Tiana

Tiana is the main character of Disney's 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. The storyline centers on young Tiana, a waitress and aspiring restaurant owner living in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the Jazz Age, and a prince named Naveen who has been transformed into a frog by the evil voodoo magician Dr. Facilier. She is voiced by Anika Noni Rose and is the ninth official Disney Princess.

Development
Tiana is 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.

In February 2007, it was reported that Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose were top contenders for the voice of Tiana, and that Alicia Keys directly contacted Disney's studio chief Dick Cook, telling him that she wanted the role very much. It was later revealed that Tyra Banks was considered for the role as well. On April 19, 2007, it was confirmed that Anika Noni Rose would be voicing Princess Tiana.

Background
Tiana was born to James and Eudora in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they raised her in an all-black neighborhood. Tiana has been a talented cook since she was very young, and shared the dream of opening a restaurant with James, which he called 'Tiana's Place'. Tiana's father taught his daughter that in order to achieve her dreams, wishing was only part of it, and that she would need to work hard for them. However, James also told her to never forget what was most important, which, though Tiana thought that her father was talking about her dreams and getting the restaurant, what he truly meant was love. After James died, Tiana worked long and hard to earn enough money to achieve her goal, working two jobs and almost never taking time for fun.

Tiana has been best friends with Charlotte La Bouff since they were little girls, and Eudora read stories to them, such as The Frog Prince. As a child, Tiana was frightened of frogs, and swore that she would never kiss one, but in 10 years later, she did kiss a prince turned into a frog, which is where her adventure began.

Appearance
Tiana is a beautiful young woman of African-American heritage. She is tall and slender with a sculpted figure, has medium length black hair usually tied in a low ponytail, brownish-orange eyes, a bright smile and dimples.

Personality
Tiana is a motivated, determined, and independent young woman who finds pride in doing things her own way, without help from anyone. During the early scenes of the film, Tiana is too absorbed in her work ethics to care much about anything else, especially romance. However, Tiana gradually begins to fall in love with Naveen, and realizes the most important thing in the world is not only success and hard work, but a balance between friendship, love, and fun.



Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana, says: "She’s a strong woman who doesn't need anyone to do things for her...She wants to do things for herself." She must learn that balance is important in life; to be happy, she needs both love and a career. On The Princess and the Frog bonus features, Anika Noni Rose announced that she and Tiana are left-handed.

Tiana doesn't like to be underestimated, as seen by the expression she made to the comment by Mr. Fenner, about a woman of her background having her hands full running a big business. She started to stand up for herself for them to change their minds, but fell down after beignets got on her dress. Tiana is sensible; she would push away Naveen's romantic advances on her, then reminded him that he was getting married after he was flirting with butterflies. Tiana is friends with Charlotte La Bouffe, and when Charlotte became nervous and wished on a star Tiana tried to tell her that you can't just wish on a star.

Abilities
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. She didn't lose balance. Then she balanced 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.

Role in the film
The film begins during Tiana's childhood where we see her and her best friend Charlotte La Bouff listening to the classic tale "The Frog Prince" read by Tiana's mother Eudora while she finishes Charlotte's newest princess gown. After its completion, Tiana and her mother depart heading for home where they greet Tiana's father. Tiana gives her father a taste of some of her gumbo which she hopes to be the prime attraction when she and her father open their very own restaurant "Tiana's Place". The next scene begins years later with an adult Tiana still struggling to reach her dream even after her father passed away. She works as a waitress at a local diner. Her desire to open the restaurant prevents Tiana from going out with her friends as she must work extra for more pay. Meanwhile, a handsome prince named Naveen arrives in New Orleans to marry Charlotte. To celebrate, Charlotte plans on throwing a masquerade ball and hires Tiana to make dozens of beignets, paying her with enough money to buy her restaurant. Excited, Tiana and her mother place a bid on an old run down building that Tiana plans to use as location

Later that night at the ball, Tiana discovers that she's been out bid and unless she earns enough money in two days, she loses the restaurant. After a mishap, Tiana ruins her outfit and goes to Charlotte's room to change. Charlotte gives her a princess gown and heads back down to the ball. On the balcony, Tiana meets a talking frog who reveals to be Prince Naveen. After being cursed by a voodoo witch doctor, Naveen needs help from Tiana who he believes is a princess. Following the tales of "The Frog Prince", Naveen and Tiana kiss in an attempt to break the spell. The only thing it does however, is change Tiana into a frog as well. Enraged, Tiana attacks Naveen having them both fall off the balcony and onto the ball's dance floor. Charlotte's father Big Daddy, orders their dog Stella to get the frogs. Tiana and Naveen escape on a balloon which floats over to the bayous.

Unfortunately, the balloon pops and lands the two in a swamp filled with alligators. They find shelter in a hallow tree, deciding to stay there until morning. In the mix of the chaos, Naveen promises to pay for Tiana's restaurant if she can help him out the swamp. Tiana agrees and the next morning, the two begin their journey. On the way, they meet Louis, an alligator with a gift of playing the trumpet who also wants to be human. He informs them of Mama Odie, a voodoo priest who can help them turn human. They make their way but eventually get lost. They meet a firefly named Ray who is in love with the evening star who he dubs Evangeline. Ray lights the way and guides them to Mama.

During their journey, Tiana and Naveen begin to become closer with Naveen actually beginning to harvest romantic feelings. After taking a rest, Naveen is attacked by a pack of shadow demons sent by the witch doctor Doctor Facilier. He is saved by Mama Odie who takes them to her home: a boat in a tree. Tiana tries to explain to Mama that all they want is to be human, but Mama knows what Tiana and Naveen really want after the adventure they had, was each other. However, Tiana fails to realize. Putting the romance aside, Mama tells them how to become human again. If Naveen was to kiss a princess, they'll both turn human. Charlotte is princess of The Mardi Gras Parade. With this said, Naveen only has until midnight, when Mardi Gras is over, to kiss Charlotte. They head off on a riverboat where Naveen tries to reveal his true feelings.

However, Tiana tells Naveen about her dreams to open the restaurant. Knowing he can't afford to pay for the restaurant without marrying Charlotte, Naveen decides not to tell her for the sake of her dream. They reach New Orleans but Naveen is kidnapped by the shadow demons. As Tiana looks for him, Ray accidentally tells her about Naveen's feelings. An excited Tiana rushes off to find him to return the feelings but finds Naveen, as a human, atop a parade float about to marry Charlotte. Heartbroken, Tiana runs off. Ray learns that the Naveen they saw is actually Naveen's former valet Lawrence in disguise as Naveen through the magic of Doctor Facilier.

The real Naveen is actually trapped in a case. Ray frees Naveen who grabs a talisman on Lawrence's neck. The talisman gives Lawrence the ability to morph into Naveen and without it, Facilier's plans to gain the La Bouff fortune would be foiled. Ray grabs the talisman and takes it to Tiana. She runs in fear and meets up with Facilier. He tries to make a trade with her. The talisman for Tiana's dream come true. Tiana denies the offer and destroys the trinket. After its destruction, Tiana watches in fear as Facilier is dragged away by voodoo spirits and demons. After the cos is clear, Tiana runs back to Naveen. They proclaim their love and decide to stay frogs. Right after their moment, darkness clouds Tiana as Ray was fatally injured by Facilier and passes away. Tiana attends his funeral but rejoices after Ray becomes a star right beside Evangeline.

Tiana and Naveen marry and turn back into humans, as Tiana is now a princess by marrying Naveen, and use the money Tiana's saved to open the restaurant (with a little intimidation help from Louis). The restaurant is a big success with people of all around attending, just as Tiana dreamed. She renames it "Tiana's Palace" and enjoys a dance with Naveen to Louis and his band's music as Ray and Evangeline watch over them.

Songs
Songs preformed by Princess Tiana
 * 1) Almost There
 * 2) Almost There (Reprise)
 * 3) Evening Star
 * 4) When We're Human
 * 5) Down in New Orleans (Finale Version)

Disney Parks
Tiana is a meetable character at the Disney parks. She made her debut in the temporary 2009 boat show "Tiana's Showboat Jubilee", in promotion for the film.

For meet-and-greets, Tiana is available at the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square and occasionally Main Street, U.S.A.. In Disneyland Paris, Tiana is found at the Princess Pavilion.

Tiana and Naveen also joined other famous Disney Princesses in the Celebrate a Dreams Come True Parade at Walt Disney World.

Tiana also makes occasional appearances in Fantasmic!

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 was defeated, Tiana meets up with Mama Odie, Louis, and Merlin the Wizard, 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 water nighttime spectacular World of Color in Disney's California Adventure in the Disneyland Resort. 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 is 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 the hotel resort in Walt Disney World, Tiana is the central character because of the ties with New Orleans between her film and the resort. A story was given to the resort after its refurbishment. Disney princesses Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora, Belle, Ariel, 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.

Video Games
Tiana has made a few video game appearances including The Princess and the Frog, a game based off her film, and Disney Princess Enchanting Storybooks. A costume of Tiana is also featured as an add-on in the game Disney Universe. Tiana is set to appear in the upcoming Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Tiana appears as a meet-and-greet character in New Orleans Square. She assigns a few tasks to the player, including asking for help with her restaurant. She also participates in the Mickey's Soundsational Parade and Princess Fantasy Faire mini-games. At one point, Naveen secretly makes Tiana a native Maldonian dish and asks the player to serve it to her. Once the player makes the delivery, Tiana feels the need to add a special ingredient, so the player distracts Naveen while she does. Later on, Tiana's ingredients for her highly demanded gumbo has nearly run out, prompting Tiana to asks the player to find some more.

Trivia

 * Tiana is the first Disney Princess to be of African-American decent, and therefore the first Disney Princess to be voiced by an African-American.
 * She is the first and only 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.
 * Tiana is the first Disney Princess to have her story take place in a relatively recent period, in the early 20th Century New Orleans.
 * Tiana is left handed.
 * Tiana is the first Disney Princess to have a job, but second if you include Mulan's service in the Chinese army. Jasmine was an assistant teacher briefly but that was only in a short sequel and not her feature film.
 * Tiana is the fourth Disney Princess not to be of royal blood, the first being Cinderella, the second being Belle, and the third being Mulan.
 * Tiana is the second Disney Princess to be shown as a little girl, the first being Cinderella, and the third being Rapunzel.
 * Tiana is the first new Disney Princess to be introduced since Mulan in 1998 (or Kida in 2001).
 * Tiana translates as "princess" in modern day English.
 * Tiana is the fourth princess to have a name that has a distinct meaning as Tiana translates to "Princess." For the first Princess Aurora, her name means the dawn. Belle is the second in that her name translates to "Beauty" and Mulan is the third in that her name translates to "Magnolia Blossom."
 * Tiana is the first Disney Princess to sing songs outside of the traditional "music theatre" genre. Tiana's genres range from jazz, to R&B, to blues, to soul, instead of traditional pop.
 * Tiana is the first Disney Princess to be voiced by a single actress (who does both her speaking and singing voices) in 18 years, the last being Belle in 1991 and Ariel in 1989.
 * 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. Tiana, though, was able to resist because she finally realized what was important.
 * Tiana is the second Disney Princess to kill the film's villain, the first being Mulan.
 * Tiana is the second Disney Princess to have her father in an army; the first being Mulan. But Tiana is the first to have her father die in war.
 * Tiana is the first Disney Princess to have only her mother alive and her father dead. Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, and Pocahontas only had fathers alive, Snow White and Cinderella only had their stepmothers alive, and Aurora, Mulan and Rapunzel's mothers and fathers are both alive.
 * Tiana is the second Disney Princess to be born in America; the first was Pocahontas.
 * Tiana is the second Disney Princess to have a human best friend; the first was Pocahontas.
 * Tiana is the Disney Princess seen wearing the most outfits. In total, she wore eleven 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 first Disney Princess with a green dress, yet Belle could count as the first since she also wore a green dress at one point.
 * Tiana is the second Disney heroine to be inside a holy building after Esmeralda.
 * Tiana is one of the Disney Princesses who wore a tiara in her film. The others were Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella and Rapunzel.
 * Tiana is the only Disney Princess who is a realist.
 * Tiana is the second Princess to be thought of as crazy by people in her town. The first was Belle.
 * We see early in the movie that Tiana keeps all the money she saved for her resteraunt in her dresser, which may mean she does not trust banks. This may of 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, the other was Pocahontas that was set in Virgina as The Princess and the Frog was in New Orleans.
 * Tiana at 19 is the second oldest Disney Princess. Cinderella is the oldest one, being at 19 or 20.
 * Tiana as the main protagonist, is present and relevant for the entire film, but her screen time as a human was limited to 19 minutes. (Not including deleted scenes.)
 * Tiana is a more modern Disney Princess including a real life era, she is also the more spunkiest.