Lady and the Tramp
Clements and Musker had agreed early on that the style they were aiming for was primarily that of "Lady and the Tramp" (1955), a film which they and John Lasseter feel represents "the pinnacle of Disney's style". "After that, everything started becoming more stylized, like "Sleeping Beauty", "101 Dalmatians"—which are fantastic films as well, but there's a particular style (to "Lady and the Tramp") that's so classically Disney." "Lady and the Tramp" also heavily informed the style of the New Orleans scenes, while Disney's "Bambi" (1942) served as the template for the bayou scenes. "Bambi" was described as a stylistic reference for the painted backgrounds, as according to art director Ian Gooding ""Bambi" painted what it feels like to be in the forest instead of the forest" so "The Princess and the Frog" would in turn try capturing the essence of roaming through New Orleans.