A Princess like None Other

Tony Award Winning Actress Anika Noni Rose Stars in Disney’s
“The Princess and The Frog”

Anika Noni Rose is enjoying a charmed existence.  “It would appear that way from the outside,” the stage, film and television actor replied when we spoke about her role as Princess Tiana in Disney’s animated feature, “The Princess and The Frog.”  The movie opens in theatres on December 11. 

Notwithstanding the celebration of her professional accomplishments, the Tony Award winning actress (for Tony Kushner’s “Caroline, or Change”) quickly appended my assertion of her euphoric career with a resolute response acknowledging the hard work that has been required every step of the way-- a vocational ethic that laid the foundation for  the star status she absorbs comfortably.

In addition, to the aforementioned, add singer to the list too. 

Birds of a feather, the trained thespian, who attended the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, enjoys a close friendship with Grammy nominated R&B artist, Ledisi (“Lost and Found), for whom Rose says she would gladly hum as a background vocalist just to sing alongside her.   The two met in New York when Ledisi was a cast member of “Caroline.”

Humming aside, the well-rounded Rose, whose appearance alongside Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls,” the 2006 Oscar-winning box office hit, allowed audiences to appreciate her vocal abilities. 

HBO’s “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” revealed her ability to master an African dialect and USA Network’s “The Starter Wife” demonstrates her flexibility as a character actor as well.

“I’ve been so very blessed in the roles that I’ve been able to take on but this is not overnight success,” the Connecticut native professed.  “This is a lot of hard work and training and I love what I do.  I feel [that] every time I’m able to snag something, it is special to me.”

Special is but one word to describe Princess Tiana, the first African American princess in the fabled Disney history, a role that will immortalize Rose among a dynasty of beloved animated characters that lace the memories of children and adults the world over.

Character Synopsis:

TIANA (voice of Anika Noni Rose) is certainly not the typical fairy-tale princess. Her daydreams are not of faraway kingdoms or castles in the clouds, but of personal success and a thriving business. “She has dreams of opening the finest restaurant in all of New Orleans,” says screenwriter Rob Edwards. “It’s a dream that’s been instilled in her from her father.”
Tiana is an attractive and independent African-American woman, hardworking and strong-willed, but still a loving and loyal friend and a compassionate soul. She treasures her mother and holds her father near and dear to her heart, and although she knows the way won’t be easy, believes that she can achieve her ambitions if she works hard enough.
In her sensible pursuit of her life’s goals, however, Tiana doesn’t really appreciate what is happening on her way to them. She can never simply slow down and enjoy herself. She has no time for romance, and is certainly not about to waste her time mooning over men—let alone kissing any frogs.

Q & A with Anika Noni Rose

Sandra Varner (Talk2SV):  In a number of ways, you embody the essence of a princess: your distinct lilting movements, rich voice quality, your intuitiveness and an apparent artistic deftness.  It appears that this role was a perfect fit.  

Anika Noni Rose (Rose): I am so thrilled about the whole thing I just want people to enjoy it.  I’m over the moon with it and I just hope that people are able to see and feel it.  I mean, apparently they couldn’t feel the same thing I feel because otherwise one would walking around with a big grin and looking sort of foolish no one would know why. But, I hope that this film is able to touch many people and I’m thrilled about it.

Talk2SV: Indeed, as you should be.  I got a chance to thank Rob Edwards, the screenwriter, for writing the story and for conveying the integrity, the beauty and compassion he attributed to the princess.  For many of us, during childhood, you would see a princess put before you and sort of insert yourself into that role.  Did the two of you have any conversations about his vision for your character?

Rose: Well, the thing is, Disney was really very inclusive of all of our input, down to my animator.  We chatted about what our thoughts were on the character and I was very clear on things that I wanted to see on her.  For example, I wanted to go outside of the story, physically.  I wanted to make sure that she (Princess Tiana) wasn’t a waif.  That she was not some ‘Skinny Minnie’ girl. I think we see enough of that and our young women need to be able to see an image that is possible for them. That was very important to me. Rob, along with the directors and producer were all very open when it came to our back and forth discussions about this princess.  The interesting thing was --because they’re all men and grown men at that-- they’ve never been a nineteen-year-old girl. There were times where I would have to say, ‘look I know that this is funny, but this is not going to play the way you want it to play because women are going to have a different thought about this particular saying than you do.’

Talk2SV: What was your reaction when you saw yourself on the poster as Princess Tiana, the first African American princess?

Rose:  The first time I saw her in color was during a toy fair in New York; I had to sing it was the first time that was singing a song publicly.  The guys were there and Peter, our producer,  all of them explaining how they wanted the sound check to go and giving me my cues on when to come out and start singing.  So, I was like, ‘great.’   I come out to sing and they were like, ‘we have a little something to show you.’ They hit play and I saw my face hanging over the side of that balcony: I couldn’t even breathe.  I just started to cry.  Even talking about it now makes me tear up.  I am such a wuss.  It was the most amazing, awesome … I don’t know if I have real words for it.  Every time something happens and we do something different I have a new experience with this.  This is something that I’ve always dreamed of doing. I didn’t dream of being a princess, I could have been a dandelion and I would have been really happy. But this is like when your dreams take off and become bigger than what you had imagined.  It’s amazing.

Talk2SV:  What impact do you think this film will have on audiences?

Rose: You know, that’s interesting because I think it will mean different things to different people as they sit and watch it in the theatre. It will mean different things depending on what time they grew up in: for my nephew, it will be the norm.  He will think nothing of it. It will be his first princess, period.  For my mother, it will be something she has been waiting for, and her child, no less.  For my grandmother, it will be something that she never thought would have happened.  Each person that sits in that theatre will have a different journey that they are bringing to the story and it will make the story different for them. So, I think that’s something really beautiful about what it is and what it will mean.  All said, Disney is ‘Americana’ and we have simply opened a new chapter in ‘Americana.’  Something that has been here for a very long time and hasn’t necessarily been shared.  In that respect, it’s just another step in the completion of the story of what ‘America is’ within this fantasy world.