The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American traditionally animated musical fantasy-comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studiosand released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 49th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is loosely based on the novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which is in turn based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "The Frog Prince". Written and directed by Ron Clements andJohn Musker, the film features an ensemble voice cast that stars Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jennifer Cody, and Jim Cummings, with Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, and John Goodman. Set in 1920s New Orleans, Louisiana, the film tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of owning her own restaurant. After kissing a prince who has been turned into a frog by an evil witch doctor, Tiana becomes a frog herself, and must find a way to turn back into a human before it is too late. Tiana is the only African-American Disney Princess.

The Princess and the Frog began production under the working title The Frog Princess. It marked Disney's return to traditional animation, as it was the studio's first traditionally animated film since Home on the Range (2004). Co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker, directors of Disney's highly successful films The Little Mermaid (1989) and Aladdin (1992), returned to Disney to direct The Princess and the Frog. The studio returned to a Broadway musical-style format frequently used by Disney in the 1980s and 1990s, and features music written by composerRandy Newman, well known for his musical involvement in Pixar films such as A Bug's Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Cars (2006), and theToy Story trilogy (1995, 1999 and 2010).

The Princess and the Frog opened in limited release in New York and Los Angeles on November 25, 2009, and in wide release on December 11, 2009. The Princess and the Frog was successful at the box-office, topping domestic rankings on its opening weekend, and grossing $267 million worldwide. The film received three Academy Award nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards: one for Best Animated Feature and two for Best Original Song. It lost to Up and Crazy Heart, respectively. It is the first 2-D animated Disney film not to be released on VHS. The film is also notable for marking the return of Disney animated musical films based on well-known stories since the Disney Renaissance.