- Similar to Tiana and Naveen, you could ride river boats
around the city or to do swamp tours, and guess what?
- What?
- They even have live performances on board!
There's jazz events and music concerts.
- Well, it's no Louis found the band so easily.
(jazz trumpet music)
(girls giggle)
(upbeat music)
- Hi, welcome to the Disney Princess Club.
I'm Isabella.
- And I'm Malia.
- And today we're gonna be talking about
The Princess and the Frog movie.
- The Princess and the Frog
is the first time Disney featured a real life city
in one of their princess movies.
- [Isabella] The movie is set in New Orleans,
Louisiana, in the 1920s.
It features the Louisiana swamps, the French Quarter
and more.
So we wanted to show you the similarities between
The Princess and the Frog movie
and the city of New Orleans.
- And there's a lot of similarities.
So, let's get to it.
- To start, the films animators really try to
get the movie to look like New Orleans from the 1920s.
Luckily, one of the films researchers found footage
from 1919 to use as a reference.
- The movie starts out with a beautiful shot
of Charlotte La Bouff's home,
which was inspired by homes in the Garden District.
- Ron Clements, the Director of The Princess
and the Frog, said, one of the best things
about the movie was being able to actually
visit the places we see in it.
That includes the French Quarter.
- The French Quarter is one of the oldest neighborhoods
in New Orleans.
It was founded in the 1700s.
- [Isabella] Millions of people visit the French Quarter
every year.
It's a huge tourist attraction.
We then see Tiana and her mother ride a street car home from
The La Bouff's house.
- [Tiana] When the movies executive producer visited
New Orleans, he rode a street car.
While riding, he made sure to ring the bell.
- They recorded the sound of that bell,
and you can hear it when it rings
for Tiana to get off.
(streetcar bell rings)
- That part is so cool.
The New Orleans street car began running in 1835.
- Even though the street cars have been remodeled,
it still looks and feels like a classic.
It's also a form of transportation for about 20,000 people.
- Now let's talk about the streets of New Orleans.
("When the Saints Go Marching In")
- The animators did a really great job
replicating the style of the city.
- Yes, everything from the big crowds to the performers,
to the cobblestone streets, they didn't miss anything.
- Then there's the bayou.
- My favorite part of the movie.
(upbeat jazz)
- The directors and the crew toured the Louisiana swamps to
really nail down the look and feel the bayou,
especially since that was a big part of the story.
Wow. I think they got it.
- Now, onto the riverboats.
(riverboat horn)
- Similar to Tiana and Naveen,
you could ride river boats around the city,
or to do swamp tours.
And guess what?
- What?
- They even have live performances on board!
There's jazz events and music concerts.
- Well it's no wonder Louis found the band so easily.
(jazz trumpet music)
(girls giggling)
- It makes sense though, because New Orleans is known
as the birthplace of jazz.
That's why it was important that they got the music right
in the movie.
- [Isabella] The film crew attended the New Orleans Jazz
and Heritage Festival to really do their research
and understand the sound of the city.
- And they even made sure the musicians that worked
on the songs in the movie were from New Orleans.
Then there's Dr. Facilier.
- [Dr. Facilier] Gentlemen! Enchanté.
A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier.
- [Isabella] And his friends from the other side.
- In order to replicate the style of the cemeteries in
New Orleans,
the crew had to go on several cemetery tours.
- That's really cool. And a little scary.
Oh! And another thing. The movie featured a real
New Orleans newspaper.
If you look closely, Big Daddy La Bouff is reading
the Times-Picayune. That newspaper was founded in 1837.
- Then you have the Mardi Gras wedding scene
with Charlotte and "Prince Naveen" that was inspired
by the Krewe of Bacchus parade.
- [Wedding Officiant] Dearly beloved,
We are gathered here tonight
in this fine celebration to join together,
this Prince had this young woman.
- That scene was awesome!
- Wasn't it?
And it looked like so much fun!
- Then there's the wedding scene.
Tiana and Prince Naveen got married in a church inspired
by the St. Louis Cathedral, which was built in 1794.
- [Malia] But the bells you hear this time
aren't from the actual cathedral.
- Got it.
- Hmmmm...
I think that's it Isabella.
We covered all of the side by side shots.
- We had some honorable mentions.
- Are we missing anything?
- Ummm, I don't think so.
(timer dings) (both girls gasp)
- [Both] The food!
- We almost forgot an important part of the movie.
(giggles)
- Okay. Let's talk about food.
First up, beignets.
- [Malia] That pastry is a staple in the movie.
- And in New Orleans, which is why the filmmakers really
highlighted it.
Tiana made 500 beignets for Charlotte's masquerade ball.
- That's a lot of beignets, but they did look yummy.
- I'm sure they were.
People couldn't get enough of it at that party.
- [Short Man] And smelling beignets.
- Gonna be the house special you once I sign those papers
y'all brought.
- [Tall Man] Yes.
- And then there's the gumbo,
which originated in southern Louisiana
back in the 1700s.
It's also the state's official cuisine.
- A majority of the restaurants
in New Orleans offer gumbo on their menu.
That's why Tiana was trying to perfect it
at such a young age.
- So by the time she got to the bayou,
she was a pro!
It's so cool that the filmmakers
were able to make a fairytale out of a real life city.
- Yeah. I hope one day I can visit New Orleans
and check out all these places.
- That would be awesome!
- Well, that's all the time we have for today.
Thank you so much for joining us.
We had a blast.
I'm Isabella.
- And I'm Malia. Until next time,
- [Both] Bibbidi bobbidi bye!
(upbeat jazz)