Tiana (Disney)

Princess Tiana is the main protagonist of Disney's 2009 animated feature film The Princess and the Frog. She is a waitress and aspiring restaurant owner living in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the Jazz Age. She is voiced by Anika Noni Rose and is the 9th official Disney Princess.

Background

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.

Almost There - Princess and the Frog

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 and Knowles 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."

Personality

Tiana's voice actress: Anika Noni Rose.

Tiana is an intelligent, resourceful, and highly talented young woman. However, at the start of the film, and mostly throughout, she can be overly uptight and far too absorbed in work ethics to focus on relaxing, family, and friends. Though she notices this and appears to have some regret over her busy schedule, her obsession with bringing her dream of opening her own restaurant into fruition overshadows it all. She also, for the most part, has appeared to accept that over the years, as seen when she and Eudora visited the old sugar mill in preparation of its purchase.

With a strong sense of honor and integrity, Tiana firmly believes nothing deserves to be obtained in the world unless it's done through hard work. A view she's brought up when dealing with her excessively dreamy and immature best friend, Charlotte La Bouff, as well as the party-loving Naveen.

Aside from her workaholic nature, Tiana has another side to her; one that's passionate, imaginative, and ambitious. She enjoys humor, music, quality time with loved ones, and dancing (though not at first). She becomes excitable whenever mentioning her restaurant, lighting up when she does, as Naveen puts it, and although she initially had very little knowledge over romance, she values it highly once she starts to fall for Naveen, to the point where her restaurant was no longer the most important part of her life.

She's also incredibly strong-willed, and doesn't take lightly to being undermined or insulted by anyone. Despite her poor background, she sees something far greater in herself and jumps at every opportunity available to prove so, whether it be to the sleazy Fenner Brothers or the originally arrogant Prince Naveen, who initially looked down upon the woman because of her occupation as a waitress and uptight attitude, only to be proven there's far more to her than meets the eye.

Physical Appearance

Tiana's three most prominent outfits: Tiana in her waitress uniform (left); Tiana in her blue ball-gown (center); Tiana in her lillypad wedding gown (right)

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, 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.

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, loaned 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.

Abilities

A coordinated and swift Tiana working as a waitress.

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.

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.

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 showTiana's Showboat Jubilee in promotion for the film.

For meet-and-greets, Tiana is available primarily at 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 appearances in Fantasmic! and also appears in Magic Kingdom's Celebrate the Magic and Festival of Fantasy Parade.

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".

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

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.

Young Tiana and Charlotte listening to "The Frog Prince".

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?"

  

  Naveen and Tiana's romantic bonding during the riverboat ride home.

• "Prince Charming here, got himself turned into a frog by a voodoo man."
• "Have you, now?"
• "Thank you, 'cause I figured out what your problem is too."
• No, you're a no-count, philandering, lazy bump on a log."
• "What'd you say?"

  

  Tiana's meeting with Facilier.

• "And we talk, too!"
• "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."
• "Hit it harder with a couple of shots of Tabasco, and it's the bees' knees!"
• "Shadow Man."
• "No. This-this is not right."
• "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!"
• "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?!"

  

  Tiana and Naveen's wedding as humans.

• [groans] "It serves me right for wishing on stars. The ONLY way to get what you want in this world is through hard work." 
• "Huh? Oh, I'm not a princess. I'm a waitress."
• "I - I never said I was a princess." 
• "It was a costume party, you spoiled little rich boy!" 
• [shocked] "What?"
• "I gotta dig a little deeper, and work even harder to get my restaurant!"
• "No, it's cute."
• "Juse because you wish for something, doesn't make it true."
• "Evangeline is nothing but a star, Ray! A big ball of hot air over a million miles from here! Open your eyes, now... Before you get hurt."
• "I've got news for you, Shadow Man. It's not slime, it's mucus!"
•  "Wait!" 
• "Don't do this."
• "My dream wouldn't be complete... without you in it."
• "I love you, Naveen."
• "Warts and all." 
• "A princess. You just kissed yourself a princess."
• [while standing on the balcony, she sees a wishing star; sighs] "I can't believe that I'm doing this." 
• [wishing on the Evening Star] "Please, please, please."
• "Oh, very funny. So, what now? I reckon you want a kiss?" 
•  [throws a stuffed monkey at him and lifts up a book] "Stay back, or I'll... I'll..." 
• "A prince? But I didn't wish for any... Hold on, if you're the prince, then WHO was that waltzing with Lotte on the dance floor?" 
• [hands the book to Naveen] "The Frog Prince?" 
• "Excuse me?" 
• "Look, I'm sorry. I'd really like to help you, but I DO NOT kiss frogs." 
• "I didn't expect you to answer!" 
• [reluctantly] "Just one kiss?" 
• "All right, all right. Get it together, Tiana." 
• [gazes up at the table] "Well, you don't look any different. But how did you get way up there? And how did I get way down here, in all this..." 
• "Goodnight Cal's, good morning Duke's."
• "There is no way I am kissing a frog and eating a bug on the same day."
• "I think it's done, Daddy."
• "Mm-hmm."
• "Yes."
•  [yanks the spoon out of her dad's hand] "Wait! [adds some hot sauce to the gumbo, then tastes it] Done." [feeds the gumbo to James]
• "What?"
• "Our food."
• "No, I got two left feet. Besides, I'm gonna... [to a rather messy kid] Need a napkin, sweetheart? I'm gonna work a double shift tonight. [serving pancakes to a male customer] Here're your hotcakes. You know, so I..."
• "Buford, your eggs are burnin'."
• "I'm gettin' close."
• "Where my flapjacks?"
• "Mornin', Mr. La Bouff."
• "Congratulations on bein' voted king of the Mardi Gras parade."
• "Beignets? Got me a fresh batch just waitin' for you."
•  "Not a stick in the mud?" 
•  "Say it." 
• "Say it." 
•  "I can't hear you, I'm sorry. What?" 
• [freaking out] "Stella just talked to me. A dog just spoke to me!" 
• [covering herself and panicking] "Augh! What did you do to me? I - I'm green and I'm - and I'm slimy!" 
• "What?" 
• "Once you two are married, you are gonna keep your promise and get me my restaurant, right?" 
•  [Notices the alligators approaching] "Those aren't logs!" 
• "You said you were fabulously wealthy!" 
• [tugs off the leech] "You're broke, and you had the gall to call me a liar?" 
• "You a prince?" 
• "She'll have you!" 
• [stirring broth] "Aw, you poor baby." 
• "What for?"
• "Louis... Ray here says you've been taking us in the wrong direction."
• "And we talk, too!" 
• [as they get off the boat] "Ray, have you seen Naveen?" 
• "What are you talking about?" 
• [chiding] "Ray?" 
• "You said just enough, Ray!" 
• "Thank you, Evangeline... He was trying to propose. That's what all that fumbling was about and here I thought, all he wanted was to marry a rich girl." 
• "You just keep your eyes at one of the biggest gaudiest floats with a Mardi Gras princess about to kiss herself a... a frog." 
•  [Showing Eudora the decrepit warehouse she plans to buy] "Just look at it, mama! Don't it just make you wanna cry?" 
•  "Where are you taking me?" 
• "Oh... All my years. No one's ever done anything like this for me." 
• "What's this?" 
• "You minced!" 
• [laughs] "No, it's cute." 

Trivia

• 

  Tiana is the first official Disney Princess to be an African American, with an African American actress voicing her. She is also the first black Disney protagonist in general (not counting Br'er Rabbit as he is not human).

• 

  Tiana as the protagonist, is present and relevant for the entire film, but her screen time as a human was limited to 19 minutes, despite what DVD cover arts and promotional stuff showed. (Not including deleted scenes.)
• 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.
• She is also the second Disney Princess to be transformed into an animal, the first being Jasmine when she turns into a rat in the TV episode "Do the Rat Thing".

  

  Tiana's wedding dress concept by Bill Schwab and Lorelay Bove.

• 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 medievalScotland.
• Tiana is left handed.
• 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. She is the third to become a princess by marrying a prince, which Mulan never does.
• 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 third Disney Princess seen wearing opera gloves, the first two being Cinderella and Belle. Coincidentally all three are the only Disney Princesses that became royalty by marriage.
• 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 second Disney Princess to wear a dress with a slit. The first being Ariel and the third being Elsa.
• Tiana is the first Disney Princess seen going to a funeral. The second being Anna.
• 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.
• 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 is Belle and the third is Anna.
• Tiana is the second Disney heroine to be inside a holy building after Esmeralda. However she is the first Princess. The second is Rapunzel and the third and fourth are Anna and Elsa.
• Tiana is one of seven Disney Princesses to wear a tiara in her films. The others were Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Rapunzel, Merida and Elsa.
• Tiana is the only Disney Princess who is a realist.
• Tiana is the second Princess to be thought of as unusual 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. The segregation of the 1920's may also play a role in this, for people may not be able to accept her money due to her race. 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 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.
• According to Disneystrology, her birthday would be on December 25. December 25 is also Christmas Day, a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
• 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 fall in love with their love interest along the way.
• 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, though Tiana got her restaurant in the end.
  • 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 second Disney Princess who married twice, the first being Cinderella. 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.
  • She, however is the only Disney Princess to have two wedding dresses. The green one from her marriage in the swamp, and the white one from her wedding in 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 was the last traditionally animated Disney Princess until Anastasia after Disney acquiring 20th Century Fox.
• Tiana is similar to Cinderella in the sense that both are known for working hard, are seen balancing food to be served to others on their hands and head, are friends with a dog, (Bruno for Cinderella, Stella for Tiana), and have similar hairstyles with and without their princess outfits and become princesses by marriage.
• Despite being left-handed, Tiana is showing signing a paper with her right hand in her fantasy during the "Almost There" number.

Credit

• Disney Wiki