Mama Odie is a character from The Princess and the Frog (2009).
History[]
Background[]
Origins[]
Mama Odie is a powerful and magical women who practiced magic in the bayou outside of New Orleans, Louisiana. Odie appears to have been born around the year 1729, and came to be known as "The Voodoo Queen of the Bayou". Mama Odie is blind through unknown circumstances, and has a pet snake called Juju who assists her with her impairment while the two are overly affectionate with one-another. Mama Odie is also capable of communicating to animals, with various spoonbills accompanying her in her house boat, and was known to be familiar with the firefly family living in the bayou.
The Princess and the Frog[]
In 1926, Mama Odie assisted Tiana and Prince Naveen in breaking the curse placed on them by Doctor Facilier, who Odie had some awareness of as "The Shadow Man". They were accompanied by the horn-playing alligator Louis who wished to become human, and the firefly Ray whose family Odie knew. Mama Odie also advised that they "Dig a little deeper" and search for what they need rather than what they want.
Odie later officiated the marriage of Tiana and Naveen, resulting in the kiss which made Tiana a princess and broke both of their curses as a result.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure[]
On February 27, 1927, Princess Tiana and Louis went into the Bayou with various guests to assemble the Bayou Community Band for a celebration. Mama Odie accompanied them for this adventure, and shrank their guests miniature so that they could enter the Ranitas Verde Club, run by a band of musician frogs. After this, Mama Odie restored the guests to their true sizes and sent them over the side of a waterfall.
Mama Odie and Juju were present at Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen's celebration, where Odie prevented Juju from sneaking beignets.
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom[]
When the Lord of the Underworld, Hades, attempted to take over the various realms of "The Magic Kingdom" by assembling the shards of the Crystal of the Magic Kingdom across the different lands, Hades brought Doctor Facilier back from the Other Side. Louis and Mama Odie assisted the sorcerer Merlin as well as his apprentices in retrieving the Crystal shard and stopping Hades' plan.
Doctor Facilier had the shadows from the other side travel across "Frontierland" while also breaking Lawrence out of prison. Doctor Facilier tried kidnapping Tiana and poisoning the food at Tiana's Palace to mind-control her patrons, only for Tiana to be freed by the apprentices. The heroes stopped Facilier who was then dragged back to the Other Side.
Appearances[]
Critter Co-op[]
Hanging bottles referencing Mama Odie appear outside.
Eudora's Chic Boutique[]
The slogan, "Blue skies and sunshine...guaranteed" comes from Mama Odie's song "Dig a Little Deeper".
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom[]
Mama Odie appeared as Merlin's ally who guided guests through one of the Frontierland/Liberty Square missions.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure[]
Mama Odie appears throughout this attraction. She appears in a black and white photograph in the queue. Mama Odie's framed message "When you find out who you are you find out what you need blue skies and sunshine guaranteed" also appears in the queue.[1]
In the ride, the logs pass a door belonging to Mama Odie where her voice is heard and sends the guests down a waterfall. Mama Odie later appears on a screen, shrinking down guests. After this, Mama Odie appears on another screen using magic to enlarge the guests. After this, she appears at the top of the final lift-hill as an audio-animatronic. Mama Odie and Juju then appear after the finale, with Juju trying to eat her beignets. During this appearance, Mama Odie wears an outfit with more patterns and beads.
Tiana's Bayou General[]
Mama Odie and Juju appear on a mural.
Trivia[]
- Mama Odie's Voodoo Queen status is inspired by the historic Marie Laveau (1801-1881). Incidentally, another "Voodoo Queen" character was once planned for an unused early version of the Haunted Mansion.
- Mama Odie saying "The bigger you are, the bigger the splash you'll make at the party". This may be a tribute to the defunct attraction Splash Mountain, the attraction which Tiana's Bayou Adventure replaced.
- While Mama Odie's audio-animatronic character was well received, Mama Odie's role on the final lift-hill was met with some fan disappointment. This is because leading up to the opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure, it was highly anticipated for Doctor Facilier and/or his "Friends on the Other Side" to appear on the final lift-hill, accompanied by the song Friends on the Other Side from the film, as opposed to a reprise of Dig a Little Deeper. Incorporating the Friends on the Other Side sequence would have addressed the main story criticism of Tiana's Bayou Adventure lacking much conflict or stakes for greater build-up, impact and incorporating popular elements of the original film not featured in the attraction.
- Mama Odie's door before the first drop in Tiana's Bayou Adventure replaced Br'er Bear's cave.
- Mama Odie's song "Dig a Little Deeper" does not serve its purpose from the film in Tiana's Bayou Adventure. In The Princess and the Frog, the song depicts Mama Odie aiding Tiana and Naveen by discouraging them from their main objectives (what they want) and learning to look for what they as people need to grow. In Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the song is sung while Mama Odie is helping Tiana and guests to directly complete Tiana's main objective without change or lessons, nearly the opposite point of the song from the film.