Song of the South is a 1946 American live-action/animated musical comedy-drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson, produced by Walt Disney, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on the Uncle Remus stories as adapted by Joel Chandler Harris, and stars James Baskett as Uncle Remus in his final film role. The film takes place in the U.S. state of Georgia during the Reconstruction era, a period of American history after the end of the American Civil War and the abolition of slavery. The story follows seven-year-old Johnny who is visiting his grandmother's plantation for an extended stay. Johnny befriends Uncle Remus, an elderly worker on the plantation, and takes joy in hearing his tales about the adventures of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, and Br'er Bear. Johnny learns from the stories how to cope with the challenges he is experiencing while living on the plantation.
Jodi Benson is an American actress and singer. She is best known for providing the voice of Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid and throughout other films, including its sequel, prequel, and television series spin-off, as well as many other Disney works. Benson also filled in for Paige O'Hara as the voice of Belle in House of Mouse and voiced the character Barbie in the second and third films of the Toy Story franchise (1999–2010), and in the Toy Story Toons short Hawaiian Vacation (2011). For her contributions to Disney, Benson was named a Disney Legend in 2011.
Phylicia Rashad is an American actress. She was most recently dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University before her three year contract ended in May 2024. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992) which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 1985 and 1986. She also played Ruth Lucas on Cosby (1996–2000).
Paige O'Hara is an American actress, singer, and painter. O'Hara began her career as a Broadway actress in 1975 when she portrayed Della in The Gift of the Magi. In 1991, she made her motion picture debut in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, in which she voiced the film's heroine, Belle. Following the critical and commercial success of Beauty and the Beast, O'Hara reprised her role as Belle in the film's three direct-to-video follow-ups, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), Belle's Magical World (1998), Belle's Tales of Friendship (1999), and for cameo appearances in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) and Once Upon a Studio (2023).
Splash Mountain is a log flume ride at Tokyo Disneyland. It was formerly located at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. The attraction is based on the animated sequences of Disney's 1946 film Song of the South. The ride experience begins with an outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop followed by an indoor finale. The drop is 52.5 feet.
Critter Country is one of the lands at Disneyland Park and Tokyo Disneyland. It originally opened as Bear Country at Disneyland Park in 1972, with the Country Bear Jamboree (1972–2001) as its centerpiece. In 1988 it was renamed Critter Country to prepare for the park's opening of Splash Mountain (1989–2023). Critter Country in Disneyland will be renamed Bayou Country in November 2024.
Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by Disney around the world. Themed to the American frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and pioneers, saloons, red rock buttes and gold rushes along with some influence from American history and North America in general. It is named Westernland at Tokyo Disneyland and Grizzly Gulch at Hong Kong Disneyland.
Bruno Campos is a Brazilian lawyer and former actor. He is known for roles including Diego Vasquez on the sitcom Jesse, Dr. Quentin Costa on the award-winning television series Nip/Tuck, the voice of Prince Naveen in the animated film The Princess and the Frog, and Massimo in the Academy Award-nominated Brazilian film O Quatrilho. In 2010, Campos attended law school, earning a J.D. in 2013, and works for the firm Covington & Burling.
Disney Princess, also called the Princess Line, is a media franchise and toy line owned by the Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney, the franchise features a lineup of female protagonists who have appeared in various Disney franchises.
The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated musical romantic fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is inspired in part by the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which in turn is based on the German folk tale "The Frog Prince" as collected by the Brothers Grimm. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Peter Del Vecho, from a screenplay that Clements and Musker co-wrote with Rob Edwards. The directors also co-wrote the story with the writing team of Greg Erb and Jason Oremland. The film stars the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jennifer Cody, John Goodman, Keith David, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, and Terrence Howard. Set in New Orleans during the 1920s, the film tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing prince Naveen, who has been turned into a frog by the evil voodoo witch doctor Facilier, Tiana becomes a frog as well and the two must find a way to turn human again before it is too late.
Tony Wayne Baxter is the former senior vice president of creative development in Walt Disney Imagineering and was responsible for creating designs and carrying out the construction of attractions all over the world. He announced his departure from his full-time position to become a part-time adviser on February 1, 2013. During his 47-year tenure with the company, he oversaw the construction of multiple contemporary Disney theme park attractions, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, The Indiana Jones Adventure, and Journey Into Imagination, and served as the executive producer of Disneyland Paris.
Tiana is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Princess and the Frog (2009). Created by writers and directors Ron Clements and John Musker and animated by Mark Henn, Tiana is voiced by Anika Noni Rose, with Elizabeth M. Dampier voicing the character as a child. She will appear in the Disney+ series Tiana.
Mark Alan Henn is an American animator and film director. His work includes animated characters for Walt Disney Animation Studios films, most notably leading or titular characters and heroines. He served as the lead animator for Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989), Belle in Beauty and the Beast (1991), Jasmine in Aladdin (1992), Young Simba in The Lion King (1994), the title character in Mulan (1998), and Tiana in The Princess and the Frog (2009). Since all these characters except Simba became Disney Princesses, he came to be known as the "princess guy" around the studio. He directed the short films John Henry (2000) and D.I.Y. Duck (2024). Henn spent a total of 43 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios, from 1980 until his retirement in 2023.
The Princess and the Frog (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack of the 2009 Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog. It was released by Walt Disney Records on November 23, 2009, just a day before the limited release of the film in New York City and Los Angeles. It contains ten original songs and seven score pieces, all but one of which were composed, arranged and conducted by composer Randy Newman, who previously worked with the film's executive producer John Lasseter on Pixar's films Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Cars. "Never Knew I Needed" was written and performed by Ne-Yo. The song had an accompanying music video which featured rotation on Disney Channel. The song was also sent to rhythmic radio on October 27, 2009. The songs are performed by various artists most of which lend their voices to characters in the film. The score features African-American-influenced styles including jazz, zydeco, blues and gospel.
"Down in New Orleans" is a song from Disney's 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog, written by Randy Newman. Several versions of the song were recorded for use in different parts of the film and other materials. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 82nd Academy Awards, but lost to "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart.
Dapo Torimiro is a Nigerian songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and singer. Born in Lagos, he has worked in the music industry in the US for several years writing and producing music for artists' album projects, touring with numerous artists, as well as scoring various television and film projects. He is based in Los Angeles.
"Almost There" is a song written by Randy Newman for Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Princess and the Frog (2009). It was originally recorded by actress and singer Anika Noni Rose in her film role as Tiana. The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 82nd Academy Awards, but lost to "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart. "Down in New Orleans", another song from the film, performed by Dr. John, was also nominated for the Oscar.
"When We're Human" is a song from the 2009 Disney animated feature film The Princess and the Frog. It is performed by Louis, Tiana and Naveen [as frogs], when they are sailing down a river and fantasizing about what they will do when they become human. It was composed by Randy Newman and co-orchestrated by Jonathan Sacks, and features Michael-Leon Wooley, Bruno Campos and Anika Noni Rose. It "is in the style of jazz", while having " a Mardi Gras party sound". The trumpet solos are performed by Terence Blanchard on behalf of his horn-blowing animated alter ego Louis the Alligator.
Freya Allan is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Princess Cirilla of Cintra in the Netflix series The Witcher, for which she was nominated for two Saturn Awards. She also appears as young Sam in the 2021 film Gunpowder Milkshake, as the younger version of The Widow in the AMC series Into the Badlands, and as Mae in the film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024).
Tiana's Bayou Adventure is a log flume attraction at Magic Kingdom and upcoming at Disneyland. It is based on Disney's 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. The ride experience begins with an outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop followed by an indoor finale. The drop is 52.5 feet. The attraction replaced Splash Mountain and opened on June 28, 2024 at Magic Kingdom and is scheduled to open on November 15, 2024 at Disneyland.
