About

The Princess and the Frog is an animated feature released by Disney in December 2009, and marks the studio's return to traditional hand-drawn animation after a five-year hiatus. The story takes place in 1920s New Orleans and follows a waitress named Tiana, who dreams of opening a restaurant of her own. Working two jobs to save up for her goal, Tiana has little time for fun and games, and is definitely not interested in princes or true love. When her romantic and fairy-tale obsessed friend Charlotte hires Tiana to make beignets for a Mardi Gras masquerade honoring the visiting Prince Naveen of Maldonia, Tiana is ecstatic-- she finally has the money to buy the sugar mill she and her late father dreamed of converting into their own restaurant. Her happiness is short-lived, however; at the masquerade ball, Tiana is informed by the realtors that she was outbid for the property, and if she cannot match the other bidder's price in a few days' time, she will lose the mill forever.

Crushed, Tiana makes a last-resort wish on the evening star. When she opens her eyes, she finds a frog sitting next to her. Sarcastically, Tiana asks the frog if he is looking for a kiss, and to her horror, the frog answers her! As fate would have it, the frog is none other than Prince Naveen, who has been turned into a frog by the voodoo witch doctor Facilier, also known as the "Shadow Man." Seeing Tiana in her masquerade costume, Naveen incorrectly assumes that she is a princess and that her kiss will break the spell. Although Tiana is revolted by the idea of kissing a frog, Naveen appeals to her and offers her any reward in exchange for her help. Hoping for a way to get her restaurant, Tiana agrees. However, since she is not actually a princess, Tiana's kiss has an unforseen result: rather than turning Naveen human, it turns Tiana into a frog.

After causing a riot at the masquerade ball, Tiana and Naveen escape into the bayou, and neither is too pleased with the other. Naveen is horrified that Tiana "deceived" him by posing as a princess, even though, as Tiana points out, it was a costume party and she never told him she was a princess. Naveen jabs back that "the egg is on [Tiana's] face," because Naveen actually is not fabulously wealthy-- his parents, King and Queen of Maldonia, cut him off because of his extravagant and irresponsible ways, and his notorious ladies-man reputation. Naveen had, in fact, come to New Orleans as a penniless disgrace, and had hoped to find new riches by marrying Charlotte, the daughter of Eli La Bouff, the richest man in New Orleans. Needless to say, between the perceived deceits and their first impressions (Tiana seeing Naveen as a good-for-nothing leech and Naveen seeing Tiana as below his station, not to mention a "kill-joy" and "stick in the mud"), Tiana and Naveen definitely did not fall in love at first sight.

However, as they fight to survive in the bayou and find a way to break the spell, Tiana and Naveen start to see beyond their first impressions. Naveen comes to appreciate Tiana's ability to make the best of every situation, and the way she manages to reach out to everyone they encountered (including their new friends, Louis the alligator and Ray the firefly). Meanwhile, Tiana sees that there is more to Naveen than the spoiled little rich boy: he can be brave, strong, and he is willing to learn. After spending more time with him, Tiana begins to open up and accept that maybe she needs to have more fun in her life. Their relationship reaches a turning point when Naveen convinces Tiana to dance with him, and she lets go of her inhibitions and allows herself to have a good time. From that point on, Naveen starts to see Tiana in a different light.

When the pair finally encounter Mama Odie, the voodoo priestess of the bayou who they hope can turn them back to normal, it is apparent that Naveen is falling head over heels for Tiana. Taking Mama Odie's advice to "dig a little deeper" and find out what it is he really needs, Naveen realizes that he no longer wants to marry Charlotte and go back to his rich and spoiled ways. He realizes that his dream is now joined to Tiana's, and he will do anything in his power to make her dream come true. He plans to propose to her and, once they turn back into humans, he vows to get work and help her save up for the restaurant. However, before he manages to propose, Tiana mentions the time limit on her building, and Naveen realizes that the only way for Tiana to realize her dream is if he marries Charlotte and gives Tiana the money for the restaurant.

In the meantime, Tiana has begun to notice her own changing feelings. Although she still wants to have her restaurant, her dream seems empty without Naveen in it. Tiana realizes that she doesn't want Naveen to marry Charlotte, because she has fallen for him. When Ray inadvertently tells Tiana of Naveen's feelings for her, she is overjoyed; but the Shadow Man's interference threatens to derail their plans. In the end, Tiana defeats Dr. Facilier, and she hurries to find Naveen. When she locates him, he is in the middle of explaining the story to Charlotte, who, as Mardi Gras princess, has the power to break the spell until the holiday is over at midnight. Tiana stops them, tells Naveen she loves him, and Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen and rescue them both, no marriage required, because she wants to see her friend be happy. However, the clock strikes twelve before Charlotte kisses Naveen, and Tiana and Naveen decide that they will be happy to remain frogs as long as they can be together.

The two return to Mama Odie, who marries them; but, when they kiss, they magically transform back into humans! The moment that Tiana became his wife, Tiana became a princess and her kiss had the power to break the spell. The two return to New Orleans where they have a proper church wedding with all their family and friends, including the king and queen of Maldonia, who seem to have accepted Naveen back into their good graces. With help from Louis the alligator, Tiana and Naveen "persuade" the realtors to give the sugar mill to Tiana, and the couple work together to fix up the building and transform it into the restaurant of their dreams, Tiana's Palace. And so, Tiana and Naveen live happily ever after!

Why?

After seeing the movie the first time, I just loved everything about Tiana and Naveen's relationship. After seeing it the second time, I had definitely decided that they were my new all-time favorite Disney couple! Haha. I love the way that they start off hating each other, but then each comes to realize how wonderful the other is. It's almost like Pride and Prejudice, but Disney! What's not to love? I particularly liked that Naveen was the first to realize his feelings for Tiana, while Tiana remained completely oblivious. I found both Tiana and Naveen to be really appealing characters, and they just go together so well!

For the site title, I opted against the more obvious "The Best Thing I Never Knew I Needed," because one scene in particular really stood out to me in the film. All throughout the movie, Ray's love for the evening star Evangeline was a key theme, and even Naveen and Tiana began referring to the evening star as "Evangeline." When frog-Naveen is telling Charlotte about how her kiss can break the spell, he promises to marry her-- providing that Charlotte give Tiana the money to open her restaurant. He says to her, "Because Tiana... she is my Evangeline." Although Charlotte didn't understand what that meant, Tiana did, and so did the audience. By calling her his Evangeline, Naveen was saying that she was not only his true love, but the light of his life. I just thought it was so incredibly sweet and, for me, the most touching scene in the movie. I really feel that that line embodies their relationship, so I knew that I had to use it for the website title!