The Bayou Animals are background characters who appear in the 2009 Disney animated feature film The Princess and the Frog. They are a group of animals that represent the fauna of Louisiana living in a swamp.
Background[]
The bayou animals consist of various animals that live in the bayou of New Orleans, mostly representing swamp animals found in the state of Louisiana. Most of the creatures that Tiana and Naveen encounter can consist of vertebrates and/or invertebrates from such as insects, turtles, herons, spoonbills, or alligators. However, unlike Louis or Ray, most of the creatures do not speak much.
Appearances[]
The Princess and the Frog[]
After Tiana and Naveen, who were turned into frogs, end up in the swamp of New Orleans via balloons during a masquerade party while arguing, Naveen suddenly gets a leech on his arm just as Tiana tosses it away just before a catfish leaps out of the water to eat it. The two suddenly encounter a crane which chases them across the swamp and attempts to eat them which the two escape from it. Having escaped from the crane, Tiana and Naveen suddenly encounter a large group of alligators swimming in front of them just as they attempt to eat the frogs only for Tiana and Naveen to avoid the alligators which they suddenly retreat. The next day, when Tiana convinced Naveen to help her break the spell which turned her into a frog while using a raft to return to the city of New Orleans, behind them is Louis, an alligator who recognizes the tune Naveen is playing which Tiana tells him to help break the spell that turned her into a frog.
Upon asking him, Louis agrees to help Tiana and Naveen find Mama Odie who would them turn both frogs back into humans just before singing the musical number "When We're Human". During the song while Louis sings, Tiana and Naveen sit on a rock which is revealed to be a turtle emerging from the water just before Louis lands on them. He then throws the turtle onto a branch just before blowing his trumpet onto its face, just before the turtle tries to free itself from the branch, due to its shell caught on it. As Naveen sings his part, a butterfly with red wings appears next to him, followed by more butterflies of different colored wings joining in the song dancing with Naveen just as they follow Louis across the swamp just before Tiana sings her part. At the end of the song, a turtle can be seen caught in a curling wave.
That night during a conversation between Louis and Tiana regarding about the latter's dream to open a restaurant as part of her late father's dream to open a restaurant, a swarm of mosquitoes passes by Naveen which he attempts to catch a mosquito only for Naveen to miss after several attempts of not catching one just before the encountering a firefly named "Ray" who approaches the two frogs and later introduces himself. In a plan to help the frogs find Mama Odie, Ray brings in a large swarm of fireflies where he introduces them to the frogs just before grabbing a caterpillar which he uses as an accordion to start the musical number "Gonna Take You There" which Tiana, Naveen, and Louis follow the fireflies across the swamp just before arriving at another area at the bayou and later bidding a farewell to the fireflies. Meanwhile, Tiana and Naveen encounter a trio of frog hunters, Reggie, Darnell, and Two Fingers who are hunting for frogs to capture them which the two trick the hunters into beating each other up, leaving their attempts to capture them to fail, just as the three hunters retreat. Later, during dinner time, Ray mentions a nutria and later a fish having a conversation with Tiana, Naveen, and Louis who are enjoying the gumbo which Tiana's father used to cook for her.
Later when Tiana and Naveen enter Mama Odie's hut, she introduces them to her pet snake Juju. A moth briefly appears when Mama Odie attempts to give the frogs some candy which it is found out that she is fooling them. During the musical number "Dig a Little Deeper", a group of spoonbills participate singing with Mama Odie in chorus while planning to help Tiana and Naveen about their desire to have a marriage so they can transform back into humans. Onboard a riverboat in a plan to help Tiana's dream come true, Naveen briefly wears a "bow tie" which he names it "Beaux" just before the bow tie is revealed to be a butterfly that flies away.
Back at the swamp after Ray was killed during the battle against Dr. Facilier, a large group of fireflies, alongside Tiana, Naveen, and Louis attend his funeral at the swamp where Ray's dead body floats onto a leaf just before reincarnating as a star just as the fireflies happily react to Ray who shines in the sky with Evangeline.
During the wedding between Tiana and Naveen at the swamp, a large group of swamp animals are seen attending the wedding between the two frogs, just as they both transform into humans. Amongst the animals attending the wedding are various assorted birds, deer, raccoons, rabbits, nutrias, beavers, squirrels, opossums, bullfrogs, and turtles attending the wedding, alongside Louis and a group of fireflies. Just before Tiana and Naveen kiss during their wedding, the butterfly which Naveen is wearing congratulates him. Just as Tiana and Naveen kiss each other, they suddenly transform into humans while a nutria, a raccoon, a turtle happily react to their kiss just as the animals cheer just before Tiana and Naveen continue their wedding at New Orleans.
During the credits of the film, amongst the animals seen are a group of butterflies flying away, a dragonfly past a log, a crawfish crawling on an alligator, two spoonbills opening a thicket of moss, and some catfish leaping out of the water.
Disney Parks[]
Tiana's Bayou Adventure[]
The bayou animals are set to appear in the log flume ride at Disneyland and Walt Disney World respectively consisting of various animals, mostly animatronic animals representing animals that live in the Louisiana swamp such as seen in concept art for the attraction. In addition to including some animals from the original film appearing, concept art also includes animal musicians which are created for this attraction as well as including an otter musician, which was created exclusively for this attraction.