I know that I'm supposed to sympathize with Tiana, because she is the main character of TPATF. But she is very one-dimensional. The screenwriters have only developed the fact that Tiana works hard---- but the rest of her character simply isn't up to par. Outside of working hard, Tiana is a depressed, angry, and bitter person disguised as "sassy." When she does not get her way....she makes nasty comments to the people who attempt to help her ( especially Ray and Naveen). Tiana ( in her workaholic way) tells Naveen that he has achieved nothing in his life--- so Naveen, in order to impress Tiana, has to learn to mince. Naveen comes and saves Tiana from the trappers, while Tiana leaves him in the dust as she gets away. ( Hey, even Ariel dropped her bag of who-knows-what to go diving after Flounder to save him from the shark!! Tiana doesn't lend a hand at all). Naveen had the decency to help her, but she doesn't even return the favor!! Additionally, Tiana does not respect Ray for his dream of being with Evangeline, snubbing him by saying. "it's only a star." How does Tiana expect other people to respect her dreams and hopes if she dishes out such nastiness? I know I was supposed to admire Tiana's assertiveness, that "only hard work can accomplish your dreams"--- but basically watching the movie became an exercise in seeing Tiana screw everyone around her while she carries on with a tantrum. Not attaining her life goals made Tiana a believable character for some--- but it made her a really depressing person to watch, in my view. The movie wants you to identify with Tiana's stick-to-it-ness, but also paints a portrait of a desperate and insecure character who lashes out when she encounters failure. I did not believe for one minute that Tiana "fell for/ actually loved" Naveen for who Naveen was. After the credits rolled, I ended up liking all the side characters and the villain more than I liked Tiana. So I left the plush Tiana doll that I saw recently in the thrift store on the shelf. I did not buy her. Though some people think being "sassy" is cool, I find that it is another modern term synonymous for "mean." Perhaps, the slight bossy quality was cute in Snow White, but it was tempered there, by Snow White's genuine politeness towards others ( even an old Hag). What I saw in TPATF was that Tiana is not a polite person, and she is only out to serve her own interests. Hence, my dislike of her.

I love this movie. While the writing does has plenty of flaws, and the fact that there are many plot holes and logical inconsistencies irk me, it's overall an enjoyable movie. It's often criticized for its contradictory message but I found the messages of TPatF very easy to understand, and I interpreted the overall message as the movie being simply about living a balanced life. I absolutely loved that Tiana and Naveen didn't end up spending their happily ever after in a palace, and that they stayed in New Orleans instead. It was refreshing to watch, and I found almost all of the characters in this movie to be well-developed, relatable, realistically flawed characters. I felt that I was watching a movie about people, not caricatures. Of course, I am probably biased, as throughout my childhood I'd been eagerly awaiting a Disney movie like The Princess and the Frog- one that teaches all of my personal values of hard work, love and relationships and living life to the fullest, and not to mention the constant questioning of how wishing upon a star could fulfil your dreams without ruling out the possibility.

I think this is a great movie that's sadly underrated and under-appreciated.

I think the animation is stunning, the music is enjoyable, the characters are likable, the plot is really good even if it's a touch complicated and convoluted at times, and the morals (not just moral, singular; morals, plural) are all worthwhile. I also think this film has a lot of subtly, nuance, and sophisticated morals. I think Tiana and Naveen are much better developed than people give them credit for, their development is very believable, and the plot has a lot of great morals that aren't immediately obvious.

While the film can get pretty obvious about some morals. such as: "Tiana needs to let loose and have fun," "Naveen needs to knuckle down and work hard," "Too much work and too much play are two sides of the same coin. It's okay to work hard and have fun as long as you don't do either to excess," "Don't try to take the easy way out," "What you want and what you need are two different things," "Family is more important than financial success," "Success doesn't mean much if you don't have any loved ones to enjoy it with," etc. The film has a number of subtle morals it doesn't even say out loud.

For example: "Money doesn't buy happiness." Really think about it. Several characters try to use money to get what they want, or think that money will buy happiness. Charlotte tries to buy the prince's love by paying Tiana to make "man-catching beignets" (rather than make them herself), Doctor Facilier and Lawrence try to scam their way into the LaBouffe fortune, Naveen wants to marry a rich girl so he can keep lazing and partying around, Tiana thinks that making the down payment to her restaurant will buy her happiness, Naveen hopes that marrying Charlotte on the condition she give Tiana enough money to make the down payment will buy Tiana's happiness, etc. Notice that none of them get what they want or find happiness that way. It's only when Tiana breaks the money-seeking cycle by saying she'd rather be with the man she loves without the restaurant than let Naveen enter a loveless marriage to buy her restaurant, are she and Naveen able to find contentment, get what they want in a way they didn't expect, and ultimately live happily ever after.

There's also a subtle message about how, sometimes what seems like a setback can turn out to get you where you want to go. For example, during Charlotte's party Tiana wishes on a star to get her restaurant, but gets a frog prince that turns her into a frog and gets her lost in the bayou instead. This seems like a serious set-back to Tiana, but over the course of the film not only does she gain what she didn't realize she needed (to let loose, have fun, fall in love, etc), but the journey eventually leads to her getting her restaurant. Evangeline granted Tiana's wish, just not in the way she expected.

While it doesn't say it out loud, the film does show that while hard work is important, one doesn't need to completely rule out luck, magic, wishes, etc. Tiana's daddy tells her, "You wish and you dream with all your little heart, but you remember, Tiana, that old star can only get you part of the way. You've got to help it along with some hard work of your own, and then you can do anything you set your mind to." Tiana later misinterprets and mis-remembers his advise as "Daddy told me fairy tales can't come true. You've got to make 'em happen, it all depends on you." She initially scorns magic and wishing on stars, but she also runs herself ragged for little reward. When she eventually tries this wishing on stars business, things indirectly go well. However, the film doesn't forget the hard work part as it's still Tiana's tip jars that buy the restaurant, and she and Naveen still fix up the old sugar mill themselves. The film doesn't say, "Hard work gets you nowhere" or "Wishing on stars is a stupid waste of time." Like with the "You need to balance work and play" message, the film advocates (and shows with the characters and story) that balancing hard work with faith and trust is just as important.

I love this film. I think it's really good and really underrated. Is it flawed? Yeah. Is it a touch simplistic and anvilicious in some places, but overly complicated and convoluted in others? Absolutely. But what it does right, I think it really does right. And I think it deserves all the recognition and credit it can get.

Well, Tiana made it cool. She works hard, and suffers the consequences without complaining. She is an excellent role model for children in my opinion.