Disney’s latest animated gem, The Princess and the Frog, has quite a burden on its shoulders. In addition to being the studio’s first hand-drawn film in 6 years, it’s the first new “princess” movie since Mulan in 1998 (though I still don’t know why they count Mulan as a princess, meaning it’s the first true princess movie since 1995’s Pocohontas). And of course the film features the first Black princess in Disney history, a milestone so late in coming that the generation of kids watching today probably won’t even notice.

Still, it’s touching to think of all the little girls out there, their rooms littered with Belle, Ariel and Jasmine merchandise, who for the first time will see a princess onscreen who looks like them.

Even better, Tiana (voiced by Akina Noni Rose) is of the new breed of Disney heroines who don’t need or want a prince to fulfill their dreams. Her goal is to own a restaurant and she’s determined to work her fingers to the bone to achieve it. In the film’s touching opening scenes, a young Tiana’s father reinforces that work ethic after she watches a goofy, spoiled friend go ga-ga over the idea of a fairy tale romance. Of course, in typical Disney fashion, her father doesn’t make it to the second reel (are the Parrs the only two-parent household in a Disney film??).

The prince in this fairy tale comes in the form of Naveen, a happy-go-lucky slacker from the fictional land of Maldonia. Naveen, voiced by Bruno Campos, would rather play jazz than deal with the pageantry of his position, and has been cut off from his fortune by his disapproving parents. He and Tiana (in their various incarnations) have an easy chemistry that rivals anything you’ll find in a live-action romantic comedy.

The film is set in New Orleans during the 1920s and that backdrop provides much of what is fresh in this very familiar story. Previous Disney films have been set in the jungle, the French countryside, China, the Middle East, even under the sea. This is the first I can think of that captures an American city, and it does so lovingly.

And of course the New Orleans setting opens the door for some splendid jazz, courtesy of Randy Newman, who wrote the score and a handful of songs (for this is, in classic hand-drawn tradition, a musical). The tunes sound great but nothing here rises to the showstopping level of ‘A Whole New World,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ or ‘Reflection.’

Tiana is joined by a supporting cast that includes a trumpet-playing alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a Cajun firefly (Jim Cummings), who briefly threatens to be annoying but turns out to be the most touching character in the film. The villain, Doctor Facilier (Keith David), is a voodoo priest who turns Prince Naveen into a frog and kicks the plot into high gear. The kiss of a princess is required to break the curse, but what happens if the kiss comes from a regular girl? Tiana finds that out the hard way.

Overall, The Princess and the Frog isn’t on the level of Disney’s finest hand-drawn achievements (I’d rank Aladdin and Mulan at the top of that list) and it doesn’t approach the quality of Pixar. But it is charming, funny and sweet and a lovely introduction for Tiana, who I expect will become a frequent guest in my household.