana's hair is pinned up in an updo bun.
Tiana's wedding outfit was a beige dress (that reveals her backside), with a matching Juliet cap, transparent gloves, as well as a green tiara. Her dress also consist of green linings, with a flower on the shoulder. During the finale opening of Tiana's Palace, she wore another green sweater outfit, with a golden tiara, complete with a emerald on the top.
Personality
Tiana is a motivated, determined and a hard working young woman who finds pride in doing things her own way, without help from anyone. During the early scenes of the film, Tiana is too absorbed in her work ethics to care much about anything else, especially romance. However, Tiana gradually begins to fall in love with Naveen, and realizes the most important thing in the world is not only success and hard work, but a balance between friendship, love and fun.
Tiana's voice actress: Anika Noni Rose.
Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana, says: "She’s a strong woman who doesn't need anyone to do things for her...She wants to do things for herself." She must learn that balance is important in life; to be happy, she needs both love and a career. On The Princess and the Frog bonus features, Anika Noni Rose announced that she and Tiana are left-handed.
Tiana doesn't like to be underestimated, as seen by the expression she made to the comment by Mr. Fenner, about a woman of her background having her hands full running a big business. She started to stand up for herself for them to change their minds, but fell down after beignets got on her dress. Tiana is sensible; she would push away Naveen's romantic advances on her, then reminded him that he was getting married after he was flirting with butterflies. Tiana is friends with Charlotte La Bouffe, and when Charlotte became nervous and wished on a star Tiana tried to tell her that you can't just wish on a star.
Abilities
From early in the film, it is revealed that Tiana is a natural expert in the culinary arts. She is able to dice and chop a variety of vegetables at incredible speeds, and cook a delicious meal out of very little. She can recognize the ingredients needed for the dish, and Tiana was even able to transform Mama Odie's nauseous soup to perfection. The fact that Tiana baked five hundred beignets for Charlotte's masquerade ball that was the next day means Tiana is a competent enough cook. Tiana's gift has been pointed out on several occasions, by her father and by Naveen.
Tiana as a frog.
From working as a waitress, Tiana has excellent balance and hand/eye coordination. She could balance four trays of food on her head, hands, and right foot that were tossed one after the other before balancing three trays on her head and hands.
Tiana has intelligence, too, because she built a raft when it doesn't appear she was taught how to build one. She was smart enough to flick her tongue out to grab Dr. Facilier's talisman to break it. Tiana is the only princess with a real job, and considering she didn't go to college, has knowledge of economy to run her business, even though people underestimated her.
Tiana showcased her relatively quick adaptability as a frog; she could hop fast enough to get away from Stella considering she became a frog not long before that. Tiana avoided getting eaten by a crane, one of the natural predators of frogs. When a group of alligators tried to eat her and Naveen, Tiana swam away without being caught and, unlike Naveen, found a hiding spot. Furthermore, Tiana had enough physical strength as a frog to escape from a hunter's grasp by bending back his fingers with her feet.
In the chapter book continuation of the film, The Stolen Jewel, it is revealed both Tiana and Naveen hold the ability of communicating with animals, having kept that ability from their time as frogs.
Appearances
The Princess and the Frog
Humble Beginnings
A young Tiana and Charlotte listening to "The Frog Prince".
The film begins during Tiana's childhood where we see her and her best friend Charlotte La Bouff listening to the classic tale "The Frog Prince" read by Tiana's mother Eudora while she finishes Charlotte's newest princess gown. Whilst Charlotte adores the tale and openly wishes to find a prince and one day become a princess, Tiana shows that she's somewhat unamused with the story, considerably the kissing finale between the princess and the frog. After the story's completion, Tiana and her mother depart, heading for home where they greet Tiana's father, the hardworking James. Later on, with the help of James, Tiana makes dinner, gumbo. Tiana gives her father a taste of some of her gumbo which she hopes to be the prime attraction when she and her father open their very own restaurant "Tiana's Place". That night, as Tiana was being put to bed, the young girl makes a wish on the evening star in hopes of getting her restaurant dream come true. James, however, tells Tiana that wishing can only get her halfway to her dream, and hard-work is also needed, which she understands.
Almost There
Years later, it is revealed that a now adult Tiana is still struggling to reach her dream even after her father passed away. Since childhood, she has become a mature young woman, though she has discarded her original childhood imagination of wishing and such and has become an overly practical workaholic instead. She works as a waitress at two local diners during the day and night. The desire to open the restaurant prevents Tiana from going out with her friends as she must work extra for more pay. Meanwhile, a handsome prince named Naveen arrives in New Orleans to marry Charlotte. To celebrate, Charlotte plans on throwing a masquerade ball and hires Tiana to make dozens of beignets, paying her with enough money to buy her restaurant. Excited, Tiana and her mother place a bid on an old run down sugar mill that Tiana's father had talked about many times before and had planned to use as the location. Though the building is extremely worn out and practically falling apart, Tiana couldn't have been more excited with her dream coming closer and closer to coming true.
The Frog Prince
Tiana kisses the frog.
Later that night at the ball, Tiana discovers that she's been out bid and unless she earns enough money in two days, she loses the restaurant (though it is possible the restaurant was being withheld from her due to her race, which is historically accurate given that the movie takes place in the Southern United States, but this is never elaborated on). After a mishap, Tiana ruins her outfit and goes to Charlotte's room to change. Charlotte gives her a princess gown and heads back down to the ball. Sadly, Tiana heads to the balcony and, in desperation, makes a wish on the evening star in hopes of making things work out in the end. After her wish, Tiana meets a talking frog who reveals to be Prince Naveen. After being cursed by a voodoo witch doctor, Naveen needs help from Tiana who he believes is a princess. Following the tale of "The Frog Prince", Naveen asks Tiana for a kiss in an attempt to break the spell. Unfortunately, Tiana is incredibly hesitant to kiss a frog, but Naveen offers her a reward, telling her that he comes from a fabulously wealthy family. Knowing she needs more money to open her restaurant, Tiana reluctantly kisses Naveen. The only thing it does, however, is change Tiana into a frog, as well, being that she wasn't actually a princess. Enraged at her shocking transformation, Tiana attacks Naveen, having them both fall off the balcony and onto the ball's dance floor. Charlotte's father, Big Daddy, orders their dog Stella to get the frogs. Tiana and Naveen luckily escape on a balloon, which floats over to the cold, miserable bayous of New Orleans.
The Bayous of New Orleans
Tiana, Naveen, and Louis heading off to Mama Odie.
Unfortunately, the balloon pops and lands the two in a swamp filled with alligators. They find shelter in a hallow tree, deciding to stay there until morning. In the mix of the chaos, Naveen promises to pay for Tiana's restaurant if she can help him out the swamp. Tiana agrees, rescues the prince, and the next morning, the two begin their journey. On the way, they meet Louis, an alligator with a gift of playing the trumpet. Louis and Naveen quickly become friends, sharing a passion for music. Louis' gift has Naveen wondering why Louis has never tried playing with the other great musicians of New Orleans, but Louis explains his last attempt to do so ended with the audiance, as well as the musicians, panicking at the sight of a gator. Tiana then interrupts the friendship and drags Naveen ahead, telling Louis they need to find someone to break their spell. However, Louis doesn't understand until Naveen and Tiana explain that they are truly human turned into frogs via the magic of a voodoo witch doctor. Hearing voodoo, Louis informs them of Mama Odie, a voodoo priest who can help them turn human. Though Louis is originally against taking them to her, being too afraid of the dangers that may lie ahead, Naveen convinces the gator to change their mind, having Louis realize Mama Odie could turn him human as well. The trio then make their way but eventually get lost.
Ray Lights the Way
Tiana and Naveen's underwater ballet.
They then meet Ray, a romantic firefly who's in love with the evening star, who he calls Evangeline. Ray happily decides to light the way and act as their guide to Mama Odie, with the help of his massive family of fireflies. During their journey, Tiana and Naveen begin to become closer, especially after saving each other from a trio of bumbling frog hunters. During a rest, Naveen helps Tiana cook for the friends by mincing some mushrooms. With that being the first piece of work Naveen has ever done, he reveals that, despite living the charm life of a prince, he feels deep down that he knows how to do absolutely nothing besides partying, which he is ashamed of. Tiana, feeling sympathy, compliments Naveen's mincing skills, growing the two even closer than before. Moments later, Ray introduces his friends to Evangeline, singing a love ballad in her honor. During which, Naveen attempts to waltz with Tiana, but the waitress declines, admitting that she's never learned to dance. Naveen decides that, in return for teaching him how to mince, he'll teach Tiana how to dance. After the romantic waltz, Naveen officially falls in love.
Dig a Little Deeper
Tiana meeting Mama Odie.
Unfortunately, the romantic moment is soon ruined when Naveen is captured by a pack of shadow demons sent by the witch doctor Doctor Facilier, who needs Naveen to fulfill his evil scheme to take over New Orleans. He is soon saved by Mama Odie, who takes them to her home; a boat in a tree. Tiana tries to explain to Mama that all they want is to be human, but Mama Odie knows what Tiana and Naveen really want after the adventure they had, was each other. However, Tiana fails to realize this and believes Mama Odie's motto of "dig a little deeper" means work extra hard to get her restaurant. Though Naveen completely understands that, instead of riches, what his heart truly desires was Tiana. But with Tiana misunderstanding, Mama Odie decides to put the romance aside and give the two frogs the solution to their problem. Mama Odie tells them that if Naveen were to kiss a princess, they'll both turn human. She then uses her magic brew to locate a nearby princess, which reveals to be Charlotte, who is princess of the Mardi Gras Parade. Unfortunately, Naveen only has until midnight, when Mardi Gras is over, to kiss Charlotte and break the spell. They head off on a riverboat to New Orleans, where Naveen decides he wants to reveal his true feelings to Tiana, figuring he'll merely get a job to help raise money for her restaurant.
Tiana and Naveen's bonding during the riverboat ride home.
Naveen sets up a date later that night, under the stars on the riverboat. The prince was far too sheepish to successfully reveal the truth, but Tiana still finds his fumbling to be cute. Just then, the riverboat begins passing the old building Tiana plans on using for her restaurant. Tiana takes the time to tell Naveen about her dreams to open the restaurant. Knowing he can't afford to pay for the restaurant without marrying Charlotte and inheriting her fortune, Naveen decides not to tell her how he truly feels, for the sake of her dream. The riverboat then prepares to dock, and Naveen heads off to find Louis and Ray. Once he's gone, Tiana sadly speaks to Evangeline about her dilemma, revealing that she, too, is actually in love with Naveen, despite the fact that he must marry Charlotte for the money he promised for her restaurant. Meanwhile, right before docking, Naveen is kidnapped by the shadow demons.
Mardi Gras
Tiana witnessing "Naveen" on the parade float.
Tiana, Louis, and Ray are oblivious to Naveen's capture, and after getting off the riverboat, Tiana asks Ray if he's seen Naveen. Instead, Ray accidentally tells Tiana that Naveen actually loves her and plans on getting a job to pay for her restaraunt. Overjoyed, Tiana and Ray head off to the Mardi Gras parade to find him and return the feelings. Sadly, Tiana, instead, finds Naveen, as a human, atop a parade float about to marry Charlotte. Heartbroken, Tiana runs off. Ray follows and tries to convince Tiana that they should go back to look more into what they say, but Tiana discards the idea, losing her faith in wishing and dreams once more. Determined to show Tiana the truth, Ray flies back to the parade, where he learns that the Naveen they saw about to marry Charlotte is actually Naveen's former valet, Lawrence in disguise. It turns out Lawrence was under the disguise as part of Facilier's plot, who plans on having Lawrence (in disguise) marry Charlotte and steal the La Bouff fortune by doing so, making Facilier the richest man in New Orleans. The real Naveen, still as a frog, was in captivity until Ray rescues him.
Dr. Facilier's Deal
Tiana's meeting with Facilier.
Naveen then grabs a talisman on Lawrence's neck. The talisman gives Lawrence the ability to morph into Naveen and without it, Facilier's plans to gain the La Bouff fortune would be foiled. Naveen passes the talisman over to Ray, who rushes back to the cemetery to foil Facilier and show Tiana the truth. Once the talisman was handed over, Ray instructs Tiana to keep it away from Facilier at all costs, prompting the girl to run in fear as the shadow demons were in hot pursuit. Tiana tries to escape but the evil Dr. Facilier meets up with her, changes her back to human, and conjures up a vision of the restaurant. Facilier tries to use all this to manipulate Tiana into striking a simple deal with him, handing over the talisman for her dream come true. Though Tiana was against the deal, Facilier decided to bring up people's doubts of her before settling on the subject of her deceased father, telling her that his dream never came true, but by accepting the offer, she could make it happen. The discussion of James actually backfires on the evil doctor, and Tiana realizes that her father had love, which was much more important than what he wanted.
Tiana's Dream
Tiana and Naveen proclaim their love.
Tiana attempts to destroy the trinket, but Facilier's living shadow grabs it and hands it back to the doctor. Tiana is changed back to a frog and held down by the evil doctor. Facilier taunts the heroine, telling her she'd always be a frog for "foolishly" denying his deal. Fortunately, with quick thinking and a flick of her tongue, Tiana gets hold of the talisman and shatters it to pieces. After its destruction, Tiana watches in fear as Facilier is dragged away to the underworld by voodoo spirits and demons as punishment for his failure in taking over the city. After the cost is clear, Tiana heads back to the concluded Mardi Gras parade, where she witnesses Lawrence being arrested, learning he was the "Naveen" she witnessed on the parade float. Not too far away, Tiana finds Naveen, who was in the process of making a deal with Charlotte. If she turns him human through a kiss, he'd marry her, so long as she pays for Tiana's restaurant. Before the kiss, Tiana arrives and reveals her love, telling Naveen her dream would be incomplete without him in it. Seeing the beautiful sight, Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen, but only for Tiana's dream come true. But the clock strikes twelve, and Charlotte is no longer a princess as Mardi Gras was officially over. Nevertheless, Tiana and Naveen were happy being frogs, so long as they could stay together.
Finale
Tiana and Naveen's wedding.
Right after their moment, darkness clouds Tiana as Ray was revealed to have been fatally injured by Facilier during the battle moments ago and passes away. Tiana attends his funeral but rejoices after Ray becomes a star right beside Evangeline. Tiana and Naveen marry in the bayou with Mama Odie taking charge of the ceremony. As they kiss, they turn back into humans, as Tiana is now a princess by marrying Naveen. After having a royal wedding as humans in New Orleans, Tiana and Naveen use the money that she saved to open the restaurant (with a little intimidation help from Louis, who frightens the snooty bidders into accepting what Tiana had). The restaurant, as hoped, is a big success with people from all around attending, just as Tiana dreamed. She renames it "Tiana's Palace" and enjoys a dance with Naveen to Louis and his band's music as Ray and Evangeline watch over them on what was a truly magical evening.
Electric Holiday
In the animated short, Electric Holiday, Tiana makes an appearance in Minnie Mouse's fantasy. She was a popular model in Paris and was first seen in the makeup room, and was later seen on the runway.
Once Upon a Time
According to Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, Tiana might make a future appearance in Season 3.[1]
Sofia the First
Tiana has been confirmed to appear in Season 2 of Sofia the First, most likely in the fall.
Video games
Tiana has made a few video game appearances including The Princess and the Frog, a game based off her film, and Disney Princess Enchanting Storybooks. A costume of Tiana is also featured as an add-on in the game Disney Universe. Tiana also appears in Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure. Tiana is also one of the many Disney characters featured in Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion.
The Princess and the Frog
Tiana in the video game.
Taking place after the events of the film, Tiana is in the process of opening her restaurant with her closest friends by her side to help and celebrate alongside her. Throughout the game, Tiana interacts with various characters from the film, revealing their current relationships, as well recapping some of the events from the movie, acting as the game's mini-games and playable levels. Throughout the game, it is revealed that Tiana has even made amends with former adversaries such as her former boss, Buford, and the frog hunters, Reggie, Darnell and Two Fingers.
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Tiana in Kinect Disneyland Adventures.
Tiana appears as a meet-and-greet character in New Orleans Square. She assigns a few tasks to the player, including asking for help with her restaurant.
At one point, Naveen secretly makes Tiana a native Maldonian dish and asks the player to serve it to her. Once the player makes the delivery, Tiana feels the need to add a special ingredient, so the player distracts Naveen while she does. Later on, Tiana's ingredients for her highly-popular gumbo have nearly run out, prompting Tiana to ask the player to find some more.
She also participates in the Mickey's Soundsational Parade and Princess Fantasy Faire mini-games.
Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion
Tiana with Mickey in Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion.
In the 3DS game, Tiana is one of the many iconic Disney characters captured and placed inside the world of illusion by an evil witch known as Mizrabel who plans on stealing the essence of these famous Disney characters to become one herself and dominate their world. Tiana, along with Aurora, becomes trapped within the phony kingdom of Prince Eric. Fortunately, Tiana is eventually rescued by Mickey Mouse. Tiana originally believed it was Dr. Facilier who was behind the devious plot until the heroic mouse explains the situation and allows for Tiana to retreat to safety with the other rescued characters. However, before she departs, Tiana asks if Mickey could hurry and help her find her way home so she could help save Naveen, who was said to be in danger the longer she's in the illusion world.
It is revealed that, whilst in the Fortress (the safe haven for the captive characters) Tiana decided to cook the others meals as they waited for Mickey to complete his mission. In the end, after Mizrabel's defeat, Tiana thanks Mickey for the rescue and heads back to New Orleans, commenting that she needs to help Naveen show the Shadow Man a thing or two.
Disney Parks
Tiana posing for a photo at one of the Disney parks.
Tiana is a meetable character at the Disney parks, dressed in her "lilypad/flower" gown from the movie. She made her debut in the temporary 2009 boat show "Tiana's Showboat Jubilee", in promotion for the film. Tiana is the first African American princess from the United States.
For meet-and-greets, Tiana is available at the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square and Disneyland's New Orleans Square. In Disneyland Paris, Tiana is found at the Princess Pavilion in Fantasyland.
Tiana also makes occasional appearances in Fantasmic! and also appears in Magic Kingdom's Celebrate the Magic.
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
In Frontierland and Liberty Square, Doctor Facilier returns from his death via Hades and plans to turn Tiana back into a frog permanently as revenge for his demise. He kidnaps her and takes her to his parlor, where the park guests free her and allow her to escape. After Facilier is defeated, Tiana meets up with Mama Odie, Louis and Merlin aboard the Liberty Square Riverboat to celebrate the guests' success.
Tiana also has her own spell card known as "Tiana's Hot Sauce".
World of Color
Tiana appears twice in the nighttime spectacular at Disney's California Adventure. She first appears along with Naveen and Ray during the "So Close" scene. She later appears during the show's grand finale along with Naveen.
Disney Believe
Tiana, Naveen, Charlotte and several New Orleans residents assist Mama Odie in her job to help a stiff father believe in magic. In the show, Tiana performs "Dig a Little Deeper" and "Gonna Take You There".
Disney's Port Orleans Resort
In this Walt Disney World resort hotel, Tiana is the central character because of its ties to New Orleans between her film and the resort. A story was given to the resort after its refurbishment. Disney princesses Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Rapunzel gathered together to grant gifts to Tiana. Some include carpets resembling the Magic Carpet from Jasmine, shower curtains with artwork of "dinglehoppers" and "snarfbalts" from Ariel, mirror frames with woodcarvings of woodland creatures from Snow White and much more.
Mickey and the Magical Map
Near the end of Disneyland's live stage show, Yen Sid's apprentice Mickey Mouse travels to New Orleans for one final adventure with Tiana and many other citizens as they perform "Dig a Little Deeper".
Songs performed by Tiana
- Almost There
- Almost There (Reprise)
- Evening Star
- When We're Human
- Down in New Orleans (Finale Version)
- Everyday Princess
- Sing Away The Blues
Memorable quotes
- "If you make a wish on the evening star, it's sure to come true."
- "The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
- "You can't get what you want just by wishing for it."
- "Just one kiss?"
- "Prince Charming, here, got himself turned into a frog a vodoo man."
- "Listen here, mister! This stick in the mud has had to work two jobs her whole life while you've been sucking on a silver spoon, chasing chamber maids around your ivory tower!"
- "Just because you wish for something, doesn't make it true."
- "And we talk, too!"
- "Hit it harder with a couple of shots of Tabasco, and it's the bees' knees!"
- "My daddy never did get what he wanted. But he had what he needed! He had love! He never lost sight of what was really important, and neither will I!"
- "It's not slime, it's mucus!"
- "Very funny. So what now? I reckon you want a kiss?"
- "You mean to tell me this all happened because you were messing with the Shadow Man?!"
- "I gotta dig a little deeper, and work even harder to get my restaurant!"
- "I love you, Naveen."
Differences from the source material
Tiana is an original character for Disney, going on a unique, originally written adventure, though she was partly inspired from E.D Baker's 2002 novel The Frog Princess, and the original fairy tale "The Frog Prince". Of course, Disney enacted some changes to make the story their own.
The Frog Prince by The Brothers Grimm
- The heroine is already a princess and triggers the frog prince's shapeshifting by tossing him against her bedroom wall.
- The frog prince and the princess met at a well there lay under an old linden tree deep in a great dark wood near the castle.
- An exchange was made if the frog retrived the princess' golden ball that fell into the well, that being if he would be loved as a companion and playfellow and sit at the table to dine with the princess and eat from her plate and drink from her cup and sleep on her bed.
- The princess doesn't have a dream to fulfill.
- She had four older sisters.
- No mother is mentioned, but only the father who is the king.
- The enchanted prince has a servant named Henry who travels to the castle of the princess who has married the disenchanted prince to escort them back to the kingdom of the prince's father.
The Frog Princess by E.D Baker
- The heroine is a princess named Esmeralda (aka Emma). Despite being a princess; when she kisses the enchanted Prince Eadric of Upper Montevista, she herself turns into a frog.
- The story has two female witches, one is named Mudine and the other is named Grassina.
- Princess Emma is clumsy with everything which includes the magic touch she inherited from the First Green witch centuries back.
- One of Emma's distinct traits is her unique laugh which sounds like a donkey's bray.
- Emma is the only princess from Greater Greensward.
- The princess was already engaged to a different prince named Jorge from East Aradia, who happened to be her worst enemy.
- The princess was the niece of the witch Grassina of who helped her and Prince Eadric, and even did some magic herself.
- Both Emma and Eadric are to perform several tasks in order to return to their human forms.
- Prince Eadric and Princess Emma do not get married till after taking their human forms once more.
Disney Princess
Tiana was officially welcomed into the Disney Princess Royal Court in early 2010, to coincide with the blu-ray and DVD release of The Princess and the Frog. The coronation event took place in The New York Palace, in New York City. Joining the festivities were the original eight Disney Princesses, as well as Prince Naveen.
A similar event in the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World also took place, welcoming Tiana into the massive group of Disney characters in front of Cinderella Castle.
Redesign
Tiana's 2012 redesign.
The only change Tiana received in the Disney Princess redesign is that there are two more curly strands of hair by her face. Her dress has not changed except that glittery designs of reeds have been added.
Palace Pets
Tiana's Palace Pets are Lily and Bayou.
Trivia
- Tiana is the first official Disney Princess to be an African American, with an African American actress voicing her.
- She is the first Disney Princess to have dimples.
- Tiana is the second Disney Princess to be physically transformed during her film, after Ariel in 1989, a complete 20 years later.
- Tiana is the first Disney Princess to have her story take place in a relatively recent period, in the early 20th Century New Orleans.
- She is also the only Princess to ever come into contact with automobiles. Interestingly enough, Merida once saw a Pizza Planet truck (as one of the Witch's wood carvings) despite living in medieval Scotland.
- Tiana is left handed.
- Tiana is the first Disney Princess to have a job, but second if you include Mulan's service in the Chinese army. Jasmine was an assistant teacher briefly but that was only in a short sequel and not her feature film.
- Tiana is the fourth Disney Princess not to be of royal blood, with the first being Cinderella, the second being Belle, and the third being Mulan.
- Tiana is the third oldest Disney Princess, being 3 months younger than Cinderella, the second oldest Disney Princess. The oldest Disney Princess, Elsa, is 21.
- Tiana is the fifth Disney Princess to have black hair and brown eyes. The others are Snow White, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan.
- Tiana is the third Disney Princess to be shown as a little girl, with the first being Cinderella, the second being Ariel in The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, the fourth being Rapunzel, the fifth being Merida, and the sixth and seventh being Anna and Elsa.
- Tiana is the first new Disney Princess to be introduced since Mulan in 1998.
- Tiana is the fourth princess to have a name that has a distinct meaning as Tiana translates to "princess". For the first one, Aurora, her name means "dawn". Belle is the second in that her name translates to "beauty" and Mulan is the third in that her name translates to "magnolia blossom".
- Tiana is the first Disney Princess to sing songs outside of the traditional "musical theatre" genre. The genres range from jazz, R&B, blues and soul, instead of traditional pop or classical.
- Tiana is the first Disney Princess to be voiced by a single actress (who does both her speaking and singing voices) in 18 years, with the last being Belle in 1991. However, if you include Megara in 1997, she is the second heroine.
- Tiana is the third Disney Princess to be tempted by the villain's offer to make their wishes come true; the first two being Snow White, who wished to marry a prince and ate the poison apple, and Ariel, who exchanged her voice for human legs. Through Tiana was able to resist because she finally realized what was important.
- Tiana is the second Disney Princess to kill the film's villain, with the first being Mulan.
- Tiana is the second Disney Princess to have her father in an army; the first being Mulan; however, Tiana is the first to have her father die in a war.
- Tiana is the first Disney Princess to have only her mother alive and her father dead. Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Pocahontas had only their fathers alive. Snow White and Cinderella only had their stepmothers alive. And Aurora, Mulan, Rapunzel, Merida, Anna and Elsa's mothers and fathers are both alive, though Anna and Elsa are orphaned while Elsa is teenaged.
- Tiana is the second Disney Princess to be born in North America and have a human best friend, the first was Pocahontas.
- Tiana is the second Disney Princess to have certain parts of her life to be influenced by a real life person, and the first to have a living influence. The first Disney Princess to have certain parts of her life influenced by a real life person was Pocahontas.
- Tiana, in her blue princess costume, resembles Brandy's gown from the film adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
- Tiana is the Disney Princess seen wearing the most outfits. In total, she wore 11 on different occasions. (10 if you don't count the dress she wore as a child)
- Several other African American celebrities wanted the role of Tiana, including model and television personality Tyra Banks, singer-songwriter Alicia Keys and recording artist Jennifer Hudson.
- Tiana is the second Disney Princess with a green dress, the first being Belle and the third is Anna.
- Tiana is the second Disney heroine to be inside a holy building after Esmeralda.
- Tiana is one of seven Disney Princesses to wear a tiara in her films. The others were Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Rapunzel, and Elsa.
- Tiana is the only Disney Princess who is a realist.
- Tiana is the second Princess to be thought of as crazy by people in her town. The first was Belle, and the third was Elsa.
- We see early in the movie that Tiana keeps all the money she saved for her restaurant in her dresser, which may mean she does not trust banks. This may have been shown intentionally because her story takes place a few years before The Great Depression, and many people who kept money in the banks lost all their savings.
- The Princess and the Frog is the second Disney Princess movie that was set in America (New Orleans, Louisiana). The other was Pocahontas, set in Virginia.
- Tiana as the protagonist, is present and relevant for the entire film, but her screen time as a human was limited to 19 minutes. (Not including deleted scenes.)
- Tiana has similarities with Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid, as they both have a love interest that underwent a magical transformation by their movie's antagonist.
- Tiana is the second Disney Princess not to have a sequel or short-film for her movie with the first being Snow White and the third being Merida.
- Tiana is the most modern Disney Princess, having been born in the 20th century.
- According to Disneystrology, her birthday would be on December 25th. December 25th is also Christmas Day, a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and is associated with winter.
- Tiana is franchised with her green wedding gown, but without the veil.
- Tiana is the first princess to go to an adventure with her love-interest to fulfill something, with the second being Rapunzel and the third being Anna. She and Rapunzel are also similar in the sense that they fall in love with their polar opposite and they fall in love with their love interest along the way.
- Tiana is usually seen with Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle and Rapunzel more than the other princesses.
- Tiana is the second princess to have her crown as a signature hair accessory, with the first being Aurora. She is also the first princess to have a crown made of leaves instead of the typical crown made of gold, silver and diamonds.
- Tiana is the fourth Disney heroine associated with the Disney Princess franchise to be in an interracial relationship, after Pocahontas, Esmeralda and Kida.
- Tiana is the first African American character to make appearances at Disney parks.
- Tiana actually shares many similarities to Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
- Both heroines hold a lifelong dream that they hold great passion for. (Tiana's dream of opening a restaurant; Ariel's dream of living on land)
- Both underwent a massive physical (species) change. (Tiana became a frog; Ariel became a human).
- Both of their dreams were eventually sidelined once they met or discovered their true loves.
- Both heroines are roped into a shady deal at the hands of their enemies (Tiana with Dr. Facilier; Ariel with Ursula).
- The fathers of both Tiana and Ariel play major roles in the story-lines of their daughters, acting as the driving force in some occasions.
- Both Tiana and Ariel are aided by small, romantic, musical comedic sidekicks throughout their stories. (Ray for Tiana; Sebastian for Ariel), as well as the cowardly sidekick (Louis for Tiana; Flounder for Ariel); and the loud, eccentric friend (Lottie with Tiana; Scuttle with Ariel).
- Tiana is the first Disney Princess who married twice. Her and Naveen's first wedding was in the swamp witnessed by Mama Odie and many of its animals. Their second wedding occurred in their human forms in front of their human loved ones. This was likely to make their marriage legitimate and recognized by Louisiana.
- Tiana is one of the only three Disney Princesses to appear in the Walt Disney World attraction, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom (The other two being Ariel and Pocahontas).
- Tiana currently is the last princess to showed in classical 2D animation.
Gallery
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