<P> Tiana is loosely based on both Princess Emma, the heroine of Baker's novel, and the princess who appears in the Grimm fairy tale . Clements described Baker's The Frog Princess as "a kind of fairy tale with a twist" because in it "the princess kissed the frog and instead of him turning into a prince she turned into a frog ." Clements and Musker pitched the idea for the film to Walt Disney Animation Studios CEO John Lasseter "as a hand - drawn film with an African American heroine", conceiving Tiana "as someone who would never have been a big fan of Disney fairy tales ." The character was inspired by famed restaurateur Leah Chase, who Clements and Musker met on their research trip to New Orleans . Clements elaborated, "There's a woman in New Orleans named Lee (sic) Chase who was a waitress and ultimately opened a restaurant with her husband...we met with her and we talked with her and she went to kind of into her story, her philosophy about food, which is a big element of the movie ." </P> <P> Tiana is recognized for being Disney's first African American princess . As the film's writers and directors, Clements and Musker claim that their decision to depict Tiana as an African American young woman came naturally simply as a result of the location in which the story takes place . Clements explained, "We didn't realize it was that big of a deal," and originally gave the character the French name "Madeleine"--"Maddy" for short . However, when the name drew controversy and speculation as a result of alleged racial connotations--according to various sources, the name "Maddy" was commonly used as a "slave name"--they decided to change it to the Greek name "Tiana", which rhymes with "Diana" and "rana" (Latin for frog). Though "Tiana" (Τιάνα) does not translate as "princess" (πριγκίπισσα), it can be decoded as a portmanteau, coined by blending the princess names Τία and Νταϊάνα . Vying to continue to approach the film with sensitivity, Clements and Musker sought guidance from screenwriter Rob Edwards, who is African American . In order to add emotional weight to the story, Clements and Musker placed further emphasis on Tiana's relationship with her father, James, who originally "wasn't as much in the picture ." </P> <P> Directors Ron Clements and John Musker opted against hiring "big stars" to voice the film's main characters, explaining, "It can help with the identification of that animated character with the voice if you don't get an instant mental picture of the real actor ." Several well - known African American female entertainers expressed interest in voicing Tiana, including recording artists Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys, and actress and fashion model Tyra Banks . The role of Tiana ultimately went to actress and singer Anika Noni Rose, who co-starred alongside Knowles and Hudson in Dreamgirls (2006). When Rose was personally contacted by Disney about voicing Tiana, her expectations were not particularly high . She explained, "I wasn't planning on being a princess . I thought I'd be like a weeping willow or something ." To prepare herself for her audition, Rose made sure that she "had a voice ready ." </P> <P> Rose auditioned for the role of Tiana a total of three times . Both "thrilled" and "ecstatic" by the fact that she would be voicing Disney's first African American princess, Rose, a longtime fan of Disney who had always wanted to voice a Disney character, was "surprised by some of the things that the community took issue with ." When the film was brought to her attention, Rose was drawn to it more by "the story of the young woman" rather than Tiana's ethnicity . "I don't think the cultural significance hit me until later," she told The Root . </P>

Who plays tina in the princess and the frog