Evolution of "The Princess and the Frog"

Today in class (but also throughout the semester) we've talked about how different societies adapt the fairy tales to make sense to them in their time or to fit their culture. We don't know about a lot of these changes, because being oral stories, their changing isn't documented. But as these big compilations have been gathered and stories have become classified, it's easier to track what motifs have been added or changed and how the stories continue to adapt to modern times. We looked at this a lot with Cinderella, from the early written versions to the first film adaptation to the modern Hillary Duff version. I want to try to explore how the Princess and the Frog has adapted and changed over time. So if you want to comment with things you find online or think about, that'd be great!

I think my only other "Princess and the Frog" experience outside reading the fairy tale in our book and the movie (which is still playing at one theater in Nashville -- 100 Oaks -- if you haven't seen it yet) was a similar type story that I think would fall into this category because of some similar motifs: the ugly frog who turns into a prince when the princess kisses him ("The Frog Prince"). I remember seeing this in movie form when I was still able to count my age on one hand from a tape we checked out from the library. It's similar to the story in our book, only now there's kissing, which is also in the Disney version.

The wikipedia site for "The Princess and the Frog" movie says it's "a 2009 American animated family film loosely based on E. D. Baker's novel The Frog Princess, which was in turn inspired by the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "The Frog Prince"." (Or "The Frog King," I guess.) I know I read another post where someone said they hadn't ever been exposed to this story, but haven't you kinda heard the kissing the frog prince story? Or some version of a frog that's a prince that the princess needs to stay faithful to or make some sacrifice to transform back into a prince? Disney put a little twist on that, but the general idea is still there. Sometime, though, between the story we read and the versions we have today, kissing was added. Like someone said today in class about the bird metamorpheses, it's a sacrifice and a gender role the woman has to take upon herself to transform the man back into human form. She does not change them back through any big shows of valour, but simply through doing womanly things.

Does Disney change that up, though? Tiana has a lot more character development than most fairy tale (and Disney) princesses. What new motifs are added? Are they from other fairy tales (like the idea of a magical helper) or from current American values (like New Orleans and Tiana being the first African-American princess)? What old ones stay the same? And why is music such an important part of Disney fairy tale movies???