"The Princess and the Frog," With Rose, Winfrey, Lewis and More, Gets Wide Release Dec. 11

By Adam Hetrick
11 Dec 2009

"The Princess and the Frog" star Anika Noni Rose and her alter-ego Princess Tiana
"The Princess and the Frog" star Anika Noni Rose and her alter-ego Princess Tiana
Photo by Eric Charbonneau (Rose); © Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Disney's new animated feature "The Princess and the Frog," featuring the voice of Caroline, or Change Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose, arrives in theatres nationwide Dec. 11.

The film, which marks Disney's return to hand-drawn animation in after nearly six years, premiered in New York and Los Angeles Nov. 25. Academy Award winner Randy Newman penned original songs for the film.

Rose (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, "Dreamgirls") lends her voice as Princess Tiana – Disney's first African-American princess – in a cast that also features Jenifer Lewis (Mama Odie), Peter Bartlett (Lawrence), Oprah Winfrey (Eudora), John Goodman (Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff), Jennifer Cody (Charlotte La Bouff), Terrence Howard (James), Bruno Campos (Prince Naveen), Keith David (Dr. Facilier), Jim Cummings (Ray) and Michael-Leon Wooley (Louis).

Disney has reset the Grimm Brothers fairy tale in New Orleans during the Jazz Age. "The Princess and the Frog" is written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, who together delivered "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid" to Disney.

Newman penned a series of songs for the film inspired by the New Orleans sounds of jazz, zydeco, blues and gospel. Songs in the film include "Down In New Orleans," "Almost There," "Friends on the Other Side," "When We're Human," "Gonna Take You There," "Ma Belle Evangeline" and "Dig A Little Deeper."

Newman's new musical, Harps and Angels, will premiere in fall 2010 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. He is known for penning the songs "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," "Sail Away," "Feels Like Home," "Real Emotional Girl" and "You've Got a Friend in Me," the latter for the animated film "Toy Story." His music has been heard on stage in The Education of Randy Newman and Randy Newman's Faust.