I think Disney knew they faced a formidable foe this weekend with James Cameron’s Avatar. But I don’t think they realized how deep into the Disney demographic it would reach. Although Avatar was PG-13 I saw families bringing much younger children in to see the… Read More »Frog Princess slips off the Royal Lillypad
Disney’s latest animated feature film “The Princess and The Frog” took in an estimated $25 million at the box office this weekend. A healthy number for Disney’s return to hand drawn animation, but not blockbuster numbers either. Pixar’s “The Incredibles” and “Finding Nemo” each opened… Read More »The Princess and the Frog reels in $25 million
Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger takes the 1980s idea of synergy that was perfected by the early Eisner and Wells administration to the next level with his concept of the Franchise. I’m not talking Kevin Garnett for you NBA fans. Nor is it like… Read More »Is The Princess and the Frog Disney’s next Franchise?
Anika Noni Rose, Princess Tiana, takes us on a very special journey through the music from The Princess and the Frog. The soundtrack hits stores November 24th or pre-order it now from Amazon. Save over 25% if you pre-order. Also see here’s the music video… Read More »The Princess and the Frog: Behind the Music
One last little bit to share from the media event for Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee at the Magic Kingdom. I got the chance to meet and interview Tara Anderson, Show Director from Creative Entertainment at Walt Disney World Resort. Her previous work at the Magic Kingdom… Read More »Interview with Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee Show Director
If you’re heading out to Disneyland or Walt Disney World this fall, make sure you mosey on down to the Rivers of America and catch “Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee.” Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Louis, and the evil Dr. Facilier are all featured with their own songs… Read More »Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee Video Clips
It’s one of the realities of Disney Animated Features, they’re just plain expensive to produce. So much that sometimes even a $400 million box office earning film, like Cars, just breaks even for the company after marketing and production are accounted for. So how does… Read More »Princess Tiana merchandise already a big hit
Princess Tiana appears in a horse drawn carriage fit for an American Princess.
Yesterday marked the official opening of a 15 week run for Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. As I posted earlier, the show envelopes guests into being part of the show, a great experience for the guests involved, but how would it play for the rest of the park attendees? Turns out, pretty amazing.
For the special ceremony New Orleans dancers led Princess Tiana to the castle.
The Princess and The Frog is an American story at its root and it features the first African American Princess. The park is really excited about promoting the first new princess in 12 years, so they rolled out some big guns for the press event. One of those was Bruce Smith, the lead animator on Dr. Facilier, the main villain of the movie.
Characters representing current inhabitants of the Magic Kingdom welcome Princess Tiana to the fold.
There was also a wonderful display of merchandise that Disney spent the last two years creating. Some of it, like the theme park exclusive Princess Tiana dress, has been for sale in the park for two weeks and is already flying off the shelves.
A royal proclamation is read.
But the focus of the day was the introduction of Princess Tiana to the park and the official debut of Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee. TSJ has three distinct parts, and while it’s possible to catch all three, if you can only pick one, make sure to choose the middle part performed on the Liberty Belle when it stops in front of Splash Mountain.
The regular show will take place three times daily on the Liberty Belle with a procession leading to and from the boat before and after each performance.
The show is currently only scheduled to run through January 3rd, 2010 as a tie-in to the movie’s launch on December 11th. It’s my hope they extend this show at least through the summer. The show was already drawing huge crowds without the benefit of the movie even being in theaters, I imagine it will continue to grow once it’s seen by the public.
Lots more photos below the jump, so come on down