Chuck Canzoneri and the Frog Part 2 – Report From D23 “Princess and the Frog” Event
Our own Chuck Canzoneri was lucky enough to attend the D23 Night at “The Princess and the Frog” last night at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, and he reports back to us with this photo report:
They event set up special themed signage for the event. With that, you know it’s going to be good…
The path from the parking lot to the Welcome Center and the theater was marked with Prince Naveen’s tracks
The Welcome Center was a Soundstage, where Chuck checked in and picked up his free concessions
The stage was lined with Disney props
Most of them were from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film series, like this cannon…
Or this large model of Jack Sparrow’s hair beads, used in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
The masthead from the Dauntless
This is from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”
Time to go into the theatre which means we had to Chuck had to check in his camera
After the movie, everyone headed to another stage for the “Ultimate Disney Experience”
The bulk of the room was given to meet and greets with every official Disney Princess
Princesses everywhere you look
Seeing Ariel as a mermaid was something special, as she currently only appears in her human form at Disneyland
A meet ‘n greet with Ariel as a mermaid will likely be part of the upcoming Little Mermaid attraction at Disney’s California Adventure
Tiana took center stage
But the biggest line wasn’t to meet a princess…
In fact everybody was lined up for a different kind of meet and greet
It was John Musker, the film’s co-director. Chuck said he was wonderful and was in no rush to keep the line moving. Chuck was able to sit down and talk with him for about 10 minutes
He modeled his special “Princess and the Frog” Hawaiian shirt, which was designed by who else but John Lasseter
The other side of the stage had some themed games. They cost nothing to play, but no prizes were given out
VooDoo Vault was a basic velcro darts game
In Leap Frog you try to catapult beanie frogs onto raised lily pads
There was also a kids playground called Bayou Adventure
On this side they also sold cupcakes. Sadly, these were not free
Back on the animation side, they had a special Animation Academy where they would teach you to draw the frog versions of Tiana and Naveen
Special artwork from the production hung around this area
Chuck thinks this is one of the most beautiful shots in the film
Scattered around were some other Disney artifacts
This is the dress worn by the reference model for the film. That model can currently be seen in New Orleans Square, leading Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee
Finally we have what else but a gift shop 😉
This signed music sheet from the film hung behind the register
A Dr. Facilier shirt
The cast members working the event wore this “Princess and the Frog” sweater
It seems like it was another wonderful D23 evening
A special “Princess and the Frog” popcorn bucket
As is customary for D23 events, everyone received a free goody bag
Unfortunately this wasn’t the whole soundtrack, but was only three songs
Inside were the lyrics and some images from the film
The deck of cards matched those of the villain in the film. You ask a question, choose a card and there are yes, no and maybe answers on the other side
Chuck actually got a special treat inside his popcorn bucket, a series of character cards. This was completely random apparently
Unlike the goody bag, these were playing card sized and contained detailed character information on the back
Everyone also received a special Lithograph at the event
It’s from the film’s romantic number
Chuck got his Lithograph signed by John Musker
Thanks for the report Chuck, and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!