Disney's PRINCESS AND THE FROG Score May Be Eligible for Oscar Nomination for Original Score

The competition for the Academy Awards' Original Score category is heating up with 84 film scores eligible for inclusion - yet one film's inclusion as potential nominee may have barely squeaked in despite the Academy's staunch rules on eligibility.

Variety is reporting that Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog' has been placed on the "reminder list" which is mailed out to the 234 members of the Academy's music branch. This, despite the "diminished impact clause" which prohibits the inclusion of "scores diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs" from entering into competition for original song score. Under the specifics of this clause, Andrea Guerra's score for 'Nine', as well as the score for the film 'Where the Wild Things Are' were formally disqualified. 'The Princess and the Frog' features seven original songs by Randy Newman, as well as a piece by Ne-Yo for the film's end credits.

From Variety, "The rule was instituted in the mid-1990s, after wins by four Disney animated musicals in The category designed to reward "dramatic underscoring," not multiple songs. So a possible win for "original score" by a Disney animated musical this year would be ironic considering the origins of the rule."

However, 'Princess and the Frog' may not be completely exempt. Variety also reports that it's believed that a last-minute disqualification of the film score may eventually happen.

To read the rest of the story in Variety, please click here.

A musical set in the legendary birthplace of jazz -- New Orleans -- "The Princess and the Frog" introduces the newest Disney princess, Tiana, a young African-American girl living amid the charming elegance and grandeur of the fabled French Quarter. From the heart of Louisiana's mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a soulful singing crocodile, voodoo spells and Cajun charm at every turn.

Princess Tiana joins eight other Disney princess characters, who have generated $3 billion in global retail sales since 1999. Disney Princesses is the fastest-growing brand for the company's Consumer Products division reported .

Disney introduced its first non-white animated heroine in 1992's "Aladdin": a Middle Eastern character named Jasmine. Three years later an American Indian princess appeared in "Pocahontas."

The creation of the Chinese heroine from "Mulan" came in 1998. Other Disney princesses are the main characters from "Cinderella," "Sleeping Beauty," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid."

The film also such stage (and movie) greats as Anika Noni Rose (who voices Princess Tiana) Rose, John Goodman, Jenifer Lewis, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, and Peter Bartlett. Oprah Winfrey also lent her voice to the film as Princess Tiana's mother, Eudora.

Currently appearing in Shrek The Musical, Broadway favorite Jen Cody is also in the film as well, voicing Charlotte LaBouff.

The movie is written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and features the music of Randy Newman, who wrote 6 new songs for the film.

 

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