In the opening credits of 'The Princess and the Frog,' there is a short clip of 'Steamboat Willie,' the 1928 cartoon that helped make a name for Walt Disney. Its presence is no bit of whimsy. 'The Princess and the Frog,' the story of a young African-American woman in 1925 New Orleans, is Disney's first hand-animated feature film in nearly six years ('Brother Bear' was the last). It's a full-blown musical, with lively score and songs by Randy Newman. To mark the return, the studio will be open to the public for special screenings of the film starting Wednesday before its official Dec. 11 wide release. The screenings come with a package of other activities on the Disney Studio lot. The event is so rare that the last time the studio was open to the public was when Walt Disney did it for the 1940 feature 'Fantasia,' says Lylle Brier, senior vice president of special events for Walt Disney Studios. 'The Ultimate Disney Experience' also features everything from studio tours to learning how to draw one of the characters by one of the film's animators. Ironically, Disney's return to its roots was shepherded by John Lasseter, Pixar co-founder, who made his mark with a string of shiny computer-animated hits such as 'Toy Story,' 'Finding Nemo' and 'Monsters, Inc.' After a string of flops, Disney had decided to abandon traditional animation, laying off a number of its animators. But in 2006 when the two companies merged, Lasseter reversed the decision. 'Never in the history of cinema has a film been entertaining to an audience because of technology,' Lasseter says. 'It's what you do with the technology, and I felt (the studios) were blaming poor performance of their movies because it was hand-drawn.' So Lasseter then began reassembling a new/old animation staff. 'Never, ever in my career had I worked with a group of artists who had more to prove to the world that this art form is spectacular.' Among those invited back were writers Ron Clements and John Musker, who had been behind previous hits such as 'The Little Mermaid' and 'Aladdin.' Lasseter loved their idea for 'The Princess and the Frog,' a twist on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale set in the Jazz Age in New Orleans about a young, hardworking African-American woman named Tiana (voiced by Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose) whose encounter with Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) from a faraway kingdom ends up with them both turning into frogs and fleeing for their lives through the Louisiana bayous. Musker says that people were so anxious to work again on a hand-drawn project 'that it was a dream staff.' Among those was Randy Haycock, who oversaw the animation of Prince Naveen, both as a human and as a frog. The Colorado native had started at Disney on 'Aladdin' in 1992. He remained at the studio after hand-drawing was abandoned, then switched over to computer animation. 'I got into this business because I like to draw ... so when drawing went away, it was a bit of an adjustment,' says Haycock, who after seeing 'Fantasia' at age 15 knew his goal was to be a Disney animator. 'But then I thought I can do this. I realized it was about the performance, and it doesn't matter if it's CG or hand-drawn.' Haycock says he didn't think he'd be interested in going back to his old love, yet 'as soon as they announced they were going to do hand-drawn I was first in line.' As supervising animator for the prince, Haycock had a lot to do with the look of the character. One thing about Naveen, says the animator, is that before he was transformed into a frog he had to be a handsome guy. So Haycock took the drawings home to his teenage daughter for some input, asking which ones she would go out with. Even after that, he would go around at the studio and ask women if they thought the prince was good-looking. Then there was the little matter of turning the prince into a frog and still having him be handsome. Frogs are all eyes and mouth, Haycock says. So to help transfer Naveen's human characteristics to an amphibian, the animators added a hint of eyebrows and teeth. 'We brought in all kinds of frogs to study,' says Haycock, 'including some from Africa. I was pleased to note that some frogs have teeth; so biologists won't be able to get too angry with us.' He based the prince's amorous demeanor on an old college roommate, whom Haycock describes as 'kind of a leaner when talking to a girl. He would lean on something so he felt confident and comfortable. So we made Naveen a leaner.' Haycock won't be part of 'The Ultimate Disney Experience' taking place at the studio. He'll be busy doing publicity for the film, but other animators who worked on 'Princess' will be there to teach anyone who wants to learn (you don't have to be a kid) how to draw one of the characters. The two-hour event takes place on Soundstage 3 after each screening of the film at the newly renovated, state-of-the-art theater on the lot (the same place where 'Fantasia' was screened in 1940). As they enter the soundstage, the first thing people will see will be all nine Disney princesses, Brier says, including the newest, Tiana, and anyone can have a picture taken with them. 'The whole place has a New Orleans feel to it,' she says. There is also a bayou-inspired area where kids can play games and swing on ropes. For those interested, there will be short tours of the studio that will include the animation building. Disney archives also will be on display, including Glenn Close's Cruella De Vil dress from '101 Dalmatians,' Johnny Depp's costume from 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' old Mickey Mouse Club collectibles, some pens Walt Disney drew with, and -- for an up-to-date touch -- costumes from 'High School Musical.' For those wanting to try their artistic skills, there will be three 20-minute sessions where you can sit at an animator's desk. Just don't necessarily expect to learn how to draw your favorite character, because the animators, who are generally only responsible for one or two characters, will be rotating. Brier says that because 'Princess' came from the hands of the animators, 'We thought that there was no better place to debut it to the public than at the studio.' Needless to say, the studio is also hoping to generate some good word of mouth. (Tickets are still available, although a few dates are sold out.) But the impact of 'The Princess and the Frog' is likely to last long beyond its initial run. Lasseter notes that there was already a 'Tiana Showboat Jubilee' at Disneyland. 'It brought tears to my eyes to hear Randy's songs at Disneyland,' he says. 'You realize not only how perfect these songs are for the movie but also perfect for the longevity of these characters in the Disney parks, books and records.' And, yes, there already has been talk of adapting 'Princess' into a Broadway show. Not to be lost in all of this is that this is Disney's first African-American princess. 'I do remember wondering to myself if there would ever be a chocolate-brown princess after seeing Snow White,' says Anika Noni Rose, who was in the film version of 'Dreamgirls.' Well there is now, but if Disney's film seems far-fetched and doesn't exactly reflect the racial realities of 1925 New Orleans, Newman puts it in some perspective. 'It is a fairy tale. I think that it's telling that Anika talked about Snow White and she wanted to see a chocolate-brown princess -- that would be a fantastic thing.' 