Although the audience doesn't know much about James or how he died, that doesn't mean that his absence is any less devastating for his daughter, Tiana. During a montage of the loving moments that they both shared before his death, it isn't difficult to see how those memories still affect Tiana even into adulthood. She is trying to pursue her dream of opening a bakery and she fondly looks at her father's photo, and judging by the fact that he is wearing a soldier's uniform, it is possible to conclude that he was killed in a war. Perhaps what makes his death so tragic is that he was taken away from Tiana prematurely and she shows how that even though the heart does heal over time, it never forgets the loss that it has suffered.
