Ray

Ray (short for Raymond) is a character from Disney's 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. He is a romantic Cajun firefly from New Orleans who aids Prince Naveen and Tiana in finding the kind voodoo priestess Mama Odie so she can cure them of their curse. At the same time, he tries to make the two realize that they are meant for each other. He was killed by Doctor Facilier and joined Evangeline, the Evening Star. He is voiced by Jim Cummings.

Personality
Friendly and helpful, despite being the smallest creature in the movie, he has the biggest heart. His true love is the Evening Star he calls Evangeline. Ray is also the best friend of Louis who seemed the most crushed to witness his death. Ray was also shown to have no fear; he helped fight the frog hunters and he even took on Facilier's shadow demons all by himself. Ray is extremely kind and agrees to help Tiana and Naveen without any reward expected. Though kind, he is somewhat eccentric, often shown to be very excitable, in spite of serious situations. He was seen upset once when he believed Naveen was proposing to Evangeline.

The Princess and the Frog
One, a handsome prince named Naveen was turned into a frog by a witch door named Doctor Facilier. Thinking she was a princess, Naveen kissed a girl named Tiana in an attempt to break the spell. When Tiana and Naveen's frog instincts kick in, they attempts to eat Ray. Their tongues end up tying together and Ray comes to help. After they are free, Ray introduces himself. Tiana informs Ray about the magic spell and so Ray decides to take them to Mama Odie. With the help of his firefly family, Ray takes Tiana, Naveen, and Louis to Mama Odie. After Ray tells the tale of his love, Evageline, frog hunters attack. Ray shoots into the nose of the lead hunter, Reggie, and is thrown into a rock. After Tiana and Naveen defeat the hunters, Ray is awoken by Louis.

Ray then tells jokes while Tiana, Naveen, and Louis eat and afterwards, he introduces the gang to Evangeline. Ray sings Ma Belle Evangeline to express his love and gets Naveen to fall for Tiana. After the song, Naveen is grabbed by shadow demons sent by Doctor Facilier. Ray chases after them, attempting to save the day. The group is finally rescued by Mama Odie, who takes them to her home. Ray joins in Mama Odie's song Dig a Little Deeper. Mama Odie informs Naveen and Tiana that the only way for them to become human again is for Naveen to be kissed by Charlotte La Bouff, who has been made the Princess of Mardi Gras.



Ray accompanies the friends back to New Orleans and discovers that Naveen is in love with Tiana. Ray accidentally tells Tiana and later sets out to find Naveen, who has been kidnapped by the Shadow Demons. Later, Ray encounters a heartbroken Tiana, who had seen 'Naveen' about to marry Charlotte. In her disappointment, she reveals to Ray the truth of Evangeline (Evangeline is nothing but a star, Ray!), and that Ray lied to Tiana. Ray is dejected at first, but soon finds out that 'Naveen' is actually Lawrence in disguise and takes the amulet that keeps the transformation in place. Ray delivers the amulet to Tiana and then stays behind to battle the Shadow Demons so Tiana can escape, but is stepped on by Faciler. After Tiana breaks the amulet and Faciler is killed by the demons, Louis shows the wounded Ray to the friends. Ray realizes he is dying, but congratulates Tiana and Naveen in their love life, and finally closes his eyes and dies peacefully. A funeral is held for Ray by his huge family, and Naveen and Tiana are amazed to see a new star appear right next to Evangeline. As stars, Ray and Evangeline watch over Tiana's restaurant opening.

Electric Holiday
Ray makes a cameo in the animated short during the end credits with Tiana.

Disney On Ice: Dare to Dream
Ray appears and lives out his role in the film. He takes Tiana and Naveen (as frogs) to Mama Odie. He also helps them fall in love as in the film. Unlike the film, Ray is not killed off, instead he is seen celebrating Tiana and Naveen's success along with her other friends.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Ray makes a minor non-speaking cameo during the Mickey's Soundsational Parade mini-game as part of Tiana's float.

Disney Parks
Ray can be found in a small amount of shows. His song Gonna Take You There has become one of the most used songs from the film and often played by the Disneyland Band.

Ray's likeness is also featured in Disney's Port Orleans Resort at Walt Disney World.

Tiana's Showbaot Jubilee
While not appearing in the show itself, Ray's song Gonna Take You There is sung by Tiana and the others.

World of Color
Ray makes a cameo during the So Close scene entering Tiana and Naveen's marriage kiss.

Mickey's Soundsational Parade
Ray can be seen in the parade during Tiana's float alongside Louis and Naveen. While the float passes by, Ray sings Gonna Take You There.

Trivia

 * Ray's death seems to be an apparent reference to Peter Pan . After he dies he joins his wife Evangeline in the sky and becomes the second star...to the right.
 * Raymond's death may also be a reference to the Lion King, in that Timon believes that stars are fireflies.
 * There are many references to Ray in the construction of Tiana's Palace. The walls of the dinner booths and the head lamps are shaped like lilypads which are symbolic of when Ray and his family helped Tiana and Naveen down the Bayou to Mama Odie, the table centerpieces are lit bayou flowers which are symbolic of the time Ray serenaded to Naveen and Tiana's first dance, and the resteraunt is mostly decorated with green and lit gold like Ray. This implies that Tiana and Naveen still greatly miss him.
 * Jim Cummings has said in an interview that Ray is one of his favorite roles and would enjoy doing shorts starring the character. He said that New Orleans is his favorite place.
 * Ray is similar to Tinker Bell from Peter Pan in the sense of when both feel jealousy, both colors will true to red.
 * This is a very rare Disney character death that is not very graphic. They are either they are not shown to have graphic parts, like Ursula, who exploded, but was only shown to be struck by lightning and sunk to the bottom of the sea, or there are some who are not shown to have been killed, such as Gaston (who just fell from the Beast's castle to his death but was not shown to have hit the ground) or Bambi's mother (who was shot by Man, but was not shown to have been shot) or there are some characters who are just shown to be dead without a scratch, such as Ray, Meg from Hercules, or Mufasa, from The Lion King.

Gallery
Ray (The Princess and the Frog)