With inspiration from Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” comes Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland’s next great attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The attraction will open on June 28 at Disney World and in September at Disneyland Resort. To help keep the flavor of New Orleans and the spirit of the movie intact, the resorts turned to New Orleans native and musician Terence Blanchard and to Mama Odie herself “The Princess and the Frog” actress Jenifer Lewis. The ride takes place in the city during a Madi Gras.
Set in New Orleans, “The Princess and the Frog,” the film tells the story of Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing Prince Naveen, who has been turned into a frog by the evil voodoo witch doctor Facilier, Tiana becomes a frog as well and must find a way to turn Naveen and herself back into humans before it is too late. Through their adventure, Tiana and Naveen fall in love along the way.
TVMusic Network caught up with Lewis and Blanchard after their soulful “American Idol” performance of “Dig a Little Deeper” to celebrate the announcement of the attraction’s opening. The actress got a sneak peek of her animatronic before it was shipped to Orlando for placement on the attraction. “[Mama Odie] is my favorite animation character because she was human,” Lewis said. “Flo was a car in “Cars” but Mama Odie was a human. I was so blissful when it saw the animatronic. I was in bliss because I felt I had a breath of life. When I heard my voice come out of that thing…they took me out to the factory. So I got to see her and experience the magic of it. It kind of blew me away because out of all the animatronics Mama Odie looks the most human.”
For Lewis, the accolades continue. In addition to a Star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, and author of her memoir, “Walking in My Joy: In These Streets,” Lewis will record her life story for the Library of Congress as part of History Makers African American archives.
For Blanchard, a New Orleans native, it’s an honor to represent his hometown. “It’s been such an honor working on it, first of all because of the people behind it who don’t get any credit,” the two-time Oscar nominee said. “They deserve a lot of credit because they are the unsung heroes. People who have been working at the company for 30 years – 40 years, who brought this thing to life and to have my city and culture from my city as the backdrop of this is a huge honor.” Blanchard’s music will play for over an hour in the que line for the ride. “When they called me to do the music, I said how much music do you need for the que line, they said over an hour, that’s a lot of music…but what was cool about it was it gave us a chance to bring in a lot of local musicians and singers…to put them on the program. It’s going to be cool. They’re going to make it like a radio broadcast.”
Blanchard continues to stay booked and busy and is currently working on a TV Show, another doctorate and is preparing another tour with his band.
It’s down to the Top 3 contestants on “American Idol.” At next week’s finale, Abi Carter, Will Mosley, or Jack Blocher will be named the next American Idol.
