We are just a few weeks early, but we couldn’t wait to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of this historical Disney classic Princess and the Frog! This film was a game changer for zydeco music! The YouTube link above takes you to the exact scene in the film with the song Terrance collaborated on with Randy Newman. “Gonna Take You There” features Simien on accordion, rubboard and triangle. However there is another important layer: the word “zydeco” is actually spoken by Ray the Lovesick Firefly, so along with the strong and colorful images of the accordion and rubboard, zydeco clearly has become immortalized in a classic Disney film! Good stuff. However even more significant though was the introduction of Disney’s first black princess, Tiana! This was huge, and still is. The story is also set in the colorful city of New Orleans with a special focus on jazz and Creole cuisine-GUMBO plays a big part in the storyline! Wow, right friends-so many milestones- we are forever grateful to Disney for shining a bright light on Louisiana music and culture! The classic animation is so beautiful and this is such a fun film with Ray the Firefly kind of stealing the show! We will always remember fondly our work on it as well as our memorable encounters with John Lasseter, his lovely wife Nancy, and the entire team at Disney. Below is a photo of Terrance and Cynthia Simien at the premiere on the Disney lot in Burbank, CA in November 2009.
