Return to form — 'Frog Princess' is Disney's first foray into hand-drawn animation in 5 years

Disney's Lasseter said "Frog Princess" will be a musical in the same vein as "Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast." And it will feature, for the first time, an African-American lead character.

Oscar-winning songwriter and New Orleans native Randy Newman is writing the songs for the film and was on hand at Disney's shareholder gathering to perform one with a brass band.

It was as emotional a gathering as a shareholder meeting could get, as roughly 300 shareholders showed up, many of them from the New Orleans region. Several of those had had flooding in their homes.

Betty Edler, a Disney shareholder and resident of suburban Metairie, was at the meeting with her husband, Edward. The couple's home was deluged with 6 inches of water — a modest amount in comparison with most of the region's afflicted homes — but enough to force the Edlers to tear out sheetrock and completely revamp their first floor.

A shareholder for 10 years, Edler was grateful to be able to attend her first Disney meeting, which she said had come at an opportune time. "This city can use any kind of boost it can get," she said.