Prince Naveen

### Animators

Randy Haycock, Russ Edmonds, Pres Romanillos, Randy Cartwright, Richard Hoppe, Bill Waldman, Sam Marin, Sandro Cleuzo, Bob Davies, Roberto Casale, Juliet Stroud-Duncan, Richard D. Rocha, Dan Tanaka, Marcia Kimura Dougherty, Dietz Toshio Ichishita and Yoon Sook Nam

### Occupation

Prince of Maldonia
 Employee of Tiana's Palace

### Home

Maldonia (Birthplace)
 New Orleans, Louisiana

### Parents

King of Maldonia (Father)
 Queen of Maldonia (Mother)

### Siblings

Prince Ralphie (Brother)

**Prince Naveen** is the deuteragonist of the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog.

Naveen is the eldest prince of Maldonia, who prides himself in being charming and handsome. While visiting New Orleans, Naveen was transformed into a frog by a wicked witch doctor. Only by kissing a princess can Naveen break the spell and become human again. He comes across a woman named Tiana whom he kisses, believing she is a princess due to her attire, but due to her not being an actual princess, she too is transformed into a frog, thus having to face the same problem as him.

## Background

As mentioned above, Prince Naveen is native to the kingdom of Maldonia, where he lives alongside his parents, the king and queen and his younger brother, Prince Ralphie. Naveen is quite the freeloader and has spent all his life being waited on, never learning to do a thing for himself, including activities as basic as simple cooking. His parents were in all likelihood, too busy running the kingdom to have time with their son, as Naveen stated that his mother had servants read him stories before bed every night, implying she was never available to do so herself. Despite this, they were aware of his spoiled behaviour and by the time of adulthood, the King and Queen of Maldonia finally had enough of the prince's lazy antics and excessive partying, and disinherited him from the royal family. Even if his parents would not change their minds, Naveen now had to find some way to become self-sufficient in order to survive. Lawrence, however, suggested a way he would not have to worry about maturity, which was to find a young woman with money, and marry her. Failing that, Naveen would ultimately have to accept becoming self-sufficient, as Lawrence put it... to get a job.

### Personality

Though not malicious, or particularly antagonistic, Naveen was extremely spoiled, lazy, and vain at the start of the film, as a result of his privileged upbringing. Arriving in New Orleans with intent to marry Charlotte La Bouff for her wealth (albeit forcibly), Naveen's only concern was "living life to the fullest" by partying as much as possible, preferably with a pleasurable company, as vocalized during "When We're Human". He had a strong disgust towards work or labour and hotly refused to ever engage in such activities, making attempts to avoid doing so at all costs. This would often annoy surrounding characters such as the prince's valet, Lawrence, who Naveen unintentionally humiliated for a number of years, to the point where Lawrence was driven to vengeful villainy. In reality, Naveen simply wanted his pushy valet to join in the festivities, but he was blind to two factors. First, Lawrence was antisocial and was ill at ease in such surroundings. Second, while Naveen avoided work, Lawrence had to do a lot of it, especially waiting on Naveen, and it reached a point of frustration for the overworked butler.

As mentioned, Naveen was also extremely vain, constantly commenting on his looks, his ability to arouse women, and was seemingly stuck with a mindset that all women were putty in his hands, in terms of romantic interest. He was also mentioned (in a boastful manner) to have dated "thousands" of women over the course of his lifetime, thus far, additionally commenting during "When We're Human" that having "a redhead on his left arm, a brunette on his right, and a blonde or two" to be examples of a perfect way to enjoy life, indicating that he was a heavy philanderer. However, as Naveen continued to interact and spend time with Tiana during the course of their adventures, Naveen loses his philandering behaviour as Tiana becomes the first girl with whom he has ever fallen in love with and wants to settle down.

Naveen was also incapable of admitting his wrongdoings, and would instead put blame on someone else should trouble occur, such as blaming Tiana for "lying to him" about being a princess (even though she never told him she was a princess), after their failed attempt to break the frog curse. When Tiana later states they are going to return to New Orleans and undo the mess he got them into, he states he was "not the one parading around with a phony baloney tiara." He also refused to admit his foolishness in easily trusting a shady figure such as Dr. Facilier, the man responsible for the curse, by claiming the witch doctor was "very charismatic", making his schemes irresistibly tempting. However, Naveen grows take to responsibility for his mistakes and learn from them during his time as a frog.

Despite his shortcomings, Naveen is not as confident as he would like to believe and can be quite humble, devoted, and romantic. The strong-willed and ambitious Tiana would heavily influence the prince, and she would unknowingly bring out the best in his character, motivating him to alter his dreams and make something of himself. From that moment forward, Naveen was no longer concerned with parties and lazing, but instead set his sights on working to both better himself and to help make Tiana's dreams a reality, becoming a selfless individual who also valued the happiness of others. When he finally does admit his shortcomings, he appears very ashamed of himself, but becomes a dedicated person to make a living for himself and to make Tiana happy.

Free-spirited and lively, Naveen has a positive tendency of bringing joy to others. While initially a nuisance to Tiana, Naveen was quick to become close friends with Louis and Ray, as well as New Orleans' common citizens, who all enjoyed the prince's fun-loving nature. Naveen returned the affections by serving as a supportive friend, championing Louis' dream to become a musician, Ray's love for what appeared to be a mere star, and even offered to buy all of his new acquaintances in New Orleans a drink, just for the sake of doing so, despite not being able to afford such a promise. He tends to have a laid-back attitude towards life and never lets things upset him too much - he does not even appear overly upset at being turned into a frog but instead treats it more like a new experience. Tiana would also come to enjoy Naveen's fun-loving nature, having been influenced to have life enjoyment, herself, by the prince—something she originally refused to do, to an unhealthy degree. He was also passionate about the art of music, specifically jazz music, finding it beautiful, and was shown to highly admire and recognize New Orleans as the birthplace of the genre.

### Physical Appearance

Naveen's supervising animator was Randy Haycock, who had previously animated characters such as Simba and Pocahontas, in both his human and frog form. Naveen is a muscular, average-sized young man with wavy, dark brown hair, and amber eyes. He has a slightly lighter skin tone than Tiana and often seen wearing commoner clothes over prince-like clothing. By appearance, he resembles his voice actor Bruno Campos, who, as mentioned above, is Brazilian born, giving Naveen a Brazilian-esque appearance.

When first introduced, Naveen is seen wearing a dark cream vest with a white shirt, accompanied by a reddish, orange ascot, fitting into the style of traditional New Orleans of the 1920s. At the end of the film, however, Naveen is featured in a fresh, new formal attire, with heavy and light shades of green, matching Tiana's official princess gown. The princely attire is also featured with a cape, going down just below Naveen's waist.

As a frog, Naveen had olive-green skin, a lighter green tone on the front of his body, two darker green stripes on each leg, a darker green skin tone on his back with 6 six darker green spots. Compared to Tiana, he was larger and had darker skin tone and the only human features he retained in his frog form were his voice, teeth, and amber eyes. He was originally designed as rather realistic, resembling a toad, but the animators felt the design was too unappealing and reworked the appearance.

## Film Appearances

### The Princess and the Frog

In the film, it is revealed that due to his lazy and extravagant lifestyle, Naveen's parents have 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. Before, however, Naveen dances around in the streets with performers, wearing casual civilian clothing and playing a ukulele. He expresses his joy towards jazz music and flirts with several pretty women - even attempting to flirt with Tiana, but she ignores him. While accompanied by his valet, Lawrence, Naveen meets a voodoo witch doctor named Dr. Facilier, who promises both men their dreams. Naveen doesn't really want to be tied down in marriage - he simply wants money and freedom. During the song "Friends on the Other Side", Facilier looks into Naveen's future and promises Naveen "to be free, hop from place to place which takes green". After making a deal with Facilier, Naveen is tied to his seat by two snakes for Facilier to cut his finger with his Talisman to fill it with his blood, then is transformed into a frog and imprisoned while Lawrence takes his place as Charlotte's suitor. At Charlotte's masquerade ball, Lawrence, disguised as Naveen, begins to woo the young maiden, whilst Naveen remains trapped within a jar, hidden inside a cupboard in Lawrence's guest house.

Fortunately, Lawrence loosened the lid on the jar, after Naveen appeared to be suffocating, thus allowing the prince to escape when Facilier and Lawrence were not paying attention. Shortly after, he comes across a woman named Tiana who squashes him with a book after he introduces himself to her upon unintentionally scaring her. Believing she is a princess due to her attire, Naveen hatches an idea to become human again by following the lore of The Frog Prince fairy tale. Naveen asks for a kiss from the supposed princess in order to free him from Facilier's magic curse, but Tiana denies, not wanting to kiss a frog. To change her mind, Naveen explains that 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 restaurant (a payment that needs to be made in three days or less). Hoping his wealth could cover the monetary situation necessarily, she reluctantly kisses the frog prince. Due to Tiana not being a real princess, however, Naveen remains a frog and Tiana is transformed into a frog as well. Horrified and enraged by her unexpected transformation, Tiana attacks Naveen resulting in the two get launched onto the ball's dance floor, frightening Charlotte when they land in her dress. In turn, Big Daddy orders their dog, Stella, to attack them. The chase ends with Naveen and Tiana accidentally entangling themselves onto the strings of a few balloons and floating into the sky. As they float into the sky, Facilier and Lawrence watch them with anger and anxiousness then hurry back to the guesthouse where they left Naveen in a jar in a cupboard and discover that he really has escaped.

As they float downward to the bayou, Naveen explains that he was transformed into a frog by the Shadow Man. Tiana then reveals herself to be a waitress, not a princess which answers the question as to why the kiss didn’t break the curse before Naveen reveals himself to be broke. As the two begin to bicker over who is at fault and who was lying, the balloons pop, and the two are stranded in the bayou where they are attacked by predators. During the attack, Naveen states to Tiana that he intends to become fabulously wealthy again once he marries Charlotte. After Tiana asks him if he will keep his promise and get her restaurant once he and Charlotte are married, Naveen is intending to go back on the promise, stating he made that "promise to a beautiful princess, not a cranky waitress" before they are attacked by alligators resulting in the two getting launched into the water. Tiana swims into an old hollow tree trunk through a small hole in the bottom underwater while Naveen reaches the bottom of the trunk on land at the same time the alligators are ferociously leaping in and out of the water. While Tiana nervously watches the alligators leaping, Naveen reveals himself to be right below her and asks her to lower the vine to help him inside. Still mad at him, Tiana only commands Naveen to find his own tree, but when the alligators spot Naveen and approach him, ready to eat him, he fearfully and hastily promises to grant Tiana her restaurant once he marries Charlotte in exchange for helping him escape the swamp, which she agrees to and pulls him into the tree trunk with her. The next morning, they meet a jazz-playing alligator named Louis. Louis informs the duo of Mama Odie, a kind voodoo priestess with the power to turn them human. Guided by Louis, Naveen and Tiana head off through the bayous in search of her. Along the way, they meet a romantic firefly named Ray, who explains they have been heading in the wrong direction due to Louis' incompetence and offers to light the way to the correct path. Although Naveen and Tiana constantly clash with one another through the trip, they are forced to work together when attacked by a trio of frog hunters. By utilizing their individual strengths, the two manage to defeat and scare away the hunters - in during which, Tiana reveals that she can be fun and not just a "stick-in-the-mud."

Tiana and Naveen actually begin to realize their initial opinions on one another were not exactly on point, as the two begin to slowly open up to each other. Specifically, Naveen learns Tiana isn't as much of a "stick in the mud" as he assumed, whilst Tiana learns to have enjoyment out of life, despite difficult times, through Naveen's influence. Similarly, during a break from traveling, Naveen becomes comfortable enough to confess his true discontent with his lifestyle. Because he has 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 when his parents cut him off. Tiana shows sympathy for the prince, and manages to teach him how to mince, granting him one of his first productive skills; which she compliments him on 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 harbour 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 (i.e. "I adore you, I love you"). Shortly afterward, however, he attempts to dance with Tiana, but Tiana is too reluctant to and hops aside, stating that she has never danced. However, Naveen quickly pulls her back toward him, telling her that if he can mince, she can dance and then takes the time throughout the rest of the song to teach Tiana how to dance, as a token of gratitude for teaching him how to mince. Tiana 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 which he starts to feel regret for. Immediately after, Naveen is attacked by a hoard of shadow demons sent by Dr. Facilier. The shadows capture the frog prince, but fortunately, they soon meet defeat at the hands of Mama Odie who asks afterward who has been messing with Dr. Facilier, to which Louis points at Naveen, who then smiles sheepishly.

The elderly and blind, but eccentric and wise, 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 realizes 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 helps Naveen realize that what 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 the Mardi Gras parade, Charlotte La Bouff. Seeing that her father is the king of the Mardi Gras parade, Charlotte is Princess of the Mardi Gras parade 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 refuelling 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 turn 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, Naveen starts to battle his former valet and pulls the talisman off the latter’s neck. In the midst of the scuffle, Ray obtains the talisman and flees the church with it. While Facilier pursues him, Lawrence is ordered to remain in hiding with Naveen in his grasp until the witch doctor returns. During the wait, Ray hands the talisman over to Tiana telling her to keep it away from Facilier at all costs. Tiana and Facilier then engage in a confrontation, which ends in the destruction of the talisman. Tiana overhears him tell his friends on the other side that Naveen is still locked up before the witch doctor meets his demise. With Facilier gone, Tiana heads back to the parade to find Naveen.

At the church, an impatient Charlotte bursts in to confront her fiancé, only to find the meek Lawrence, who finally lets go of Naveen and then is arrested for impersonation. Naveen, meanwhile, tries to make a deal with Charlotte, after once again, being squished by a book from her, 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 that without it, Tiana's dream will never come true. Tiana, however, tells him that her restaurant is not 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 that Tiana has found the fairy tale she has always dreamed of, Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen for him and Tiana, no marriage required. Unfortunately, the clock strikes twelve before she can and the frog curse supposedly becomes permanent. Charlotte apologizes, but Tiana and Naveen decide it does not matter whether they are frogs or humans. So long as they are 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. After bidding farewell, he peacefully passes away. Naveen, Tiana, and Louis attend the funeral held in the bayou with the rest of his firefly family members. After the service, the sky begins to shine brightly as Ray has ascended into the night sky, becoming a star alongside Evangeline, finally receiving his wish to someday join her side. Naveen, Tiana, Louis, and all of Ray’s firefly family embrace in joy.

Following these events, Naveen and Tiana are married by Mama Odie in the bayous where Louis, the firefly family and many other bayous animals attend their wedding. Once they are pronounced frog and wife and share a kiss, they magically transform back into humans. Their marriage officially made Tiana a princess and kissing a princess breaks the spell. The bayou celebrates their success and a second wedding is held in New Orleans to make it official in front of their families and friends. After the wedding celebration, Naveen accompanies Tiana in successfully purchasing her restaurant with a little intimidation help from Louis. Together, the couple works to revamp the old rundown sugar mill, eventually transforming it into a beautiful, elegant establishment. Tiana’s 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 is a massive success with people from all around attending, Louis lives out his dream of performing in front of a human audience as a renowned musician, and Naveen learns about working hard to do good for others 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 on the roof of the restaurant as Ray and Evangeline watch over them.

### Ralph Breaks the Internet

Naveen appears in his frog form, as a netizen originating from Oh My Disney in Ralph Breaks the Internet. After the princesses save Wreck-It Ralph from plummeting to his doom, he is laid to rest in a style similar to Snow White. As a comical homage to "true love's kiss", Tiana brings forth Naveen to wake Ralph with a kiss. When Ralph awakens, Naveen throws him a flirtatious glance. A dazed Ralph groggily thanks Naveen, mistaking him for Frogger from the arcade game of the same name. Naveen is then seen being held by Tiana for the remainder of the scene.

## Television Appearances

### Once Upon a Time

Naveen appears during the second half of season 7 of the series, where he is portrayed by Jeff Pierre. Naveen meets Tiana, Henry, and Cinderella on the day of Tiana's coronation. When the kingdom's subjects are under attack, he decides to join them. At first, Tiana does not trust Naveen, but later warms up to him. He tells her that ever since his brother died, it has been hard for him to rule Maldonia all by himself. Later, when the two of them are sitting in a boat in a swamp, an alligator attacks Naveen. Tiana saves him by throwing a spear at the gator. Naveen is badly injured and nearly dies. Dr. Facilier appears and said that he lured Naveen to the Bayou to get a necklace out of the alligator. Tiana makes a deal with Facilier to save Naveen, but Facilier magically transports him to a place where she'll never find him.

In the Hyperion Heights neighbourhood, Naveen appears under the cursed persona named Drew. He is a food truck vendor who knew Sabine in the past. During a food event, Sabine's food tuck is forced to close down since she does not have a permit. Sabine accuses Drew of stealing her permit because she believes he is afraid of the competition. Later, Drew apologizes to Sabine for everything that has happened and gives Sabine his permit, so she can reopen her food truck. After Drew helps Sabine with making food for the residents of Hyperion Heights, it is then revealed that Drew has been working for Mr. Samdi, the cursed counterpart of Dr. Facilier, and is only trying to make Sabine gain his trust as part of a plan. However, after the curse is broken, he breaks free from Samdi's control and reunites with Sabine.

## Other Appearances

In the Walt Disney Animation Studios' YouTube video Drawing Naveen, the frog prince struggles to bring himself to animated perfection as a joking animator (Randy Haycock) constantly toys with his froggy appearance.

In promotion for the film, Naveen (as a frog) appeared in a GEICO commercial, asking the car insurance company's gecko mascot for help after he has been transformed into a frog by Facilier. The gecko then advises him to find a princess to help break the curse.

In anticipation for the 82nd Academy Awards, Naveen and Louis made an appearance in an online promotion, accepting the film's nomination with pride.

Naveen briefly appears on TV in the short Us Again, when the old man is flipping through channels.

## Disney Parks

Naveen has made appearances at both the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World, along with his co-stars during Tiana's Showboat Jubilee. Currently for meet-and-greets, however, Naveen is most likely to appear in Disneyland Paris or the Magic Kingdom, above the rest.

### Disneyland Resort

Naveen's frog self can be seen as a part of the decor in Mickey's Soundsational Parade. He can also be spotted as a frog and a human in The Princess and the Frog's Enchanted Window displays on Main Street, U.S.A.

In the original World of Color, Naveen can be seen twice. He is first seen during the "So Close" sequence and later during the show's finale, kissing Tiana.

Animatronic versions of Naveen (as a human and frog) can also be seen in the Enchanted Window display along Main Street, U.S.A.

### Walt Disney World Resort

In Florida, Naveen has his own spell card known as "Prince Naveen's Army of Frogs" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.

Naveen also makes a cameo during the bubble montage of Disney's Hollywood Studios version of Fantasmic!

Naveen also appears in Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire, in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom.

### Disneyland Paris

In Paris, Naveen and Tiana joined the cast of Disney characters in Disney's Showtime Spectacular, where they celebrated the magic of romance. He dances with Tiana and other princes and princesses at The Starlit Princess Waltz.

He also played a role in the riverboat show, Dr. Facilier's Carnival-Loween.

### Tokyo Disney Resort

In Japan, Naveen does not meet at the resort, but appears in the Tokyo DisneySea version of Fantasmic!

### Shanghai Disneyland

In Shanghai, Naveen is featured inside the Enchanted Storybook Castle, being depicted on The Princess and the Frog-themed mosaic mural, as well as a wall carving display alongside Tiana. Naveen also makes a cameo in Ignite the Dream, during the finale, alongside Tiana.

### Disney Cruise Line

Naveen plays a minor role in the show Believe on board the Disney Dream cruise ship. Aboard the Disney Wonder, Naveen's likeness appears throughout the Tiana's Place restaurant.