Sightlines · reception

How The Princess and the Frog was received

2009 · Ron Clements · The Princess and the Frog on Sightlines

The arc

In 2009 it was the 'disappointment' that opened against Avatar and made Disney so nervous about the word 'princess' that Rapunzel became Tangled — now it's warmly reclaimed, with Tiana beloved enough to get Splash Mountain rebuilt as Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

What’s debated

The evergreen gripe: Disney finally made a Black princess, then had her spend most of the movie as a frog.

Its footprint

'Almost There' became a genuine aspirational anthem, and Keith David's Dr. Facilier — 'Friends on the Other Side' — is a fixture of every Disney-villain ranking; the film's afterlife is big enough that it replaced Splash Mountain at the Disney parks.

Where it stands

Remembered as the last great gasp of hand-drawn Disney animation, which gives it a bittersweet end-of-an-era glow on Letterboxd.

Did you know? Anika Noni Rose asked the animators to make Tiana left-handed like her — and they did.

Named by the director

• Lady and the Tramp (1955) — Clements and Musker said its city scenes shaped their New Orleans French Quarter look and its solidly drawn characters set the drafting standard.
• Bambi (1942) — The directors cited its lush painterly backgrounds as the model for the bayou scenes.