Disney history will be made this Friday with the general release of The Princess and The Frog. Set in jazz-age New Orleans, The Princess and The Frog features the first ever African-American Disney princess. On the Huffington Post:

“The story really came from an initial idea of doing an American fairy tale, which hadn’t been done at Disney,” said “Princess” co-director Ron Clements. “And setting it in New Orleans, which is John Lasseter’s favorite city in the world. It was Walt Disney’s favorite city in the world … Out of that, it seemed natural that the heroine would be African-American.”

Called “royally charming” by Claudia Puig at USA Today, The Princess and The Frog treats fans to a return to Disney’s classic hand-drawn 2D animation. Via Wikipedia:

“The writing and directing was done by Ron Clements and John Musker, directors of successful 2D Disney films The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules.”

Both of these factors should bode well for the film. The Princess and the Frog recently scored eight Annie Award nominations. From the LA Times Blog:

“The traditional 2-D animated “Princess and the Frog” was nominated for best animated feature, as well as earning individual nominations for animated effects, character animation, production design and voice acting.”

For a glimpse at the making of the fabulous animation of this soon-to-be classic, check out our newly released The Art of the Princess and The Frog by Jeff Kurtti (author of more than 20 books including A Bug’s Life: The Art and Making of an Epic of Miniature Proportions), and with a preface from two-time Academy Award winning director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios John Lasseter.

Cheers,
Hannah
Entertainment Marketing Manager

Source: Hannah deBree