Naveen


 * “Ashidanza!”
 * ―Naveen's signature phrase

Prince Naveen is the deuteragonist from Disney's 2009 animated feature film The Princess and the Frog.

Background

 * “At this point, you only have two choices. Woo and marry a rich young lady, or... Get a job!”
 * ―Lawrence to Naveen

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 didn't seem to mind, and were apparently too busy running the kingdom to have time with their son, as Naveen stated during his meeting with Tiana that his mother had servants read him stories before bed every night, implying she was never available to do so. By the time of adulthood, the King and Queen of Maldonia finally had enough of the prince's lazy antics and excessive partying, so they cut him off from the family wealth, forcing him to either get a job, or marry a rich young woman.

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 pleasurable company, as vocalized during "When We're Human". He had a strong disgust towards work, or labor, and hotly refused to ever engage in such activities, making attempts to avoid doing so at all cost. 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 on the former's constant festivities, but at the same time, was too caught up in his own amusement to ever consider the obviously antisocial Lawrence's feelings on the matter.

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 on, 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.

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, after their failed attempt to break the frog curse, although she never mentioned being a princess. 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.

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.

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. Tiana would also come to enjoy Naveen's antics, having been influenced to occasionally let loose and enjoy life, 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 lean and fairly well built, 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 was larger than Tiana, with a darker tone. He was originally designed as rather realistic, resembling a toad, but the animators felt the design was too unappealing and reworked the appearance.

Abilities
In the chapter book continuation of the film, The Stolen Jewel, it is revealed both Tiana and Naveen hold the ability of communicating with animals, having kept that ability from their time as frogs

New Orleans
In the film, Naveen is a prince from the kingdom of Maldonia who is visiting New Orleans for Mardi Gras. He saw a jazz band and he runs off to join their parade. It is revealed that due to his lazy and extravagant lifestyle, Naveen's family has 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 (and childhood friend of Tiana's). Before, however, Naveen dances around in the streets with performers, wearing civilian clothing and playing a small guitar. He expresses his joy towards jazz music and flirts with several pretty women – even attempting to flirt with Tiana, but she blows him off. He shrugs and continues on.
 * “Prince Naveen of Maldonia is coming to New Orleans!”
 * ―Charlotte La Bouff

Accompanied by his valet, Lawrence, meets a voodoo witch doctor named Doctor Facilier, who promises both men their dreams. Naveen doesn't really want to be tied down in marriage - he wants money and freedom. Faciler looks into Naveen's future and promises Naveen green, subtly referencing the fact that he will be turned into a frog ("you want tohop from place to place"). To Naveen, green refers to money. After making a deal with Facilier, Naveen realizes that his 'green' and his freedom from responsibility meant his new amphibian lifestyle, and that Lawrence has taken his place. At Charlotte's masquerade ball, Lawrence, in his Naveen disguise, begins to woo the young maiden, whilst Naveen remains trapped within a jar, hidden inside Lawrence's guest house.

The Kiss of FateEdit

 * “You must kiss me!”
 * ―Naveen to Tiana

Fortunately, Lawrence loosened the lid on the jar, after Naveen (most likely exaggerating in an attempt to escape) appeared to be suffocating inside the jar, thus allowing the prince to escape the villains. He later comes across a woman named Tiana. 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 fairytale. Naveen asks for a kiss from the supposed princess in order to free him from his magic curse, but Tiana denies, not wanting to kiss with a frog. To change her mind, Naveen explains 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, private restaurant (a payment that needs to be made in three days or less), and hoping his wealth could cover the monetary situation necessary, she reluctantly kisses the frog prince. Because she, herself, is not a princess, Tiana's attempt merely transforms her into a frog, as well. She immediately goes into a panic, which leads the two accidentally falling onto the ball's dance floor, inadvertently causing the drummer to pick up the pace of the music and frightening Charlotte. In turn, Big Daddy orders their dog, Stella to attack, and a chase follows. The chase ends with the two frogs, accidentally entangling themselves onto the strings of a few balloons, end up floating over towards the bayou of New Orleans.

The Bayous of New Orleans

 * “Help me get out of the swamp, and once I marry Charlotte, I shall get you your restaurant!”
 * ―Naveen's proposition to Tiana

As they float through the sky, Tiana is revealed to be a waitress; answering Naveen's question as to why the kiss didn't work, while Naveen is revealed to be broke. The two then begin to bicker as the reality of their horrendous situation infuriates them and their opposite personalities begin to clash. However, the balloon soon pops and the two find themselves stranded in the miserably cold bayous. On top of that, they're instantly attacked by predators and sent running for their lives. In the midst of the chaos, a frustrated Tiana indirectly declares she'll be looking out for herself whilst trying to find her way back home, but Naveen hastily promises to grant Tiana her restaurant once he marries Charlotte in exchange for helping him escape, as well, to which she agrees.

The next morning, they meet a jazz-playing alligator named Louis. After informing them of Mama Odie, a kind voodoo priestess with the powers to turn them human, Naveen and Tiana head off through the bayous in search of her, with Louis tagging along, hoping his dream to become human can be realized, as well. Along the way, they meet a romantic firefly named Ray, who explains they've been heading in the wrong direction due to Louis' incompetence. Ray then offers, with the help of his massive family, to light the way to the correct path. The four friends then head out to continue on with the journey to find Mama Odie. Though Naveen and Tiana constantly clash with one another through the trip, they're forced to work together when attacked by a trio of frog hunters. Through their own tactics, flavor, and skills, the two manage to defeat the hunters – and Tiana, much to Naveen's delight, reveals her fun side.

A New Perspective
Tiana and Naveen actually begin to realize their initial opinions on one another weren't exactly on point, as the two begin to slowly open up to each another. Specifically, Naveen learns Tiana isn't as much of a "stick in the mud" as he assumed, whilst Tiana learns to have a little enjoyment out of life despite difficult times, through Naveen's influence. Simialarly, during a break from traveling, Naveen becomes comfortable enough to confess his true discontent with his lifestyle. Because he's been 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. Tiana shows sympathy for the prince, and manages to teach him how to mince, granting him one of his first productive skills; 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 harbor 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 (ie "I adore you, I love you"). Shortly afterwards, however, he then takes the time to teach Tiana how to dance, as a token of gratitude for teaching him how to mince. Though she's reluctant at first, she 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.
 * “If I can mince, you can dance.”
 * ―Naveen to Tiana

Immediately after, Naveen is attacked by a hoard of shadow demons sent by Dr. Facilier. The shadows capture the frog prince, but they soon meet defeat at the hands of Mama Odie. The elderly, but eccentric, 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 realises 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.

Naveen's True Feelings
Mama Odie convinces Naveen that all 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 Mardi Gras, Charlotte La Bouff. Seeing that her father is king of Mardi Gras, Charlotte is Princess of Mardi Gras, 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.
 * “I am not in love with Evangeline, I am in love with Tiana!”
 * ―Naveen to Ray

The Battle
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 refueling 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 turns 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, he loses hold Naveen once again. The prince battles his former valet and manages to grab the talisman off the latter's neck. In the midst of the scuffle, Ray obtains the talisman and flees the church in search for Tiana. While Facilier pursues him, Lawrence is ordered to remain in hiding with Naveen in his grasp until he returns. During the wait, Tiana and Faciler engage in a confrontation, which ends in the destruction of the talisman and the witch doctor's demise; as he is no longer able to pay the debt he owns to his "friends" on the other side. With Facilier gone, Tiana looks for Naveen.
 * “We are back in buisness, boys!”
 * ―A triumphant Facilier upon regaining Naveen

The Stroke of Twelve
At the church, an impatient Charlotte bursts in to confront her fiancé, only to find the meek Lawrence, who's arrested for impersonation. Naveen, meanwhile, tries to make a deal with Charlotte, 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 without it, Tiana's dream will never come true. Tiana, however, tells him that her restaurant isn't 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 Tiana has found the fairytale she's always dreamed of, Charlotte agrees to kiss Naveen for Tiana, saying that Naveen will not have to marry her, telling Tiana that she has read about true love all her life, and that Tiana has found it. Before Charlotte is able to kiss Naveen, unfortunately, the clock strikes twelve. Charlotte apologises, but Tiana and Naveen decide it doesn't matter whether they're frogs or humans. So long as they're 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. The weak Ray asks why the two are still frogs, to which the couple explains they've accepted their fate due to the fact that they're together, nonetheless. Ray says that he likes that, and that Evangeline likes it too, before peacefully passing away. Naveen, Tiana, and Louis mourn his death and a funeral is held in the bayou with the rest of his firefly family members. After the service, the sky begins to shine brightly as it appears Ray has ascended into the night sky, becoming a star alongside Evangeline - finally receiving his wish of someday joining her side. The family cheers for their relative, whilst Naveen and Tiana rejoice in the beautiful moment.

Finale
Following these events, Naveen and Tiana are married by Mama Odie in the bayous. Once they're pronounced frog and wife and share a kiss, they magically transform back into humans. Their marriage made Tiana a princess, and kissing princess breaks the spell. The bayou celebrates their success and a second wedding is held in New Orleans. After the wedding celebration, Naveen accompanies Tiana in purchasing her restaurant. Together, the couple works to revamp the old sugar mill, eventually transforming it into a beautiful, elegant establishment. However, her father's picture called the restaurant Tiana's Place, but Tiana eventually decided to change it slightly, calling it Tiana's Palace.
 * “Get to it, Hop Along—give your lovely bride some sugar.”
 * ―Mama Odie to Naveen, during his and Tiana's wedding

As hoped, Tiana's restaurant was a massive success. Louis lives out his dream of performing in front of a human audience as a renowned musician, and Naveen learns about working hard 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 under the stars as Ray and Evangeline watch over them

Trivia

 * Before becoming "Prince Naveen of Maldonia", the character of the Prince was instead a British royal by the name of Henry. According to animator, Randy Haycock, this version of Naveen was inspired by J.C. Leyendecker, the young Carry Grant, as well as Brad Pitt.[1]
 * Naveen is an Indian name (meaning "new"), which suggests that Maldonia is a Eurasian country (the name of Maldonia is a mix between Malta and Macedonia), although his fluency in English, French and Italian might also indicate that Maldonia is a Mediterranean country, possibly near Monaco.
 * Naveen most often appears as a frog for most non-live appearances.
 * In the film Enchanted, released two years before The Princess and the Frog, a foreshadowing reference to Disney's then upcoming incarnation of the Frog Prince (Naveen) was made.
 * Naveen is fluent in French, as evidenced by his accurate translations of Ray's French lyrics for "Ma Belle Evangeline".