Tiana (Disney)

"You can't get what you want just by wishing for it."

- Tiana

"The only way that you can get what you want in this world is through hard work."

- Tiana

"I've got news for you, Shadow Man! It's not slime, it's mucus!"

- Tiana to Dr. Facilier, moments before defeating him

"That's what happens when a princess sings about her dreams."

- Tiana in Ralph Breaks the Internet

Tiana is the main protagonist of The Princess and the Frog. She is the 9th Disney Princess in the official lineup, and the first to be African-American and the final one to be drawn in 2D animation, thus the first to be voiced by an actual African-American (Anika Noni Rose). She is also the only Disney Princess to have only a mother, and the first to have both her speaking and singing voices in 18 years after Belle from "Beauty and the Beast".

Personality
Tiana is an intelligent, resourceful, and highly talented young woman. But she works so hard to achieve her dream of having her own restaraunt that it's hard for her to take a break and relax. Though she notices this and appears to have some regret over her busy schedule, her obsession with bringing her dream of opening her own restaurant into fruition overshadows it all. She also, for the most part, has appeared to accept that over the years, as seen when she and Eudora visited the old sugar mill in preparation of its purchase.

With a strong sense of honor and integrity, Tiana firmly believes nothing deserves to be obtained in the world unless it's done through hard work, a view she's brought up when dealing with her excessively dreamy and immature best friend, Charlotte La Bouff, as well as the party-loving Naveen.

Aside from her workaholic nature, Tiana has another side to her; one that's passionate, imaginative, and ambitious. She enjoys humor, music, quality time with loved ones, and dancing (though not at first). She becomes excitable whenever mentioning her restaurant, lighting up when she does, as Naveen puts it, and although she initially had very little knowledge over romance, she values it highly once she starts to fall for Naveen, to the point where her restaurant was no longer the most important part of her life.

Humble Beginnings
A young Tiana and her best friend Charlotte La Bouff listening to the classic tale "The Frog Prince" read by Tiana's mother Eudora while she finishes Charlotte's newest princess gown. Whilst Charlotte adores the tale and openly wishes to find a prince and one day become a princess, Tiana is somewhat unamused with the story, considerably the kissing finale between the princess and the frog she was disgusted by. After the story's completion, Tiana and her mother depart, heading for home where they greet Tiana's hardworking father, James. Later on, with the help of James, Tiana makes their favorite dinner, gumbo. Tiana gives her father a taste of some of her gumbo which she hopes to be the prime attraction when she and her father open their very own restaurant "Tiana's Place". That night, as Tiana was being put to bed, the young girl makes a wish on the evening star in hopes of getting her restaurant dream come true. James, however, tells Tiana that wishing can only get her halfway to her dream, and hard-work is also needed, which she understands.

Almost There
About twenty years later, an adult Tiana is still struggling to reach her dream even after her father passed away. Since childhood, she has become a mature young woman, though she has discarded her original childhood imagination of wishing and such and has become an overly practical workaholic instead. She works as a waitress at two local diners during the day and night. The desire to open the restaurant prevents Tiana from going out with her friends as she must work extra for more pay. Meanwhile, the handsome Prince Naveen arrives in New Orleans to marry Charlotte. To celebrate, Charlotte plans on throwing a masquerade ball and hires Tiana to make dozens of beignets, paying her with enough money to buy her restaurant. Excited, Tiana and her mother place a bid on an old run down sugar mill that Tiana's father had talked about many times before and had planned to use as the location. Though the building is extremely worn out, delapidated and practically falling apart, Tiana couldn't have been more excited with her dream coming closer and closer to coming true.

Kiss the Frog
Later that night at the ball, Tiana discovers that she's been out bid and unless she earns enough money in two days, she loses the restaurant, though it's possible the restaurant being withheld from her due was just an excuse for her skin color, which is historically accurate given that the movie takes place in the Southern United States, but this is never elaborated on. After a mishap, Tiana ruins her outfit and Charlotte takes her to change. Charlotte gives her a princess gown and heads back down to the ball. Saddened, Tiana heads to the balcony and, in desperation, makes a wish on the evening star in hopes of making things work out in the end. After her wish, Tiana meets a talking frog who reveals to be Prince Naveen. After being cursed by a voodoo witch doctor, Naveen needs help from Tiana who he believes is a princess. Following the tale of "The Frog Prince", Naveen asks Tiana for a kiss in an attempt to break the spell. Unfortunately, Tiana is incredibly hesitant to kiss a frog, but Naveen offers her a reward, telling her that he comes from a fabulously wealthy family. Knowing she needs more money to open her restaurant, Tiana reluctantly kisses Naveen. The only thing it does, however, is change Tiana into a frog as well, being that she wasn't actually a princess.

Horrified and Enraged at her transformation, Tiana lunges at Naveen, sending them flying out window and onto the ball's dance floor. When Charlotte's father, Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff sees what he thinks are two stray frogs causing trouble, he orders the family dog Stella to get the frogs only for Tiana and Naveen to quickly escape on balloons that float away.

The Bayou
In a swamp, the frogs drift with the balloons. Naveen is confused on why the kiss did not turn him human. Tiana tells him that she is not a princess but a waitress. Shocked and angered by this revalation, Naveen accuses her of lying to him because he thought she was a "beautiful princess, not a cranky waitress." Suddenly, tree branches pop the balloons and the frogs plummet into the swamp below, filled with ravenous alligators, who try to devour them. In the mix of the chaos, Naveen promises to pay for Tiana's restaurant if she can help him into the hollowed-out tree. Tiana agrees, rescues the prince, and the next morning, the two begin their journey.

On the way, they meet Louis, an alligator with a gift of playing the trumpet. Louis and Naveen quickly become friends, sharing a passion for music. Louis' gift has Naveen wondering why Louis has never tried playing with the other great musicians of New Orleans, but Louis explains his last attempt to do so ended with the audience, as well as the musicians, panicking at the sight of a gator. Tiana then interrupts the friendship and drags Naveen ahead, telling Louis they need to find someone to break their spell. However, Louis doesn't understand until Naveen and Tiana explain that they are truly human turned into frogs via the magic of a voodoo witch doctor. Hearing voodoo, Louis informs them of Mama Odie, a voodoo priest who can help them turn human. Though Louis is originally against taking them to her, being too afraid of the dangers that may lie ahead, Naveen convinces the gator to change their mind, having Louis realize Mama Odie could turn him human as well. The trio then make their way but eventually get lost.

Ray Lights the Way
They then meet Ray, a romantic firefly who's in love with the evening star, who he calls Evangeline. Ray happily decides to light the way upon hearing of the group's dilemma and acts as their guide to Mama Odie, with the help of his massive family of fireflies. During their journey, Tiana and Naveen begin to become closer, a process that gets off the ground after they save each other from a trio of bumbling frog hunters. During a rest, Naveen helps Tiana cook for the friends by mincing some mushrooms. With that being the first piece of work Naveen has ever done, he reveals that, despite living the charm life of a prince, he feels deep down that he knows how to do absolutely nothing besides partying, which he is ashamed of. Tiana, feeling sympathy, compliments Naveen's mincing skills, growing the two even closer than before. Moments later, Ray introduces his friends to Evangeline, singing a love ballad in her honor. During this, Naveen attempts to waltz with Tiana, but the waitress declines, admitting that she's never learned to dance. Naveen decides that, in return for showing him how to mince, he will teach Tiana how to dance (as evidenced by his statement, "If I can mince, you can dance.") After the romantic waltz, Naveen and Tiana officially begin to fall in love with one another.

Dig A Little Deeper
Unfortunately, the romantic moment is soon ruined when Naveen is captured by a pack of shadow demons sent by the witch doctor Doctor Facilier, who needs Naveen to fulfill his evil scheme to take over New Orleans. He is soon saved by Mama Odie, who takes them to her home; a boat in a tree. Tiana tries to explain to Mama that all they want is to be human, but Mama Odie knows what Tiana and Naveen really want after the adventure they had, was each other. However, Tiana fails to realize this and believes Mama Odie's motto of "dig a little deeper" means work extra hard to get her restaurant. Naveen, however, understands that, instead of riches, what his heart truly desires was Tiana. But with Tiana's misunderstanding, Mama Odie decides to put the romance aside and give the two frogs the solution to their problem. Mama Odie tells them that if Naveen were to kiss a princess, they'll both turn back to humans. She then uses her magic brew to locate a nearby princess, which reveals to be Charlotte, who is princess of the Mardi Gras Parade. Unfortunately, Naveen only has until midnight, when Mardi Gras is over, to kiss Charlotte and break the spell.

The gang head off on a riverboat to New Orleans, where Naveen decides he wants to reveal his true romantic feelings to Tiana, settling on getting a job (or multiple ones) to help raise money for her restaurant. Naveen sets up a date later that night, under the stars on the riverboat. The prince was far too sheepish to successfully reveal the truth, but Tiana still finds his fumbling to be charming. Just then, the riverboat begins passing the old building Tiana plans on using for her restaurant. Tiana takes the time to tell Naveen about her dreams to open the restaurant. Knowing he can't afford to pay for the restaurant without marrying Charlotte and inheriting her fortune, Naveen decides not to tell her how he truly feels, for the sake of her dream. The riverboat then prepares to dock, and Naveen heads off to find Louis and Ray. Once he's gone, Tiana sadly speaks to Evangeline about her dilemma, admitting that she, too, is actually in love with Naveen, despite the fact that he must marry Charlotte for the money he promised for her restaurant. Meanwhile, right before docking, Naveen is kidnapped by the shadow demons.

Mardi Gras
Tiana, Louis, and Ray are oblivious to Naveen's capture, and after getting off the riverboat, Tiana asks Ray if he's seen him. Instead, Ray accidentally tells Tiana that Naveen actually loves her and plans on getting a job to pay for her restaurant. Overjoyed, Tiana and Ray head off to the Mardi Gras parade to find him and return the feelings. Sadly, Tiana, instead, finds Naveen, as a human, atop a parade float about to marry Charlotte. Heartbroken, Tiana runs off. Ray follows and tries to convince Tiana that they should go back to look more into what they say, but Tiana discards the idea, losing her faith in wishing and dreams once more. Determined to show Tiana the truth, Ray flies back to the parade, where he learns that the "Naveen" they saw about to marry Charlotte is actually Naveen's former valet, Lawrence in disguise. It turns out Lawrence was under the disguise as part of Facilier's plot, who plans on having Lawrence (in disguise) marry Charlotte and steal the La Bouff fortune by doing so, making Facilier the richest man in New Orleans. The real Naveen, still as a frog, was in captivity until Ray rescues him.

Tiana vs. Facilier
Naveen then grabs a talisman on Lawrence's neck. The talisman gives Lawrence the ability to morph into Naveen and without it, Facilier's plans to gain the La Bouff fortune would be foiled. Naveen passes the talisman over to Ray, who rushes back to the cemetery to foil Facilier and show Tiana the truth. Once the talisman was handed over, Ray instructs Tiana to keep it away from Facilier at all costs, prompting her to run in fear as the shadow demons were in hot pursuit. Tiana tries to escape, but the evil Facilier catches up to her. He changes her back to human, and conjures up a vision of the fancy restaurant she dreamt of all her life. Facilier tries to use all of this to entice and manipulate Tiana into striking a simple deal with him: Hand over the talisman for her lifelong dream to finally be a reality. Though Tiana was against the deal, Facilier reminded her of all those people who doubted her before settling on the subject of her deceased father, telling her that his dream never came true, but by accepting the offer, she could make it happen. The discussion of James actually backfires on the evil doctor, as Tiana realizes that while her father never got what he wanted, he already had what he needed-- love, which mattered even more. She refuses the deal and tries to destroy the talisman but Facilier's shadow grabs it before handing it to his master. Laughing wickedly, Facilier removes the restraunt illusion and changes Tiana back to a frog.

Facilier taunts Tiana, telling her she'd always be a frog for "foolishly" denying his deal. With quick and clever thinking and a flick of her prehensile tongue, Tiana gets hold of the talisman and shatters it to pieces. Tiana watches in horror as Facilier is dragged, begging for his life, to damnation by voodoo spirits and demons as punishment for his failure in taking over the city. However, prior to being dragged to his demise, when Facilier was confronted by his "friends", he mentioned still having Naveen, making a shocked Tiana realize that Ray was telling the truth after all. After the terrifying spectacle concludes, Tiana heads back to the finished Mardi Gras parade.

Once at the parade, she witnesses Lawrence being arrested - learning that he was the "Naveen" seen on the parade float. Not too far away, Tiana finds the real Naveen, who was in the process of making a deal with Charlotte. If she turns him human through a kiss, he'd marry her, so long as she pays for Tiana's restaurant. Before the kiss, Tiana intervenes and reveals her feelings for Naveen, telling him that her dream would be incomplete without him in it. Seeing the touching sight, Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen, but only for Tiana's dream to come true. Unfortunately, the clock strikes twelve, and Charlotte is no longer a princess, as Mardi Gras was officially over. Nevertheless, Tiana and Naveen were content being frogs so long as they could stay together.

Losing a Friend
Right after their moment, darkness clouds Tiana and Naveen, as Louis reveals that Ray was fatally wounded by Facilier prior to the withc doctor's confrontation with Tiana and passes away. Tiana attends his funeral, and grieves over her friend. However, a star appears right beside beside Evangeline--and the mourning turns to jubilation. Ray is now with his love forever and Tiana and Naveen embrace.

Finale
Tiana and Naveen marry in the bayou, with Mama Odie taking charge of the ceremony. As they kiss, they turn back into humans, as Tiana is now a princess by marrying Naveen. After having a royal wedding as humans in New Orleans, Tiana and Naveen use the money that she saved to open the restaurant (with a little intimidation help from Louis, who frightens the snooty and arguably racist bidders into accepting what Tiana had). The restaurant, as hoped, is a big success with people from all around attending, just as Tiana dreamed. She renames it "Tiana's Palace", and enjoys a dance with Naveen to Louis and his band's music as Ray and Evangeline watch over them on what was a truly magical evening.

Sofia the First
Tiana appears in the episode "Winter's Gift", where Sofia is assisting a young faun in breaking an icy curse that constantly harms her loved ones. In order to do so, the faun (named Winter) must present a gift to the choleric Glacia the Ice Witch, in hopes that she will break the curse in exchange for the gift provided.

After being informed of the dilemma by Mama Odie, Tiana arrived and told Sofia that she was cooking a special meal as her perfect gift for her family and then sings the song "From the Heart", telling Sofia the perfect gift is one conjured from the heart, giving the young princess the idea on how to break the curse: That the gift should come from Winter's own heart.

In "Forever Royal" when Sofia is battling Vor inside her amulet, Tiana appears to Sofia in spirit form along with all the other princesses who have been summoned to help Sofia in her times of need and they encourage her to be brave and strong for they all believe in her.

Ralph Breaks the Internet
In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Tiana is a netizen in Oh My Disney where she and the other Disney Princesses meet their fans. She is first seen on the website's floor greeting visiting net users. Later, Vanellope becomes targeted by First Order Stormtroopers and glitches into the princesses' backstage room to evade them; when she does, Tiana can be seen admiring her dress at her vanity. Upon noticing Vanellope, Tiana and the other princesses leap into action under the belief that Vanellope is a threat; Tiana arms herself with a rolling pin. Vanellope explains that she's also a princess, which prompts Pocahontas to ask her what kind of princess she is. Tiana and Aurora (while the former is pulling the latter away from the spinning wheel) ask Vanellope if she has been cursed, which she denies.

Eventually, Vanellope is declared a true princess. Cinderella and Ariel come to admire Vanellope's "gown" they change into comfortable modern clothes to match. Tiana's hair is loose and wears a chartreuse top with a graphic that reads "NOLA" in green letters which has a crown in the center of the letter "O", yellow pants and brown shoes with yellow shoelaces, and is seen lounging next to Anna while drinking an iced coffee. After Ariel sings about her dream to wear a shirt which confuses Vanellope, Tiana explains what happens when a princess sings about her dreams. When C-3PO enters the room to inform the princesses that another quiz is about to start, Tiana tells them that they should go back to their gowns.

In the climax of the film, Tiana and the princesses witness Ralph about to fall to his death and work together to save him. After Ralph is saved and laid to rest on a mattress while unconscious, Tiana brings Naveen (in his frog form) to awaken Ralph with a classic, fairytale kiss. Once Ralph is awakened, Tiana and the princesses introduce themselves as friends of Vanellope and befriend Ralph as well.