DLIT Lessons

I would like to welcome Professor Batyaeva, our Potions Professor, who will be teaching you about Disney's Princess and the Frog today. Professor Batyaeva has written a lesson for this week as well as next week, so be sure to thank her when you see her. 

In today's lesson, you'll also be hearing from Professors Wen (Magical Culinary Theory) and Umbridge (Divination). 

Today's screening (12 noon EST): http://www.watch2gether.com/rooms/hihdisneyscreeningroom-alh65kcv8x3pdecy

EH

http://www.hogwartsishere.com/emmahart/
https://www.facebook.com/emmaharthih

---

Lesson 6: Almost There (The Princess and the Frog)

New Orleans, Louisiana

We got magic, good and bad,
Make you happy or make you real sad.

  ~ "Down in New Orleans", The Princess and the Frog

The Crescent City - or New Orleans - stands as one of the best locations to set an adapted story full of magic, mystery, and some really, really great music. This is where Disney chose to set their adaptation of E.D. Baker’s 2002 novel The Frog Princess, which provided a new twist on the famous Brothers Grimm tale “The Frog Prince.” The state of Louisiana as a whole has captured the romantic imaginations of many authors, filmmakers, musicians, poets, painters, and the simple layperson for it’s brutal climate and unique history. Consider well-known authors such as Anne Rice; the television series True Detective, American Horror Story, Treme, and True Blood (based on a series of books by Charlaine Harris that was a fair bit better, I hazard to say); and musicians including Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino, Mahalia Jackson, and Jelly Roll Morton. The modern musicians, including Dr. John, Marc Broussard, and numerous local talents are among some of the most well-respected jazz and blues musicians in the world. The state has also experienced a revitalization and revolution within its film community, hosting many Muggle film crews and boasting the title of “number one” in the United States in terms of total feature films created within the nation for two years in a row.

And this brings us to the topic of today’s class: a Disney film set in the heart of the bayou. My name is Professor Batyaeva, and you all probably know me better in the dim light of the dungeon potions lab. I admit that I leapt when Professor Hart, the new Professor of Magical Literature, invited me to discuss not only The Princess and the Frog, one of the more talked-about Disney films of recent history, but also the film’s choice of setting: Louisiana. Despite the occasionally staggering problems that the state faces, it is such a unique and wonderful setting for a movie like this. The spirit of New Orleans stands as a driving force and almost an iconic “character” in this film about strength, determination, and what matters in life.

The Princess loses her golden ball
Illustration by Bernhard Wenig

A Story Re-imagined

Many know the contemporary popularized story of The Frog Prince, in which a frog is turned back into a prince through the gentle kiss of a princess. However, in the original muggle tale, the frog is transformed back not through an act of kindness, but through violence. The original tale told by the Brother’s Grimm is known in English as The Frog King or the Iron Heinrich (German: Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich), and it tells the story of a young princess who loses her prized golden ball. A frog offers to fetch her favorite toy for her if she agrees to make him her companion. She reluctantly agrees, and then spends the better part of the story trying to rid herself of her cold and amphibious companion. Finally, upon his command that she let him into her bed, she throws the frog against the wall in a fit of rage. As the creature falls, it turns into the handsome prince who explains to the princess that he was once cursed by a witch, according to muggle legend. The prince and princess then receive the permission of the king to get married.

This union is not the completion of the tale, however. Instead of “happily ever after” concluding the story, the prince and his new wife travel back to his kingdom where they find his servant, Heinrich, with three iron bands about his chest as a sign that he sought to “keep [his heart] from bursting in grief and sorrow.” One by one, the bands about Heinrich’s heart begin to break at the return of his master, fixing the story not as a take of odd and out-of-place love found in the least likely place, but of the bond between a servant and his master returned.

The Reunion of the King and Heinrich

As tends to happen with Grimm tales, The Frog King provides a very different message in its original form than the somewhat romanticized later interpretations. In most versions, the central focus of the story is the heteronormative romantic connection between a woman who overcomes her superficial side to see the beauty within another going through a terrible ordeal.

However, in Grimm’s original tale, the sole female character is instead portrayed as an inconstant and unreliable companion. She makes a deal with the prince, who keeps his end of the bargain, and then tries to relinquish her responsibility. The king reminds her of this responsibility - in the process denying her independence and freedom to choose her own course - and insists that his daughter allow the frog into her life. This often invokes questions of femininity and female choice in this time, although it is a modern application to an older story that bears scrutiny outside this lesson.

Ultimately, within the context of the story, the princess only shows sympathy when the frog is once again turned back into a handsome prince. She and the prince both appear to be relatively shallow characters who do not develop, and seem to be catalysts to the final paragraphs of the story and the introduction of Heinrich. The finale of the tale centers around the faithful servant who showed true pain, regret, and remorse over the loss of his master. The “iron bands” are never explained in full, but some suggest they were both a means of keeping his heart “in tact” while he waited for his master to return and also that it was a way to cage his heart so that he would not give it to another master before the king’s return. In either case, in the true telling of the story, the hero of the story appears to be Heinrich, the faithful servant who waited for the king’s spell to be broken.

The Princess and the Frog

Although most sources credit The Princess and the Frog as being influenced by the 2002 children’s novel The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker, which was a modern adaptation of The Frog Prince the follows the story of Princess Esmeralda of Greater Greensward, the story given by Disney surpasses the children’s novel as a tale of female determination and resilience.

In Disney’s version, Tiana, the main character, is an inhabitant of New Orleans. Her father supported her talent as a cook until he lost his own life in World War I. She’s a powerful female character who, instead of being born of royalty, comes from a poor background. The movie was much anticipated after its announcement, as Tiana was the first African-American princess, and the film hailed in what was known as the Disney Revival.

Up until 1999, Disney released many hugely successful films including The Lion King, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pocahontas, Mulan, and many others. However, the company made mediocre box office on almost all of their films in the 2000s, owing to the popularity of computer animated films, until the release of The Princess and the Frog in 2009.

Initially, Tiana was to be named “Maddy” and was to work as a chambermaid for her friend Charlotte (Lottie), a character that will be discussed more in detail later on in this lesson by Professor Hart. However, after dissension from many groups over this initial characterization's of Tiana's character, the name "Maddy" and her background were altered to reflect what appeared in the final film.

In the final version of the film, Tiana is a waitress who pursues her life as the owner of a restaurant, putting her personal life on-hold, because she’s "Almost There":

When working an event for her childhood friend, Lottie, a wealthy debutante for whom Tiana’s mother worked as a seamstress making an array of princess dresses when the two girls were younger, Tiana becomes entangled with a frog. This frog is, in fact, Prince Naveen, a much-anticipated prince from Maldonia. He has been cut off from his family owing to his lack of responsibility or work ethic, which puts him in stark contrast to Tiana and her drive. Desperate to get back in his family’s good graces, he sought the Shadow Man or “Facilier,” voiced by well-known actor Keith David, who ultimately elects, with his Friends on the Other Side, to give Prince Naveen the “green” that he seeks. 

In this exchange, Prince Naveen is turned into a frog while his easily-manipulated and oft-neglected servant Lawrence takes his identity in the hopes of improving his own life.

Tiana and Naveen find themselves thrown together in Lottie’s bedroom (as the Prince mistakes her for a Princess). However, his plan backfires as Tiana is not a Princess nor are they in love. Upon kissing the frog, Tiana becomes a frog herself. They travel through the Louisiana bayou together meeting many unique characters who not only help them on their way,  but also add increased depth and breadth to each of their characters. Tiana learns to be more patient and to take the time to help those who need her skill, while Naveen learns to be more diligent. Both learn the meaning not only of love, but also of loyalty and companionship, even during their time as frogs. 

Through a series of trials and tribulations, Tiana and Naveen eventually find their way there. They make their way back to New Orleans during the Mardi Gras parades, which, as many can imagine, is the perfect time for magic to go unnoticed in Louisiana. Naveen seeks Tiana’s friend Lottie specifically: as her father was crowned “Mardi Gras King,” he assumes (incorrectly) that her kiss will be the key to undoing the curse. In one of the first acts of selflessness we see from Prince Naveen, he and Lottie conspire to share a kiss not for his own benefit, but in order to try to give Tiana her restaurant and all she desires. The kiss does not work, and either they have not met their deadline or Lottie is apparently not “princess” enough for the kiss to work. Naveen and Tiana ultimately decide that, as frogs or as humans, they wish to spend the rest of their lives with one another (with some encouragement from the example set by Ray and Evangeline).

Once the couple is married by a Witch Doctor named Mama Odie, however, Tiana is technically deemed by whatever forces that determine such things (friends on the other side, ancestors, something else?) a princess, and the kiss between Frog Naveen and Frog Tiana is sufficient to reverse the spell and return them to normal. They retain the lessons they learned in their previous form, as well as the developed love and affection they have for one another. Ultimately, they stay in New Orleans and, rather than traveling overseas or across the land to some far-off country - as we saw in The Frog King - Princess Tiana stays in New Orleans and opens her restaurant with the assistance of Prince Naveen, who works in the restaurant and helps Tiana run her business. Even Naveen’s parents visit the couple, proud of the impact that their new daughter-in-law has had on their son.

---

"Classic Disney": Disney Formalism - Remember what you learned in Snow White?

Professor Hart here briefly!

While Tiana is not a princess, and her story is set in a relatively modern world, many film critics associated her with classic Disney heroines, as she is considered "good and sweet and pretty" (Dargis, 2009). appears 22 minutes into the film. It's a large-scale fancy dress ball staged at Charlotte's mansion (which Tiana has baked for). In many ways, this scene embraces Disney Formalism, as the scene's iconography appears to be a return to "Classic Disney" style, especially when Charlotte takes Tiana back to her room and dresses her in a Princess "costume". Charlotte's Cinderella-esque ball, the waltz with "Prince Naveen", and Tiana's wishing on a star, is all a throwback to the 'founding' princess stories.

Moreover, this ball scene is self-reflexive and parodic (comedic imitation) of this narrative: Charlotte complains she never gets what she wishes for, then proceeds to hysterically wish on the evening star. She also frantically wipes sweat from her armpits (not typical Disney Princess behaviour) and proceeds to cry to the point where her make up runs down her face. Yet, as soon as "Prince Naveen" arrives on the scene, she beautifies herself in a matter of moments (including the addition of a Marilyn Monroe beauty mark). We then see her walk down a long staircase and she herself throws a handful of glitter just as the spotlight singles her out.

   

According to Pallant, the sequence "while self-reflexively revealing the superficiality inherent in achieving such a look, draws stylistically on the traditions of Disney Formalism" (351). In fact, not only does the glitter harken back to the special effects seen in Pinocchio and Bambi, but the colouration of the scene "reflects a key principle and aspiration of Disney-Formalist animation: believability" (351). Therefore, The Princess and the Frog is not just a progressive continuation of Disney-Formalist artistic ambition; it also offers a self-conscious (and playful) acknowledgement of its own "Disney-esque" storytelling.

Back to you Professor Batyaeva!

---

“You know the thing about good food? It brings folks together from all walks of life.”

Louisiana in the Story

The spirit of Louisiana itself provides one of the most important characters in The Princess and the Frog. From the setting to the unique characters, the music, and the appearance of magic (to be discussed later), the region in which the story takes place is what transforms the tale from a relatively commonplace story about physical and emotional transformation and love into the enjoyable experience that the movie provides.

Perhaps the most notable element of any Disney movie, the songs in The Princess and the Frog provide a strong element of setting to the film. Rather than the characteristic - and often somewhat generic - showtune sound present in even the catchiest of Disney songs, The Princess and the Frog features songs inspired by Southern styles of jazz, blues, gospel, and even zydeco, a popular and enjoyable musical style developed in Southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers. This style of music was done intentionally to throw viewers into the “spirit of Louisiana.”

Louis the Jazz Alligator

Even more than the music, a central focus of the story is food. Before losing his life in World War I, Tiana’s father James discusses opening a restaurant with his young daughter. Rather than simply enjoying food itself, he instead speaks of the power that food has, telling her, “You know the thing about good food? It brings folks together from all walks of life.” Food and cooking is one of the most iconic and well-known assets of Louisiana, and it does bring people together. Within the story, we see people of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds sharing a love of the same food. Notable are Tiana’s beignets (a delicious deep-fried breakfast pastry covered in powdered sugar that originated in France, but is now generally associated with New Orleans), which she serves in a small café during the day to an eclectic clientele: her friends, who are presumably of similar economic status to her, breakfast there, and her friend Lottie and her father, incredibly wealthy patrons of Tiana’s mother, also frequent. Tiana is even asked to serve her beignets at a masquerade for the wealthy of New Orleans at Lottie and her father’s house.

Beignets from the famous Café du Monde in New Orleans

Gumbo is also an interesting staple of Louisiana cooking that makes an appearance in the movie. One of the more notable traits of gumbo is that there is no one “recipe” for it. Its development combined French, African, Spanish, and Native American traditions with some German and Italian influences all in one pot. It can also be made with almost whatever is at hand, especially leftover seafood, chicken, and other meat, and is known as a social food that is popular when one has to feed many people.

In the context of The Princess and the Frog, it is not only what Tiana prepared with her father and shared with the entire neighborhood, but also what she cooks when stuck in the swamp with Prince Naveen trying to return to New Orleans. “Swamp Gumbo,” as she calls it, presumably involved mushrooms and other plants native to the swamps. It can be seen as symbolic as creating sustenance from what one has, or “making do” with the resources with which a person is presented, which is what she and Prince Naveen do when they accept that they would rather remain together as frogs than be separate as humans (although they ultimately do not have to do either).

Ray and Evangeline, a love without restrictions

The characters and setting of the story are also what ground the story in Louisiana. We see - though somewhat stereotyped - examples of the range and breadth of cultures that influence Louisianian life, most notably Raymond, Mama Odie, and Louis, companions that join and assist Tiana and Naveen in the swamp. Raymond (my favorite character, actually) initially appears to be a stereotype of a bayou Cajun, with locally-relevant comedic elements such as replying to Naveen’s assertion that they’re from a place “far, far away from here” with “Go to bed! Y’all from Shreveport?” (a city in Northern Louisiana).

However, he proves to be one of the most encouraging characters who emphasizes the importance of love in whatever form it takes - his is himself in love with Evangeline, a star in the sky. Mama Odie is the one human of this crew, a wise, blind voodoo priestess who lives in the swamp. She is, in fact, making gumbo when Tiana and Naveen reach her, and Tiana helps her perfect the meal by adding Tabasco (fun fact: Tabasco was first created in New Orleans).

Finally, there is Louis, the gentle, trumpet-playing alligator who just wants to be in a riverboat band. His name was inspired, of course, by the great Louis Armstrong. He’s a bit of a goofy character, but also reinforces the theme that people and situations are not always what they seem.

Dr. Facilier and his Friends on the Other Side

Magic in the Story

Central to the story is the concept of using magic to get what one wants in life. In opposition to The Frog King, in which an unknown curse is placed upon the king by a jealous witch, in The Princess and the Frog, the curse comes as a direct result of individual characters’ own misguided requests and desires. Prince Naveen, desperate to earn money after being cut off by his parents, seeks the help of Dr. Facilier, a local voodoo practitioner, who uses his dark powers in order to gain power for himself. His servant seeks an escape from his life as an underappreciated and abused character, both by his family growing up and now by his employer. Each gets exactly what Dr. Facilier promises, if one reads the lyrics to Friends on the Other Side (linked earlier in the lesson), although it is not what they intended.

This harkens to an old caution as regards use of magic (and in life in general) to be careful when making requests. You may just get that wish, but it will not be what you intend. While Prince Naveen finds himself turned into a frog - thus receiving “the green” in his future - Lawrence, his servant, is transfigured into Naveen. This may have been a positive outcome, were it not for the fact that Lawrence finds himself beholden to Dr. Facilier to maintain his disguise.

Another older concept of magic is invoked in Friends on the Other Side when the shadows conclude the song with the lines, “You got what you wanted, / But you lost what you had!” Many characterize magic and the universe itself as maintaining balance. We see this concept of universal balance in many Eastern philosophies in particular. In getting what Naveen and Lawrence requested, there were unintentional sacrifices made. The use of what is termed as “Dark Magic” in particular tends to reflect this balance and “boomerang effect” in which granting a wish leads to unintended consequences or side effects.

The tomb of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, and offerings/requests left for her

The Shadow Man’s Magic

As we bring up the topic of “Dark Magic,” it would do well to explore Dr. Facilier (or “The Shadow Man”) and his relationship to magic and ancestors. Dr. Facilier represents a superficial glimpse of the voodoo tradition of New Orleans. This tradition is heavily based in offering respect and prayer to three levels of spirit: God, the loas or orishas (more like saints and angels than deities), and personal ancestors. Despite popular affiliation with voodoo as inherently “dark magic” or “blood magic,” it is primarily devoted to physical and spiritual healing as well as personal protection and defense. It is hard to define New Orleans voodoo as just one thing, given that the diverse cultures blend with and influence one another. In his autobiography, the famous Louisiana musician Dr. John (born with the name Mac Rebennack) says of voodoo:

In New Orleans, in religion, as in food or race or music, you can’t separate nothing from nothing. Everything mingles each into the other - Catholic saint worship with gris gris spirits, evangelical tent meetings with spiritual church ceremonies - with nothing is purely itself but becomes part of one fony gumbo. That is why it is important to understand that in New Orleans the idea of Voodoo - or as we call it gris gris - is less a distinct religion than a way of life.

In The Princess and the Frog, Dr. Facilier invokes the help of - and is ultimately controlled by - the spirits who assist him in doing his magical bidding. While he is a charismatic and manipulative individual, he does not seem to have much power beyond invoking the malevolent spirits who appear to have aspirations to conquer and control the city of New Orleans. In fact, when their goal is not achieved, it is the spirits themselves who ultimately drag Dr. Facilier into their realm.

The particular form of magic that the spirits use in the film is a type of transfigurative magic. As Professor Prince would probably tell you, typically such transformations would be temporary in nature. While one could transfigure a human into a frog, even against his or her will, it would normally wear off on its own and would be a relatively complicated spell to maintain for long periods. However, with the assistance of perceived “dark” magic, involving the blood of Prince Naveen, the curse appears prolonged and also have emotion-driven aspects. Through the prince’s blood, Dr. Facilier is able to provide Lawrence with a semi-permanent (as long as he still has the blood!) appearance as Prince Naveen. Prince Naveen’s own transformation is curiously tied more to an emotional and physical trigger. Once he and Tiana are married, she takes on technical “royal” status - although it’s unclear what physical or magical changes this invokes - and her kiss is sufficient to revert them both to human form.

And with that, they lived happily - and deliciously - ever after! Thus concludes our look at The Princess and the Frog. I could continue, but for the sake of your time, I’ll leave you to your assignments. Be creative, and happy studying!

References

Alvarado, Denise. The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook. York Beach, USA: Weiser, 2011.

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. "Der Froschkönig Oder Der Eiserne Heinrich." Kinder- Und Hausmärchen. Vol. 1. Berlin: Realschulbuchhandlung, 1812.

The Princess and the Frog. Dir. Ron Ron Clements and John Musker. Perf. Anika Noni Rose and Bruno Campos. Walt Disney, 2009. DVD.

Rebennack, Mac, and Jack Rummel. Under a Hoodoo Moon: The Life of the Night Tripper. New York: St. Martin's, 1994. 159.

---

We are now passed the halfway point of Disney Lit Weeks - Week 1! Hope you're all excited for the remaining lessons!

If you would like to participate in a discussion on today's lesson, please do so here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1swPi56JcKYufAJ6j1SslYzHAHxSJd-7CL5CHokrH9Lw/edit?usp=sharing

EH

https://www.facebook.com/HiHMagicalLiterature
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-Studies-Track/491893090968681

---