Prince Naveen

"Ashidanza!"

- Naveen's signature phrase

Prince Naveen is the deuteragonist from Disney's 2009 animated feature film The Princess and the Frog.

He is the outgoing, easygoing, laid-back, smooth-talking and music-loving prince of Maldonia who comes to the French Quarter for the jazz scene accompanied by his valet Lawrence, with whom Tiana and Charlotte both fall in love. Due to being new in the city, he is persuaded by the shady Dr. Facilier into taking a tour of his office, which results in a curse transforming him into a frog. During the movie, he oftens makes exclamations in his native language of Maldonian, which is descended from Italian, though, it should be noted that his voice actor, Bruno Campos, is Brazilian-born.

Background
"At this point, you only have two choices. Woo and marry a rich young lady, or... Get a job!"

- Lawrence to Naveen

As mentioned above, Prince Naveen is native to the kingdom of Maldonia, where he lives alongside his parents, the king and queen, and his younger brother, Prince Ralphie. Naveen is quite the freeloader, and has spent all his life being waited on, never learning to do a thing for himself, including activities as basic as simple cooking. His parents didn't seem to mind, and were apparently too busy running the kingdom to have time with their son, as Naveen stated during his meeting with Tiana that his mother had servants read him stories before bed every night, implying she was never available to do so. By the time of adulthood, the King and Queen of Maldonia finally had enough of the prince's lazy antics and excessive partying, so they cut him off from the family wealth, forcing him to either get a job, or marry a rich young woman.

Of course, his laziness was what ultimately fueled his decision to marry back into wealth, but upon meeting Tiana, he slowly begins to realize the selfish ways he's been living, and comes to understand hard work will eventually pay off.

Personality
Prince Naveen is a fun loving and lazy, yet educated philanderer. He loves dancing, playing music, and most of all, women. Although he has a lot of innocent charm to him, the prince's life was spent spoiled, having servants wait on him hand and foot, day after day for years upon years. This, of course, makes him out to be a egotistical and lazy adult, who's only goal is to "live life to the fullest" via partying every night with beautiful women of all kind. Though not with malice, Naveen didn't seem to treat his servants very well, either, specifically his valiant, Lawrence, who's constant lack of appreciation turns him to villainy. Whilst the prince was a heavy philanderer, he did seem to have a huge romantic side to him. One that was apparently never used at full force before meeting and falling in love with Tiana for the first time.

Naveen is also one of the first Disney princes to have a heavily vain personality, constantly commenting on how gorgeous and wonderful he finds himself, much to the annoyance of Tiana and Lawrence. Still, underneath the vanity, Naveen isn't as confident as he likes to believe, ultimately confessing to Tiana his disappointment in not knowing how to do anything at all, as a result of being served and waited on all his life.

Physical appearance
Naveen's supervising animator was Randy Haycock, who had previously animated characters such as Simba and Pocahontas, in both his human and frog form. Naveen is a lean and fairly well built, average sized young man with wavy, dark brown hair and amber eyes. He has a slightly lighter skin tone than Tiana and often seen wearing commoner clothes over prince-like clothing. By appearance, he resembles his voice actor Bruno Cumpos, who, as mentioned above, is Brazilian born, giving Naveen a Brazilian-esque appearance. When first introduced, Naveen is seen wearing a dark cream vest with a white shirt, accompanied by a reddish, orange ascot, fitting into the style of traditional New Orleans of the 1920s. At the end of the film, however, Naveen is featured in a fresh, new formal attire, with heavy and light shades of green, matching Tiana's official princess gown. The princely attire is also featured with a cape, going down just below Naveen's waist. As a frog, Naveen was larger than Tiana, with a darker tone. He was originally designed as rather realaistic, resembling a toad, but the animators felt the design was too unappealing and reworked the appearances to be cuter.

Abilities
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.

New Orleans
In the film, Naveen is a prince from the kingdom of Maldonia who is visiting New Orleans for Mardi Gras. He saw a jazz band and he likes to join them. It is revealed that due to his lazy ways, Naveen's family has cut him off from his fortune. Thus, he intends to marry a wealthy southern belle to regain a fortune, and he sets his sights on Charlotte La Bouff, daughter of the fabulously wealthy Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff. Naveen, who is accompanied by his valet, Lawrence, meets a voodoo witch doctor named Doctor Facilier, who promises both men their dreams. Naveen doesn't really want to be tied down in marriage - he wants money and freedom. Faciler looks into Naveen's future and promises Naveen green. To Naveen, green refers to money. After making a deal with Facilier, Naveen was turned into a frog to 'hop from place to place', gaining him his 'green' and his freedom from responsibility, and Lawrence took his place. At Charlotte's masquerade ball, Lawrence, in his Naveen disguise, begins to woo the young maiden, whilst Naveen remains trapped within a jar, hidden inside Lawrence's guest house.

The Kiss of Fate
Fortunately, Lawrence loosened the lid on the jar, not wanting Naveen to suffocate, thus allowing the prince to escape the villains. He later comes across a woman named Tiana. Believing she's a princess due to her attire, Naveen hatches an idea to become human again by following the lore of The Frog Prince fairytale. Naveen asks for a kiss from the supposed princess in order to free him from his magic curse, but Tiana denies, not wanting to share a kiss with a frog. To change her mind, Naveen explains he comes from a fabulously wealthy family and offers a reward of some kind in exchange for her assistance. Unknown to Naveen, Tiana is actually a waitress, struggling to find a way to pay off the money required to purchase her very own, private restaurant (a payment that needs to be made in three days or less), and hoping his wealth could cover the monetary situation necessary, she reluctantly kisses the frog prince. Because she, herself, is not a princess, Tiana's attempt merely transforms her into a frog, as well. The princess immediately goes into a panic, which leads the two accidentally falling onto the ball's dance floor, frightening Charlotte. In turn, Big Daddy orders their dog, Stella to attack, and a chase follows. The chase ends with the two frogs accidentally entangling themselves onto the strings of a few balloons, which floats them over into the murky bayous of New Orleans.

The Bayous of New Orleans
As they float through the sky, Tiana is revealed to be a waitress; answering Naveen's question as to why the kiss didn't work, while Naveen is revealed to be broke. The two then begin to bicker as the reality of their horrendous situation infuriates them and their opposite personalities begin to clash. However, the balloon soon pops and the two find themselves stranded in the miserably cold bayous. On top of that, they're instantly attacked by predators and sent running for their lives. In the mix of the chaos, a frustrated Tiana indirectly declares she'll be looking out for herself whilst trying to find her way back home, but Naveen hastily promises to grant Tiana her restaurant once he marries Charlotte in exchange for helping him escape, as well, to which she agrees.

The next morning, they meet a jazz-playing alligator named Louis. After informing them of Mama Odie, a kind voodoo priestess with the powers to turn them human, Naveen and Tiana head off through the bayous in search of her, with Louis tagging along, hoping his dream to become human can be realized, as well. Along the way, they meet a romantic firefly named Ray, who explains they've been heading in the wrong direction due to Louis' incompetence. Ray then offers, with the help of his massive family, to light the way to the correct path. The four friends then head out to continue on with the journey to find Mama Odie. Though Naveen and Tiana constantly clash with one another through the trip, they're forced to work together when attacked by a trio of frog hunters. Through their own tactics, flavor, and skills, the two manage to defeat the hunters.

A New Perspective
Tiana and Naveen actually begin to realize their initial opinions on one another weren't exactly on point, as the two begin to slowly open up to each another. Specifically, Naveen learns Tiana isn't as much of a "stick in the mud" as he assumed, whilst Tiana learns to have a little enjoyment out of life despite difficult times, through Naveen's influence. During a break from traveling, Naveen becomes comfortable enough to confess his true discomfort with his lifestyle. Because he's been waited on hand and foot since childhood, he lacks basic skills, and feels rather useless as a result of it. Tiana shows sympathy for the prince, and manages to teach him how to mince, granting him one of his first productive skill and bringing him joy at the same time.

After a while, Naveen begins to harbor romantic feelings for the girl, and vice versa, though Tiana fails to realize, and with the fact that Naveen must marry Charlotte, the two force themselves to ignore their feelings. Ray, however, notices the blossoming feelings and makes an attempt to have them confess the truth during a romantic ballad he sings to his love, Evangeline, the evening star. Naveen then takes the time to teach Tiana how to dance, as a token of gratitude for teaching him how to mince. Though she's reluctantly at first, she agrees and enjoys herself in the process. Naveen's feelings grow through the moment, as does Tiana, and the two nearly share a kiss, only to be stopped as a result of Tiana's denial.

Immediately after, Naveen is attacked by a hoard of shadow demons sent by Dr. Facilier. The shadows capture the frog prince, but are defeated by Mama Odie. The elderly, but eccentric, voodoo priestess takes the group to her home, where Tiana and Naveen struggle to ask for assistance. Even so, Mama Odie is more than aware of what they want (to be human) but spends the time trying to explain their desires won't make them happy if they're just going to ignore their necessities trying to reach them.

Naveen's True Feelings
Mama Odie convinces Naveen that all he needs in life is love. And that love would come from Tiana. Mama Odie then tells the friends that Naveen must indeed kiss a princess to break the spell, and the only available princess is the princess of Mardi Gras, Charlotte La Bouff. Seeing that her father is king of Mardi Gras, Charlotte is Princess of Mardi Gras, and thus can break the spell as long as the festival is running. During the trip home, Naveen attempts to propose to Tiana, believing that he could work jobs in her restaurant. He discovers that if Tiana cannot buy the mill the next day, her dream of owning a restaurant will be impossible. Naveen decides against proposing, so that Tiana will be able to have the restaurant.

The Battle
After leaving to round up Louis and Ray, Naveen is captured by Facilier's shadow demons and delivered to the evil doctor back in New Orleans. There, Lawrence extracts his blood, thus refueling the talisman and conjuring the princely disguise, once again. That night, during Mardi Gras, Charlotte and Lawrence's wedding is underway atop one of the parade floats. Also on the float is a chest with an imprisoned Naveen. Ray manages to find the frog prince and frees him, allowing Naveen to attack Lawrence, which in turns puts a stop to the wedding before the marriage is complete. A frustrated Lawrence grabs Naveen and heads into a nearby church where, while distracted by Facilier's scolding, he loses hold Naveen once again. The prince battles his former valet and manages to grab the talisman off the latter's neck. In the mix of the scuffle, Ray obtains the talisman and flees the church in search for Tiana. While Facilier pursues him, Lawrence is ordered to remain in hiding with Naveen in his grasp until he returns. During the wait, Tiana and Faciler engage in a confrontation, which ends in the destruction of the talisman and the witch doctor's demise. With Facilier gone, Tiana seeks Naveen.

The Stroke of Twelve
At the church, an impatient Charlotte bursts in to confront her fiancé, only to find the meek Lawrence, who's arrested once his cover is blown. Naveen, meanwhile, tries to make a deal with Charlotte, promising marriage in exchange for paying all expenses necessary for Tiana to purchase her restaurant. Charlotte agrees, but before the two can kiss to break the spell, Tiana arrives. She pleads for Naveen to reconsider, but the prince refuses to revoke his offer, knowing without it, former's dream will never come to fruition. Tiana, however, explains that her restaurant isn't as important as the love they share; confessing her feelings at last. Pleasantly surprised, Naveen returns the affections and their love is proclaimed. Touched by the moment and happy Tiana has found the fairytale she's always dreamed of, Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen; not for marriage, but for the sake of their love. Before she's able to, unfortunately, the clock strikes twelve. Tiana and Naveen decide it doesn't matter whether they're frogs or humans. So long as they're together, they can be happy.

Ray Laid Low
Just then, a distressed Louis arrives on the scene, carrying a wounded Ray in his palms. He explains Ray was fatally injured by Facilier during the battle, and he's in great pain. The weak Ray asks why the two are still frogs, to which the couple explains they've accepted their fate due to the fact that they're together, nonetheless. Happy for his friends, Ray gives his condolences before peacefully passing away. Naveen, Tiana, and Louis mourn his death and a funeral is held in the bayou with the rest of his firefly family members. After the service, the sky begins to shine brightly as it appears Ray has ascended into the night sky, becoming a star alongside Evangeline - finally receiving his wish of someday joining her side. The family cheers for their relative, whilst Naveen and Tiana rejoice in the beautiful moment.

Finale
Following these events, Naveen and Tiana are married by Mama Odie in the bayous. Once they're pronounced frog and wife and share a kiss, they magically transform back into humans. Their marriage made Tiana a princess, and kissing princess breaks the spell. The bayou celebrates their success and a second wedding is held in New Orleans. After the wedding celebration, Naveen accompanies Tiana in purchasing her restaurant. Together, the couple works to revamp the old sugar mill, eventually transforming it into a beautiful, elegant establishment.

As hoped, Tiana's restaurant was a massive success. Louis lives out his dream of performing in front of a human audience as a renowned musician, and Naveen learns about working hard and enjoying life to the fullest at the same time while becoming an employee for Tiana, making both himself and his visiting family proud. As the amazing evening carries on, Naveen and Tiana share a romantic dance under the stars as Ray and Evangeline watch over them.

Other animated appearances
In the Walt Disney Animation Studios' YouTube video Drawing Naveen, the frog prince struggles to bring himself to animated perfection as a joking animator (Randy Haycock) constantly toys with his froggy appearance.

In promotion for the film, Naveen (as a frog) appeared in a GEICO commercial, asking the car insurance company's gecko mascot for help after he's been transformed into a frog by Facilier. The gecko then advises him to find a princess to help break the curse.

In anticipation for the 82nd Academy Awards, Naveen and Louis made an appearance in an online promotion, accepting the film's nomination with pride.

A Hidden Gem
Naveen is the focus in the story revolving around Tiana's twentieth birthday. Here, the prince is having a difficult time figuring out the perfect gift for his bride, having searched far and wide through New Orleans to find such a present. However, at one point, he overheads Tiana and Charlotte conversing, and in during which, he hears how Tiana and her father used to go out into the bayous to find swamp amber which, according to Tiana, is more beautiful than any diamond or pearl.

With Louis' help, Naveen heads off to find the amber, asking Mama Odie if she knows the whereabouts. However, he's told he needs to complete the task on his own, and heads into the bayous to search himself. Together, the prince and Louis soon find a spot to search, and Naveen dives in after the amber, soon tangling himself in tree roots trying to retrieve it, nearly drowning before being rescued by Tiana. Once saved, Naveen bestows the gift, much to Tiana's delight, and the couple returns to Tiana's Palace for the birthday celebration. There, they encounter a visiting Mama Odie, who takes the amber whilst the royal couple wash themselves, transforming it into a beautiful piece of jewelry, perfect for Naveen's gift for Tiana's special day. With the swamp amber placed into a necklace around Tiana's neck, the prince and his princess dance the rest of the lovely evening away.

Other Books
In Something Old, Something New, Naveen plays a small role in the story of how his and Tiana's wedding came to be, in which he and Louis worked together the organize the music of the festivities.

In A Princess Easter, he joins Tiana, Charlotte, and Louis in creating an Easter parade float, suggesting Tiana be the star.

Video Games
Naveen has since made a few appearances in video games, alongside Tiana and other characters. Like the other characters from the film, Naveen is prominently featured in The Princess and the Frog video game adaption. He also appears in Disney Princess Enchanting Storybooks. Whilst not appearing in this title, Naveen is mentioned by Tiana in Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, and was said to be in danger at the hands of Dr. Facilier, relying on Tiana to rescue him.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Naveen appears in the game as a meet-and-greet character in New Orleans Square. As a gift for the player, Naveen provides a baton. Later on, Naveen gives the player a few tasks, including seeing if they can ask the Jambalaya Jazz Band to play at Tiana's Palace since Louis is away at a gator family reunion, and finding his lost sheet music. Naveen also makes an appearance during the Mickey's Soundsational Parade mini-game, where Tiana kisses him while in his frog form, turning him back into a human.

At one point, Naveen decides to surprise Tiana by decorating Tiana's Palace even further. To do so, he asks the player to collect several things including magnolia blossoms, flowers, and pictures of classic New Orleans. Soon after, Naveen plans on impressing Tiana by making her a native Maldonian dish. However, the dish requires lots of peppers and their kitchen is all out, leading Naveen to asks the player for assistance. Worried for Tiana's safety, Naveen asks the player to light some of the lanterns around New Orleans Square.

Nervous about presenting his dish to such a marvelous chef such as Tiana, Naveen asks the player if they can take it to her in his place. After the completion of the dish, Naveen had no time to clean afterwards, resulting in pots and pans being scattered around the square. He then asks the player to collect them for him.

Disney Parks
Naveen has made appearances at both the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, along with his co-stars. Currently for meet-and-greets, however, Naveen is most likely to appear in Disneyland Paris or the Magic Kingdom, above the rest.

Naveen's frog self can be seen as apart of the decor in Mickey's Soundsational Parade. Naveen plays a minor role in the show Believe on board the Disney Dream cruise ship. Naveen and Tiana also make cameos in the Magic Kingdom show, Celebrate the Magic.

Naveen has his own spell card known as "Prince Naveen's Army of Frogs" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.

Tiana's Showboat Jubilee
Naveen, Tiana and Louis host the former show in Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. Naveen and Tiana performed several songs from the film and Naveen took on Doctor Facilier in the process.

World of Color
Naveen can be seen twice. He is first seen during the "So Close" sequence and later during the show's finale kissing Tiana. During the show he is seen in both his frog form and his human form.

Disney Showtime Spectacular
In Disneyland Paris, Naveen and Tiana join the cast of Disney characters in the show. Naveen and Tiana celebrate the magic of romance in the show.

Trivia

 * Before becoming "Prince Naveen of Maldonia", the character of the Prince was instead a British royal by the name of Henry. According to animator, Randy Haycock, this version of Naveen was inspired by J.C. Leyendecker, the young Carry Grant, as well as Brad Pitt.
 * Naveen is an Indian name (meaning "new"), which suggests that Maldonia is a Eurasian country (the name of Maldonia is a mix between Malta and Macedonia), although his fluency in French and Italian might also indicate that Maldonia is a Mediterranean country, possibly near Monaco.
 * Naveen is the first Disney Prince who is unlikely to become king on his homeland, as it is shown that he is very happy to stay in Louisiana with Tiana. However, it's not known exactly what the truth might be, as Lawrence, disguised as Naveen, clearly stated that Naveen was indeed next in line for the throne.
 * John Rolfe and Naveen are the only Disney Princes to not have brown or blue eyes (Naveen's eyes are amber and John Rolfe's eyes are green).
 * Naveen is the second Disney prince to not be a human for the majority of the film, the first was Adam/Beast from Beauty and the Beast.
 * Naveen is the sixth Disney prince to be born into royalty.
 * Naveen is the third Disney prince to fall under a spell (Prince Eric falls under Vanessa's spell in The Little Mermaid and Prince Charming falls under Lady Tremaine's spell in Cinderella III: A Twist in Time).
 * Naveen is the sixth Disney prince to not share a love song with the heroine, but is the third to be serenaded with the heroine by a sidekick character's love song.
 * Naveen most often appears as a frog for most non-live appearances.
 * Naveen is the second Disney Prince to not directly try to fight the Villain, the first being the Prince from Snow White. However unlike Naveen, the Prince never comes in contact with the Queen while Naveen deals with Dr. Faciller directly.
 * Naveen's the first prince to have both of his parents in the film, as the other Disney Princes either had just their fathers or neither of their parents in the film.
 * Naveen is the second Disney Prince shown playing a musical instrument.
 * Naveen's one of the only Disney princes shown to have a sibling (in his case, a younger brother) while all the other Disney Princes are presumably only children. While Hans, prince of the Southern Isles, has twelve older siblings, he is a Disney Villains, not a prince, and his brothers are never shown on screen.
 * Both Naveen and Princess Ariel took offers from the outcast of the town; Doctor Facilier and Ursula, respectively, and both were double-crossed.
 * Both Naveen and Princess Ariel were magically transformed at the end their respective villain's songs.
 * Prince Naveen shares many similarities to Emperor Kuzco from The Emperor's New Groove:
 * Both are royalty, but are looked at as immature and irresponsible.
 * Both being in Disney movies based on classic fairy tales and taking on the role of the one who is transformed.
 * Both being transformed into animals by the movies main villain. For Naveen it's Doctor Facilier, and for Kuzco it's Kronk and Yzma.
 * They both originally trusted the movies main villain.
 * Due to their own selfishness they are turned on by those who used to work for them. (For Naveen it's Lawrence for Kuzco it's Yzma)
 * In the beginning of the story, they are both very conceited and narcissistic; and don't mind imposing on others to get what they want.
 * Their egotistical personalities are changed for the better by hardworking characters who they later grow closer to. For Naveen it's Tiana for Kuzco it's Pacha.
 * They both have reformed more responsible, and humble personalities by the end of the film.
 * A memorable quote he says about Dr. Faciller is: "he was very charismatic".
 * Naveen is the only Disney Prince to have an accent.
 * Naveen's the third non-Caucasian Disney Prince, the first two being Aladdin and Li Shang.
 * Naveen is the only Disney Prince who married twice. The first time he married Tiana, their witnesses were most of the animals they met in the swamp and Mama Odie; this marriage caused their spell to be broken. Their second wedding was before their human loved ones, likely for the sake of their marriage's legitimacy as recognized by Louisiana.
 * Naveen's frog form resembles Princess Odette's friend Jean-Bob from the non-Disney animated film The Swan Princess.
 * Naveen is the second Disney hero to offer a deal with his enemy (which is Dr. Facilier). The first is Hercules who offered his deal with Hades.