Tiana Meets a Frog

Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) and her father, James (Terrence Howard) have a dream - to open a restaurant in their home town of New Orleans. After James' death in World War I, Tiana continues to work and save to finally open that restaurant. So, when Tiana's best friend Charlotte "Lottie" La Bouff (Jennifer Cody), hires Tiana to cater the desserts (Tiana's beignets - Lottie's father's (John Goodman) favorite treat) at a big society party, Tiana believes has enough money for the down payment on the restaurant. But there is a complication - the derelict sugar mill that Tiana has offered on has another, wealthier, bidder. Our film is The Princess and the Frog (2009).

Summer in DC means free films, and The Shakespeare Theatre Company hosted a double feature as their new season is opening. The Princess and the Frog tells a tale of dreaming vs. reality, and the importance of knowing the difference. Tiana has become so wrapped up in working towards her dream - she knows that dreams don't come true by magic - that she never has time for anything BUT work. Her mother, Eudora (Oprah Winfrey) worries that she's become so obsessed with the restaurant that she will never have a private life or find love.

Tiana's progress is interrupted by the entrance of a frog - and a frog that talks, no less. He is Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), a young man who is the exact opposite of Tiana. Raised in a wealthy royal family of Maldonia, he's been thrown out of his home and left to fend for himself. His irresponsibility forced his parents to try and make him grow up. But all they've succeeded in doing is pushing Naveen into finding a wealthy wife or a get-rich-quick scheme. It's one of the latter that puts him in the hands of Dr. Facilier (Keith David) a local practitioner of dark magic who convinces Naveen's valet Lawrence (Peter Bartlett) to take on the appearance of Naveen, and marry Naveen's prey himself - Lottie La Bouff.

Anika Noni Rose is excellent as the voice of Tiana. She has just the right amount of strength and sass that you admire this young woman, but also would like to see her find some happiness and ease in her life. She also has an exquisite singing voice. As an actress, she's taken on a variety of roles - she had an ongoing role as assertive lawyer Wendy Scott-Carr in The Good Wife, got to show off her acting and singing chops in Dreamgirls (2006), won the Tony for Caroline, or Change (2004), and was nominated again for her work in A Raisin in the Sun (2014). In 2019, she received the Lucille Lortel Award for Carmen Jones.

The movie has a lot of surprises, not the least of which is that  'Big Daddy' and Lottie are actually nice people. John Goodman gives  'Big Daddy' a bit of pomposity, but he's also loving and generous, not just to his daughter - it's clear he has a deep affection for Tiana and Eudora. And while he certainly loves Tiana's beignets, there is a hint that he is also tipping her a lot to help her start her restaurant.

The trumpet playing alligator, Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) is a tad silly, but works in the context of our frog-cursed humans. Likewise, Ray the Cajun firefly (Jim Cummings) is amusing, though the accent is sometimes difficult to understand. Both actors do give us sympathetic characters which are worked seamlessly into the story.

All in all, this film is an enjoyable modern fairy tale, with an exemplary cast. We'll leave you with a trailer from the film: