Movie Analysis: The Princess and the Frog

Disney movies, though considered classics, have been (especially in recent years) credited with creating and perpetuating unrealistic portrayals of love, romance, and relationships. Many of Disney’s animated movies center around a princess figure who, in many cases at the tender age of 16, falls madly in love with a man upon meeting them, becomes certain that this man is THE one, gets herself into trouble with an evil villain on a power trip, finds herself needing to be saved by that man from that villain, and, in a brief yet triumphant exposition, rides off into the sunset to live a glorious and uncomplicated Happily Ever After with her savior/husband. Over the years, this storyline has garnered more than a few raised eyebrows by independent women tired of being reduced to a damsel-in-distress figure. Disney’s 2009 film, The Princess and the Frog, seemed to be, in many ways, an attempt to remedy that longstanding storyline with a strong, independent female character (as well as an attempt to make up for some prettay offensive past racial portrayals, but that’s another topic for another blog.)

While Disney was successful in creating a self-sufficient female to a degree, when all was said and done, they still ascribed to the traditional sexual roles for Tiana and Naveen, the two main characters. Tiana comes from a tight-knit but low-income family in New Orleans, and dreams of a future where she can do what she loves (cook) without having to worry about money. Her goal is to open her own restaurant, a dream initially held by her father, who died before it could be realized. She is highly determined and works two waitress jobs to save enough money, but she is met with condescension and ridicule by everyone around her who don’t believe she has what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Naveen is a prince from Maldonia whose parents have grown tired of his squandering of wealth and playboy lifestyle and have cut him off. The purpose of his visit to New Orleans is to regain riches by marrying a wealthy debutante, but an unfortunate run-in with a Hatian voodoo witch doctor turns him into a frog. (Evil villain on a power trip: check.)

At a costume party, frog Naveen mistakenly believes that a ball gown- clad Tiana is a princess and begs her to kiss him in order to return him to his human form. Tiana, desperate after her down payment for the building she intended to house her restaurant was out-bid, consents to kiss him only after Naveen claims to be "fabulously wealthy" and promises a monetary reward in exchange for her help (Del Vecho & Clements, Musker, 2009).

Naveen's imperative statement, "You must kiss me!" (Del Vecho & Clements, Musker, 2009) assumes that Tiana won't refuse and is directly in line with Holz Ivory et al.'s 2009 study of dominant and submissive traits in television couples. Naveen gives orders, makes sexual advances, and offers promises of being able to financially provide for Tiana (Holz et al. 2009). 
Not even self-sufficient Tiana is immune to Naveen's promise of money, but her kiss turns her into a frog instead of turning Naveen human because she is not actually a princess. Upon discovering this, instead of being apologetic for his role in turning her into a frog or grateful for her attempt to help him, Naveen is angered to discover Tiana's true, more humble identity. 

He takes pleasure in telling her that he's actually broke, and thinks nothing of the fact that he lied to her to get what he wanted. In this way, Naveen is only kind to Tiana until he discovers that she is of no use to him. Even though he has less money than she does (with no source of income), he still has a sense of superiority because of his background and social standing. This correlates with Kim et al.'s 2007 breakdown of courtship strategies. Even though Naveen is not courting Tiana at this point, he is still lording his power over her, which is indicative of the typical masculine strategy (Kim et al., 2007). He doesn't have any money, which is contrary to the typical script of a man's power being rooted in his income, but because of his title as prince, he still feels that he has the upper hand, and makes no attempt to hide that from Tiana. 
Finally, because this is still, after all, a Disney movie and because being transformed into amphibians, getting lost in a bayou, and meeting a jazz-loving, trumpet-playing alligator can only be a bonding experience, Naveen eventually falls for Tiana. Mind you, throughout this entire journey, Tiana has been fed up with Naveen. She finds him spoiled, selfish, entitled, lazy, and condescending, and she is still focused on opening her restaurant above all else. But when Naveen plans a romantic evening and decides to propose to her, her formerly goal-oriented mindset dies at the hands of flattery and sentimentality. 

(Speaking of, a proposal? Really? Not "Hey, you're pretty cool after all, maybe we should get coffee sometime when this all blows over?" They've known each other a matter of DAYS. But I digress. Again, this is Disney.) 
This once again plays into Holz Ivory et al.'s (2009) idea of dominant and submissive roles. Naveen's impulsive and decisive proposal, although it gets derailed, is typical of the "dominant" partner. Meanwhile, though this isn't shown in the clip, Naveen's advances make Tiana more confused about what she really wants. When Ray, her firefly friend, tells her of Naveen's intentions, she becomes willing to cast aside all prior doubt, dislike, and motivation for independence and assumes the more passive role. 


All in all, The Princess and the Frog seems to send something of a contradictory message. As far as Disney movies go, it's fairly progressive. I mean, the 16-year-old, free spirited, borderline certifiable Ariel (of The Little Mermaid) sold her voice to a sea witch so that she could have a pair of legs in order to get into the pants of a man she'd never met. Comparatively, Tiana may as well have been burning her bra. However, it seems like Disney's message through The Princess and the Frog was "We love independent women! We applaud them! Determination is great! But when it comes down to brass tacks, all women really want is the right guy to sweep them off their feet." It did challenge certain roles; Tiana is more hardworking, more street-smart, and makes more money than Naveen. However, other roles were reinforced, like Naveen's confidence in his sexual prowess, and confidence in his wealth, even though that wealth was based on reputation and prestige rather than actual earnings. Furthermore, Tiana becomes more passive and sentimental as the movie goes on. Once she knows that Naveen is interested in her, she becomes eager to be the wife of a man who, a few days before, she didn't even like as a person. Disney reinforces the idea that the desire for romance trumps a hope for personal and individual success.


Del Vecho, P. (Producer) & Clements, R., Musker, J. (Directors). (2009). The princess and the frog [motion picture]. United States: Walt Disney Pictures.


Holz Iovry, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J.D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication and Society, 12, 170-192. 


Kim, J.L., Sorsoli, C., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. (2007). From sex to sexuality: exposing heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157.