The Princess and the Frog Interview

Slash Films has an extended interview with The Princess and the Frog directors Jon Musker and Ron Clements, providing an interesting look into the process of bringing a fairy tale to life. Most of the interview is spent discussing how new technology can be applied to an old art form, giving the sense of the historical Disney influence that the artists have to work with, and the way in which setting informs style. The setting was originally supposed to be Chicago, Musker explains, but was changed fairly early on:

Parallel to that Pixar had been exploring ‘The Frog Princess’ as a possible CG film and at first it was set in Chicago in the 1930’s and then I think John Lasseter suggested New Orleans to Pixar and their development because he loves New Orleans. It’s his favorite city and I think being frogs and all of that which made him go, ‘Why don’t you set this in New Orleans. It’s a great locale and a cool place.’ So they start developing the idea in New Orleans but the story didn’t really get off the ground.

New Orleans, of course, was the setting of another animated film, All Dogs Go to Heaven. The city is home to so many disparate influences that there is really no other place like it in the world, especially during the unique jazz period of the early 20th century. The rest of the interview is long, but it’s well worth the read.