The Princess and the Frog is an American animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2009. It was developed by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is the 49th Disney animated feature film, and it is loosely based on E. M. Forster's novel The Frog Princess. D. Baker, which is based on "The Frog Prince," a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. The film stars 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, and was written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film is set in 1920s New Orleans and tells the story of Tiana, a hardworking waitress who dreams of opening her own restaurant. Tiana becomes a frog after kissing a prince who has been transformed into a frog by an evil witch doctor, and must find a way to transform back into a human before it is too late.
The Princess and the Frog was originally titled The Frog Princess when it went into development. It was Disney's first traditionally animated film since Home on the Range (2004), and it marked the studio's brief return to conventional animation. The Princess and the Frog is directed by Clements and Musker, who previously directed Disney's highly successful films The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), and Hercules (1997). The studio has returned to a Broadway musical-style format that was popular during the Disney Renaissance, with music by composer Randy Newman, who is best known for his work on Pixar films including the Toy Story franchise.