This is Walt Disney Animation Studio's first musical film in which all of the voice actors do both the speaking and singing parts since Beauty and the Beast (1991).
Right at the beginning of the opening credits song, "Down in New Orleans," you can see someone shaking a carpet out their window. It is the same as the magic flying carpet in Aladdin (1992), which was also directed by Ron Clements and John Musker.
The animation style was influenced primarily by Lady and the Tramp (1955), for the city scenes, and Bambi (1942), for the bayou scenes. Those films were, in the directors' opinion, "the peak of animation in the classic Disney animation style."
The prologue takes place in November of 1912, as indicated by the newspaper with the headline, "Wilson Elected," (referring to President Woodrow Wilson) being read by a streetcar passenger.
The star Ray calls "Evangeline" is, in fact, the planet Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love.