| “ | All women enjoy the kiss of Prince Naveen | „ |
| ~ Naveen |
| “ | Ashidanza! | „ |
| ~ Naveen's signature phrase |
| “ | The only thing I know, is that one minute I am a prince, charming and handsome, cutting-a-rug, and the next thing I know...I am tripping over these. | „ |
| ~ Naveen. |
Prince Naveen is the deuteragonist of The Princess and the Frog. He is a young man in his early twenties. He is a gregarious, smooth-talking, and fun-loving prince who comes to New Orleans for the Jazz scene and with whom Tiana and Charlotte fall in love, in which is accompanied by his valet Lawrence. Due to being new in the city, he is persuaded by the shady Dr. Facilier into taking a tour of his office, which results in a curse transforming him into a frog. He is voiced by Bruno Campos. During the movie, he oftens makes exclamations in his native language of Maldonian, which is descended from Italian.
Personality
Prince Naveen is a fun loving and lazy, yet educated philanderer. He loves dancing, playing music, and most of all, women. Although he has a lot of innocent charm to him, the prince's life was spent spoiled, having servants wait on him hand and foot, day after day for years upon years. This, of course, makes him out to be an egotistical and lazy adult, who's only goal is to "live life to the fullest" via partying every night with beautiful women of all kind. Though not with malice, Naveen didn't seem to treat his servants very well, either, specifically his valet, Lawrence, whose constant lack of appreciation turns him to villainy. Whilst the prince was a heavy philanderer, he did seem to have a huge romantic side to him, which apparently was never used at full force before meeting and falling in love with Tiana for the first time.
Naveen is also one of the first Disney princes to have a heavily vain personality, constantly commenting on how gorgeous and wonderful he finds himself, much to the annoyance of Tiana and Lawrence. Still, underneath the vanity, Naveen isn't as confident as he likes to believe, ultimately confessing to Tiana his disappointment in not knowing how to do anything at all, as a result of being served and waited on all his life.
Film Role
In the film, Naveen is a prince from the kingdom of Maldonia who is visiting New Orleans for Mardi Gras. He saw a jazz band and he runs off to join their parade. It is revealed that due to his lazy and extravagant lifestyle, Naveen's family has cut him off from their fortune. Thus, he intends to marry a wealthy southern belle to regain a fortune, and he sets his sights on Charlotte La Bouff, daughter of the fabulously wealthy Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff (and childhood friend of Tiana's). Before, however, Naveen dances around in the streets with performers, wearing civilian clothing and playing a small guitar. He expresses his joy towards jazz music and flirts with several pretty women – even attempting to flirt with Tiana, but she blows him off. He shrugs and continues on.
Accompanied by his valet, Lawrence, meets a voodoo witch doctor named Doctor Facilier, who promises both men their dreams. Naveen doesn't really want to be tied down in marriage - he wants money and freedom. Faciler looks into Naveen's future and promises Naveen green, subtly referencing the fact that he will be turned into a frog ("you want to hop from place to place"). To Naveen, green refers to money. After making a deal with Facilier, Naveen realises that his 'green' and his freedom from responsibility meant his new amphibian lifestyle, and that Lawrence has taken his place. At Charlotte's masquerade ball, Lawrence, in his Naveen disguise, begins to woo the young maiden, whilst Naveen remains trapped within a jar, hidden inside Lawrence's guest house.
Fortunately, Lawrence loosened the lid on the jar, after Naveen (most likely exaggerating in an attempt to escape) appeared to be suffocating inside the jar, thus allowing the prince to escape the villains. He later comes across a woman named Tiana. Believing she's a princess due to her attire, Naveen hatches an idea to become human again by following the lore of The Frog Prince fairytale. Naveen asks for a kiss from the supposed princess in order to free him from his magic curse, but Tiana denies, not wanting to kiss with a frog. To change her mind, Naveen explains he comes from a fabulously wealthy family and offers a reward of some kind in exchange for her assistance. Unknown to Naveen, Tiana is actually a waitress, struggling to find a way to pay off the money required to purchase her very own, private restaurant (a payment that needs to be made in three days or less), and hoping his wealth could cover the monetary situation necessary, she reluctantly kisses the frog prince. Because she, herself, is not a princess, Tiana's attempt merely transforms her into a frog, as well. She immediately goes into a panic, which leads the two accidentally falling onto the ball's dance floor, inadvertently causing the drummer to pick up the pace of the music and frightening Charlotte. In turn, Big Daddy orders their dog, Stella to attack, and a chase follows. The chase ends with the two frogs, accidentally entangling themselves onto the strings of a few balloons, end up floating over towards the bayous of New Orleans.
As they float through the sky, Tiana is revealed to be a waitress; answering Naveen's question as to why the kiss didn't work, while Naveen is revealed to be broke. The two then begin to bicker as the reality of their horrendous situation infuriates them and their opposite personalities begin to clash. However, the balloon soon pops and the two find themselves stranded in the miserably cold bayous. On top of that, they're instantly attacked by predators and sent running for their lives. In the mix of the chaos, a frustrated Tiana indirectly declares she'll be looking out for herself whilst trying to find her way back home, but Naveen hastily promises to grant Tiana her restaurant once he marries Charlotte in exchange for helping him escape, as well, to which she agrees.
The next morning, they meet a jazz-playing alligator named Louis. After informing them of Mama Odie, a kind voodoo priestess with the powers to turn them human, Naveen and Tiana head off through the bayous in search of her, with Louis tagging along, hoping his dream to become human can be realized, as well. Along the way, they meet a romantic firefly named Ray, who explains they've been heading in the wrong direction due to Louis' incompetence. Ray then offers, with the help of his massive family, to light the way to the correct path. The four friends then head out to continue on with the journey to find Mama Odie. Though Naveen and Tiana constantly clash with one another through the trip, they're forced to work together when attacked by a trio of frog hunters. Through their own tactics, flavor, and skills, the two manage to defeat the hunters – and Tiana, much to Naveen's delight, reveals her fun side.
Tiana and Naveen actually begin to realize their initial opinions on one another weren't exactly on point, as the two begin to slowly open up to each another. Specifically, Naveen learns Tiana isn't as much of a "stick in the mud" as he assumed, whilst Tiana learns to have a little enjoyment out of life despite difficult times, through Naveen's influence. Simialarly, during a break from traveling, Naveen becomes comfortable enough to confess his true discontent with his lifestyle. Because he's been waited on hand and foot since childhood, he lacks basic skills – claiming servants would feed him, dress him and even brush his teeth for him – and feels rather useless as a result. Tiana shows sympathy for the prince, and manages to teach him how to mince, granting him one of his first productive skills; much to his pride and joy at the same time. Naveen also expresses amazement at Tiana's cooking skills – both her speed at mincing and the fact that she can make delicious food out of things she has only found in the bayou.
After a while, Naveen begins to harbor romantic feelings for the girl, and vice versa, though Tiana fails to realize, and with the fact that Naveen must marry Charlotte, the two force themselves to ignore their feelings - Tiana seemingly more so than Naveen. Ray, however, notices the blossoming feelings and makes an attempt to have them confess the truth during a romantic ballad he sings to his love, Evangeline, the evening star. Naveen translates Ray's French for Tiana, briefly causing her to believe that he is saying he loves her, given that he is translating literally (ie "I adore you, I love you"). Shortly afterwards, however, he then takes the time to teach Tiana how to dance, as a token of gratitude for teaching him how to mince. Though she's reluctant at first, she agrees and enjoys herself in the process. Naveen's feelings grow through the moment, as does Tiana, and the two nearly share a kiss, only to be stopped when Tiana 'comes to her senses' and reminds him that he is Charlotte's intended.
Immediately after, Naveen is attacked by a hoard of shadow demons sent by Dr. Facilier. The shadows capture the frog prince, but are defeated by Mama Odie. The elderly, but eccentric, voodoo priestess takes the group to her home, where Tiana and Naveen struggle to ask for assistance. Even so, Mama Odie is more than aware of what they want (to be human) but spends the time trying to explain their desires won't make them happy if they're just going to continue their lives as before. Naveen realises this when he sees Tiana dancing with Ray, but Tiana does not, thinking what Mama Odie means is that she needs to work even harder than before.
Mama Odie convinces Naveen that all he needs in life is love and that love would come from Tiana. Mama Odie then tells the friends that Naveen must indeed kiss a princess to break the spell, and the only available princess is the princess of Mardi Gras, Charlotte La Bouff. Seeing that her father is king of Mardi Gras, Charlotte is Princess of Mardi Gras, and thus can break the spell as long as the festival is running. During the trip home, Naveen attempts to propose to Tiana, believing that he could work jobs – possibly two or three – in order to pay for the cost of fixing up the mill into a restaurant. He then discovers that if Tiana cannot buy the mill the next day, her dream of owning a restaurant will be impossible. Naveen decides against proposing, so that Tiana will be able to have the restaurant by his marrying Charlotte.
After leaving to round up Louis and Ray, Naveen is captured by Facilier's shadow demons and delivered to the evil doctor back in New Orleans. There, Lawrence takes some of his blood, thus refueling the talisman and conjuring the princely disguise, once again. That night, during Mardi Gras, Charlotte and Lawrence's wedding is underway atop one of the parade floats. Also on the float is a chest with an imprisoned Naveen. Ray manages to find the frog prince and frees him, allowing Naveen to attack Lawrence, which in turns puts a stop to the wedding before the marriage is complete. A frustrated Lawrence grabs Naveen and heads into a nearby church where, while distracted by Facilier's scolding, he loses hold Naveen once again. The prince battles his former valet and manages to grab the talisman off the latter's neck. In the mix of the scuffle, Ray obtains the talisman and flees the church in search for Tiana. While Facilier pursues him, Lawrence is ordered to remain in hiding with Naveen in his grasp until he returns. During the wait, Tiana and Faciler engage in a confrontation, which ends in the destruction of the talisman and the witch doctor's demise; as he is no longer able to pay the debt he owns to his "friends" on the other side. With Facilier gone, Tiana looks for Naveen.
At the church, an impatient Charlotte bursts in to confront her fiancé, only to find the meek Lawrence, who's arrested for impersonation. Naveen, meanwhile, tries to make a deal with Charlotte, promising marriage in exchange for paying all expenses necessary for Tiana to purchase her restaurant. Charlotte agrees, but before the two can kiss to break the spell, Tiana arrives. She pleads for Naveen to reconsider, but the prince refuses to revoke his offer, knowing without it, Tiana's dream will never come true. Tiana, however, tells him that her restaurant isn't as important as the love they share; confessing her feelings at last. Pleasantly surprised, Naveen returns the affections and their love is proclaimed. Touched by the moment and happy Tiana has found the fairytale she's always dreamed of, Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen for Tiana, saying that Naveen will not have to marry her, telling Tiana that she has read about true love all her life, and that Tiana has found it. Before Charlotte is able to kiss Naveen, unfortunately, the clock strikes twelve. Charlotte apologises, but Tiana and Naveen decide it doesn't matter whether they're frogs or humans. So long as they're together, they can be happy.
Just then, a distressed Louis arrives on the scene, carrying a wounded Ray in his palms. He explains Ray was fatally injured by Facilier during the battle. The weak Ray asks why the two are still frogs, to which the couple explains they've accepted their fate due to the fact that they're together, nonetheless. Ray says that he likes that, and that Evangeline likes it too, before peacefully passing away. Naveen, Tiana, and Louis mourn his death and a funeral is held in the bayou with the rest of his firefly family members. After the service, the sky begins to shine brightly as it appears Ray has ascended into the night sky, becoming a star alongside Evangeline - finally receiving his wish of someday joining her side. The family cheers for their relative, whilst Naveen and Tiana rejoice in the beautiful moment.
Following these events, Naveen and Tiana are married by Mama Odie in the bayous. Once they're pronounced frog and wife and share a kiss, they magically transform back into humans. Their marriage made Tiana a princess, and kissing princess breaks the spell. The bayou celebrates their success and a second wedding is held in New Orleans. After the wedding celebration, Naveen accompanies Tiana in purchasing her restaurant. Together, the couple works to revamp the old sugar mill, eventually transforming it into a beautiful, elegant establishment. However, her father's picture called the restaurant Tiana's Place, but Tiana eventually decided to change it slightly, calling it Tiana's Palace.
As hoped, Tiana's restaurant was a massive success. Louis lives out his dream of performing in front of a human audience as a renowned musician, and Naveen learns about working hard and enjoying life to the fullest at the same time while becoming an employee for Tiana, making both himself and his visiting family proud. As the amazing evening carries on, Naveen and Tiana share a romantic dance under the stars as Ray and Evangeline watch over them.
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