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At the beginning of Disney's 2009 animated feature film The Princess and the Frog there are several scenes that feature a troupe of musicians walking across the shot playing their instruments while wearing brightly colored clothing.

In one scene this troupe includes the lead villain.

In some cultures found in the region it is traditional to hold a similar procession as part of a funeral, as celebration of a person's life. Was this the case in this animated feature film, or was it just a random background scene?

Has this question ever been asked/answered in verifiable media, for example as part of a director's commentary, panel event or media spotlight?

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  • Nothing of any use in the official graphic novelisation, nor in the Essential Guide.
    – Valorum
    Sep 30 at 16:33
  • Nothing in the maker's Audio Commentary (Ron Clements and John Musker, producer Peter Del Vecho) of any use. They're still chatting about the setup for the film at this point...
    – Valorum
    Sep 30 at 17:15
  • For the record, that's not Dr. Facilier leading the marching band. It's another top-hatted invidividal
    – Valorum
    Sep 30 at 18:32
  • @Valorum It looks like this varies between localizations, they do this some times, like how the Candy Crush racer characters have different looks in different regions, or the planes from Planes use colors from national airlines in some scenes. I don't get this change though.
    – Aaargh Zombies
    Sep 30 at 20:05
  • I don't see any evidence that they've localised this film to different markets. Note that this is a hand-drawn film, not digital, so adding in new characters is a substantially bigger deal
    – Valorum
    Sep 30 at 20:15

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This appears to be a troupe of musicians practicing for Mardi Gras. There's no indication that it's a funeral procession.

From the official novelisation.

Tiana looked out the window. It was close to Mardi Gras, a time when New Orleans came alive with even more food, music, people, and parties than usual. ...

... One man offered her a flower, but Tiana barely noticed. The street was so crowded with musicians, dancers and other performers that they nearly blocked Tiana's way as she stepped off the street car. It was true what they said about New Orleans during Mardi Gras: day or night, it always seemed as if there was a party going on somewhere. But Tiana remained so focused on getting to Duke's Diner that she almost bumped right into a marching band.

Disney's The Princess and the Frog: Junior Novelization by Irene Trimble.

To back this up, we do see the full procession in the street. There's no hearse (horse-drawn or otherwise) behind them.

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Nor are there any indications that it's anything other than an enthusiastic marching band in the concept artwork from The Art of Princess and the Frog.

enter image description here

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    It's a bit too small to be a true 'second line' parade, but they could be trying to attract "followers" to take to a local bar or restaurant. Basically a form of barking
    – Valorum
    Sep 30 at 17:40

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