Instead, Louis starts playing his trumpet alongside Prince Naveen, and “the two are brought together, predator and prey, through the common language of jazz” (Mask 182). Music is a strong connection for Prince Naveen and Louis, and their friendship tries to show children that although they are not the same and should not be friends, they can still find connections to be friendly to one another. This is similar to how it was not acceptable for white people to be friends with black people in the 1920’s. African Americans had to build their own communities, separate from white people. The three of them, as animals, sing “When We’re Human” that explains the reasons why they all want to become human. Louis sings about becoming a trumpet player in a jazz band where he would not frighten other humans. He wants to be accepted by the humans around him. This song could also “be read as a song about the claim for black humanity” (Mask 182). Louis does not want to be segregated from the other musicians because of the fact that he looks different. His intention is not to harm the humans. This relates to black people because they did not mean harm to white people, but they just wanted to be accepted by whites and be treated fairly.
On their journey, Tiana, Prince Naveen and Louis meet Raymond, a Cajun firefly. His appearance makes him look like his from a lower class than the other three animals. He has crooked and missing teeth and is wearing raggedy clothes.
On the other hand, the “princess”, who is white and grew up with Tiana, is only seen wearing beautiful ball gowns that were custom made by Tiana’s mother. Although Ray’s physical appearance seems to be lower class, he is a nice firefly with a light to show Tiana and Prince Naveen the way to become human again.
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