Incredible Characters

Tiana is not only the first black Disney princess, but also probably the most hard working. She had two jobs working as a waitress, barely having enough time to sleep, to make her dream of opening up a restaurant come true. She had bigger goals for her life than finding some man. (Honestly, she didn't need no man, it was a bonus.) Now I should note this: I'm not saying she's the only Disney princess who has these qualities. New age Disney princesses are becoming more independent and it is very empowering. It's just that Tiana was one of the first to act like this, along with Mulan (however I don't really consider her a Disney princess , but that's a whole different conversation).

Prince Naveen is a handsome man, but he is so much more than just a pretty face. He goes through some major character growth throughout the movie. In the beginning, he's a carefree, lady's man who is only willing to marry someone in hopes of getting some money to resume living the life he once had. While singing "When We're Human," he infers that he would still seek out other women while married. Not a very likable character with traits like this, but turning into a frog and meeting Tiana helped him open up his eyes to change his ways. He finally found a girl that could whip him in shape and truly fall in love with. He opens up to Tiana about how he has no real skills because he grew up with everything done for him and when he learned how to mince, I'm sure in that moment he never felt prouder of himself. Don't even get me started on how Naveen was looking at Tiana at the end of the movie. His eyes were pouring out love.

I didn't think much of Charlotte La Bouff when I first watched the movie, but after seeing it for the hundredth time, I have come to value her character more. At first, she is introduced to be this spoiled little girl who got everything she asked for and more. You think that maybe she will be following the ditzy blonde trope. Yet, she is much different than that. Charlotte never treated Tiana any differently for being a person of color or poor. She is the bestest friend a person could have and is super caring. When Tiana fell onto her table, Charlotte put spending time with "Naveen" on hold to help her and then completely gave up her chance to be with a prince so that Naveen and Tiana could be together. If that's not selfless, I don't know what is.

Dr. Facilier, also referred to as the Shadow Man, is hands down the coolest Disney villain and he alone should get more credit for it. He's a money driven man with voodoo magic who wants to rule all of New Orleans. He has this swagger to him, but a short temper that shows his true colors. I love his character design and how easy it would be to identify him if you looked at his silhouette. He looks evil, but probably wouldn't do much harm if he didn't have his spirit "friends." Dr. Facilier relies heavily on manipulation to fool others that he could grant them their dreams, but there was always a catch. For a full analysis of his character, check out this amazing article that goes much more in depth.

When it comes to animal side kicks in Disney movies, The Princess And The Frog does a phenomenal job adding personality to these characters. Louis is a fun loving, trumpet playing alligator that dreams of playing with a real band for an audience. He doesn't act like your average alligator and is actually pretty goofy and a bit of a scaredy cat. The second side character is Ray, a firefly living in the bayou. He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he will look out for his family and friends. He sacrificed his life to help Naveen and Tiana be together and change back into humans at the end. He was the real hero. RIP Ray, may you forever be with your love Evangeline.

Memorable Songs

This is probably the one movie where I genuinely love all of the songs, even the villain one. It may be blasphemy to hardcore Disney fans, but I never enjoyed most of the songs the Disney antagonist sing, such as "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from The Little Mermaid or "Be Prepared" from Lion King. I would gladly fast forward the movie. In truth, I was a bit iffy of "Friends on the Other Side," but I have grown to really love it. The songs in the movie radiate New Orleans jazz and blues vibes which is lively and nearly impossible not dance to. (Bless Randy Newman for composing a majority of these songs.) The visuals accompanying some of the songs such as, "Friends on the Other Side," "Dig a Little Deeper," and "Almost There," are beautiful and eye catching. They heighten both the song and movie watching experience.

Heartwarming Message

This movie offers a real take away that everyone can learn from. The viewer gets an idea of what the message is in the song "Dig a Little Deeper," where Mama Odie is explaining to Naveen and Tiana that they need to focus on what they need rather than what they want. We may not get to achieve every single dream we have, but as long as we have people who love us around, then nothing else should matter. Now, this goes straight over Tiana's head, thinking that digging a little deeper means to work even harder to get her restaurant. Eventually, she does learn the true meaning behind Mama Odie's words at the end of the movie when Dr. Facilier is offering to make her dreams come true if she hands him his amulet. She refuses, saying, "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".