The Princess and the Frog (2009) Directed and Written by Ron Clements and John Musker.

Princess Tiana: Just one kiss?
Frog Prince Naveen: Just one, unless you beg for more.

Disney has it's first black princess.  In a charming tale set in Old New Orleans, Tiana is the daughter of two hardworking parents.  Her mother is a seamstress, her father a laborer with a dream; a dream of owning a restaurant.  And Tiana is gifted by her parents, not only with a flair for cooking, but with a work ethic, and the love of family.
Tiana's best friend and her mother's best customer is Charlotte LeBouff, apple of the eye of her Big Daddy, one of the richest men in New Orleans.   Charlotte has a princess fetish, and her favorite story is the Frog Prince.

Many years pass, and Tiana has grown into a beautiful young woman.  She works two jobs, and saves every penny for the down payment on her restaurant.  New Orleans is all atwitter with the upcoming Mardi Gras preparations, and for the arrival of Prince Naveen of Maldonia.

The prince is a caramel coloured dream, suave, debonair, and with a real talent for jazz.  He is also lazy, self centered, and penniless, as his parents have cut him off.  If he wants to continue the lifestyle to which he is accustomed, he will have to marry into money.  Like that possessed by Miss Charlotte LeBouff, for instance.

Enter the villain; Dr. Facilier.  Tall, gaunt, with more than a little of Baron Samedi about him, he is a Voodoo Shadowman, and he has a plan, focusing on the long suffering lackey of Prince Naveen, Lawrence.  A little mystic hoodoo, and a little help from his friends on the other side, and Naveen is a frog, and Lawrence has a charm that lets him steal the princes' likeness.  Soon, Lawrence will have a life of luxury with Miss Charlotte LeBouff, and Dr. Facilier will have access to the real power in New Orleans; the LeBouff fortune.
But Naveen is not without resources, and escaping his jar, he makes his way to the LeBouff Masquerade Ball.  There, he meets Tiana, and persuades ‘the princess' to give him a kiss. 

And that's when a wondrous transformation takes place.  With a flash of light, magick works its miracle, and Tiana is a frog.

Apparently, it takes a real princess, and not just a pretty waitress in a ball gown and tiara.

And then they are off, hunted, as tasty morsels, by Dr. Facilier and his shadow demons, who need the Princes' blood to continue the masquerade, searching for a way to regain their humanity.  There are many interesting characters along the way, the jazz trumpeter gator, Louis, a Cajun firefly named Ray, and the powerful Hoodoo woman, Mama Odie.

Louis: You sure this is the right blind voodoo lady who lives in the boat in the tree in the bayou?

Ray: Pretty sure.

I am somewhat opposed to the Princess craze that has swept the nation.  I think it is silly to wish for something that is an accident of birth, or to pin your identity on who you marry, and I have come around to my Cousin Anna's way of thinking about Beauty and the Beast; this is not a message our daughters need.  If he acts like a beast, leave him alone, and find one that is already house broken!

But this is what I love about this production.  Tiana is no idiot longing for a man to sweep her away and make all her dreams come true.  (That is her friend Charlotte.) No, she is a woman with talent, determination, and who is willing to work hard for what she wants.  The prince does not sweep into her life and magically make everything better for her.  No, if anything, she saves him.

What a wonderful message for all little girls, and how wonderful that there will be a doll the same colour as all the little girls.

I Hear Voices!
Anika Noni Rose ...  Tiana (voice)
Bruno Campos ...  Prince Naveen (voice)
Keith David ...  Dr. Facilier (voice)
Michael-Leon Wooley ...  Louis (voice)
Jennifer Cody ...  Charlotte (voice)
Jim Cummings ...  Ray (voice)
Peter Bartlett ...  Lawrence (voice)
Jenifer Lewis ...  Mama Odie (voice)
Oprah Winfrey ...  Eudora (voice)
Terrence Howard ...  James (voice)
John Goodman ...  'Big Daddy' La Bouff (voice)  

Entered into the Carstairs38 All Things Disney Write Off.

Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Family Movie
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing