As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- Naveen getting Louis to agree to help them.
- "Don't make me light my butt!" Ray vs. Facilier's minions. That is one tough firefly.
- Ray is only the SECOND being who's been able to even hurt the "friends", the only other being Mama Odie, who was able to banish/destroy them fully. Ray holds them at bay, burning pieces off them with his light(and only is defeated when Facilier swats him.)
- "A bug's got to do what a bug's got to do!"
- Mama Odie's entrance, banishing a number of the demons:
- Louis is living his dream at the Mardi Gras parade blowing his trumpet (mainly due to the fact that the marching band is wearing animal costumes and they think he's a guy in a gator costume), when he sees Ray being chased by Shadow Demons. What does ol' Louis do? He scowls and roars fiercely, and the crowd flees out of his path. That's right, he was willing and unhesitant to sacrifice his dream to help a friend.
- Tiana facing down Facilier at the end. Awesome does not cover it.
- Dr. Facilier's temptation of Tiana in the climactic scene is a crowning moment for them both — for the villain, his Breaking Speech (how could it be otherwise when delivered by Keith David?); for the heroine, her Kirk Summation response as she moves to destroy his talisman.Tiana: My daddy never did get what he wanted… But he had what he needed. He had love! He never lost sight of what was really important! And NEITHER. WILL. I!
- Another Crowning Moment for Facilier would be when his shadow stops Tiana from destroying the talisman (the first time she tried), before he turns her into a frog.
- And score one for Tiana, who promptly takes advantage of her frog-form's long tongue and MUCH smaller size to grab and smash the talisman before Facilier or his shadow can do anything!
- Major props to Tiana's quick thinking. She's pinned to the sidewalk, stuck as a frog, loa are closing in, and she's still got enough presence of mind to make that last strike by using her tongue to snatch the amulet. Especially because she gets over her Squick at being a frog and embraces the utility of her condition.
- Dr. Facilier's temptation of Tiana in the climactic scene is a crowning moment for them both — for the villain, his Breaking Speech (how could it be otherwise when delivered by Keith David?); for the heroine, her Kirk Summation response as she moves to destroy his talisman.
- "Friends On The Other Side" is Dr. Facilier's crowning moment, especially at the end when he tells Naveen to blame "my friends on the other side".
- Also, a crowning moment for the animators: just watch Facilier's dance!
- Another thing- the way Facilier is moving those tarot cards. Not even the best dealers in Las Vegas can top that!
- Terrifying though it may be, no one can deny that the reprise "The Friends On the Other Side" was a CMOA. Besides seeing Dr. Facilier get his comeuppance, it's so awesome to see his puppets, his Shadow Demons, and even his voodoo symbols turn against him in this final scene.
- ARE YOU REAAAAA-DY?!!Dr. Facilier: No, no...! Please, no... AAAAAHHH!!! Just a little more time!!! I promise I'll pay y'all back! I PROMISE!!!
- ARE YOU REAAAAA-DY?!!
- When Ray dies. Why is this awesome? It's a gutsy move for Disney, whom prudish parents seem to feel must avoid the Heroic Sacrifice, and has never, ever had any horrible death or Nightmare Fuel in their films unless it happens to the villain. Sure, there was Mufasa, but his was a first act Death by Origin Story.
- The whole movie qualifies since it shouts "Disney's back!" as loudly and awesomely as The Little Mermaid did 20 years earlier. History does indeed repeat itself.
- And the fact they managed it using one of the most classic fairy tales: Taking an old and over-used story and telling it in a way that still makes it a good and pleasant story is nothing but awesome storytelling.
- Visual Effects of Awesome: The beautiful sequence accompanying "Ma Belle Evangeline". Pond ripples, glowing flowers, Ray's light show...
- Tiana finally buying the sugar mill — racism/sexism gets trumped by a 700-pound and VERY angry alligator.
- We don't get to see what he did, but Tiana's father, James, a black man serving in the segregated U.S. Armed Forces during the Great War, did something that warranted the Distinguished Service Cross (the second highest American military award).
- Although Tiana is shown to work to the point of denying herself any social life, at no point does the movie imply that she should just "loosen up", "relax", or "lighten up" (Naveen may say these things, but he's made out to be a layabout, and eventually changes his tune). We're shown that Tiana's desires are valid, whether they be to start a business or be with the one she loves... and that the reality is that there will always be those who are unfairly made to work 5 times as hard as others, and still may very well fail due to institutionalized prejudices. Tiana's plight is just a reflection of the world she lives in. That's a ballsy position for a Disney movie to take.
