The Princess And The Frog

Great movie for the family!

/</gispan style="font-weight: bold;"/>/giTitle:</span> The Princess and the Frog
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Type: </span>Movie
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Age Group:</span> Youth +
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Release Year: </span>2009
<span style="font-weight: bold;">My Rating:</span> 5/5

In the era of all that jazz and flappers, Tiana is a strong and independent girl who dreams of opening her own luxurious restaurant. Following her father's words, she works hard everyday by juggling two jobs, trying to get by.

She gets hired to cater at her best friend's family's costume social function where she accidentally gets food spilled all over her clothes. After dressing up like a princess, she encounters a talking frog who claims to be Naveen, a prince who recently arrived to town. He requests that she kisses him in order for him to revert back to normal. When she does, she turns into a frog instead!

In this new princess tale, the audience will enjoy this fun and heart-felt movie.

It has been such a long time since I've seen a Disney movie in cartoon since most of them are in 3-D now. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to watch The Princess and the Frog because it is an absolutely amazing movie!

It has been awhile since I saw such positive messages being thrown at me from a children's movie. Yes, there is a moral behind most kid movies but this one didn't bother being discreet about it...and I love it! Tiana is a no non-sense girl who yet enjoys the little things in life. In contrast, Naveen doesn't give a care in the world and is quite spoiled. Most of the time, Disney princes reveal themselves towards the end and swoop the princess into his arms where they proceed to live happily ever after. I hate that sort of relationship when it comes to anything because if the prince was ugly, guaranteed that there would be none of that typical Disney stuff. Tiana disliked Naveen a lot because of his personality and when the two came together, I loved the chemistry between them! (Have to admit, Naveen is the first Disney prince I had ever crush on!)

I never really see any movies or books that take place in the 1920s or somewhere in that general era. So to see that this story's setting is at that age and bringing back that world through the clothing, music, and attitude, I found it so much better! Now I definitely want to read more stories about this time because I am getting tired of the same Victorian era stuff. Where are my 20th century based books??

This is a two thumbs up film that I recommend for the kids and the family to watch together!

The Princess and The Frog

Everyone knows, that if a princess kisses  one of those green slimy frogs in the fairy tales, she is sure to get a prince from it; But what if something went wrong… What if someone other then a princess kissed the frog… Would something go wrong? That is exactly the question answered in Disney’s twisted version  of the fairy tale “The Princess and the Frog” The story takes place in New Orleans, the home of jazz, steam boats, and the Mississippi. Because of this switch from Fairy Tale lands of long, long ago, the story is unique from all of the Disney Princess movies. It makes sense that Disney is exploring new ground, but the problem with this setting was the fact that the true fairy tale magic was gone, and replaced with voodoo and jazz music…. I know. Not that I didn’t like that, its just not exactly what I would label a “classic” Disney Princess movie.
Now that you get the idea, here’s what I thought about the movie over all.
There is nothing more fun then Jazz music! Disney has always succeeded in pairing tasteful music with each story, and that still holds with Princess and the Frog.
Princess Tiana, is not really a princess in the beginning, so she had a real, personal character that you could connect to better. She had realistic dreams, disappointments, and fought for will power. She was taught to work hard to achieve her dreams, and she did so. The Prince on the other hand, was a broke, life of the party boy. How can a prince be broke? Its complicated, but as the story goes on, and Tiana is stuck with him in a perilous adventure, they both must learn how to balance fun and work.
This movie was enjoyable, and spicy, although it did have one depressing moment that shook me a little, everything turned out happy in the end, just like Disney always does. One thing I didn’t like though, was following the frogs, because you felt claustrophobic because of the angles. I’m just really glad I’m not a frog/bug. Other then that, I liked it, and with fun characters such as Alligators, fireflies, and cute frogs along the way, you should enjoy this it too.  It’s got lots of humor, and has a warming ending.
Not the best Disney movie ever, but it’s certainly not the worst.
Parental Guide:
Violence: A voodoo doctor  proves to be rather frightening, and so can his “friends from the other side” (the ugly looking devils he works for) and characters are chased and caught by frightening looking shadows. A wooden charm needs a small amount of blood to function. One frog is constantly squished with a frog, but is always OK. Knives are thrown at a frog. Some slapstick violence. A favorite character bug is stepped on by the villain with a nasty “crunch” and killed. The tones to this movie is just a little darker then most Disney.
Sexual Content: One character wears very low cut dresses, and plays around with the “bust” area in one dress. People kiss. This character is flirtatious, but it is played as a negative.
Language: Mild words such as “darn” “heck” and “butt”
Religious: Voodoo is played as a negative, except one voodoo lady who is apparently less dangerous then the bad guy and they go to her for help.

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Recommendations: The Blind Side , Batman Begins

Hannah E.

The Princess and the Frog

There is no way I'm going to kiss a frog and eat a bug in one day! Truth is, you gotta do what you gotta do to find what'cha need.

One Word Movie Review: GREAT

The Princess and the Frog is a fairy tale about true love, set to a New Orleans beat and cooked slow in a gumbo stew. Momma, you gonna love the way it turns out! This "traditional" Disney animated story has it all, from funny characters to emotional highs all told in a creative visual style you don't get from the computergenerated CGI crisp-cold images that dominate the PG genre these days. The addition of music which fits the story both lyrically and rhythmically elevates this movie into the same class as the Disney classics of so many years ago (15 or 20 years).

The filmmakers (Ron Clements and John Musker) cut their teeth on The Little Mermaid and Alladin before stepping aside for the Pixar juggernaut which drove CGI into the mainstream.  Now, with Pixar merged with the Disney animation studio, we have the best of both techniques with The Princess and the Frog taking full advantage of the hand-drawn magic of traditional illustration to add warmth to what has become a pristine medium of late.

The story about a girl growing up with a dream, obsessively driven to complete her father's ambitions at the expense of her own sets up the moral lesson for kids to "dig a little deeper" to find everything you need. The scope of inspiration spans the vision of an old blind lady to the light of an evening star before our two lovers unite in the happy ending, after a lot of tongue-tied frog funny business. The joie de vivre spills from every scene in this movie, an impossible not-to-like movie.

The Story

The Princess and the Frog stars with an evening star, a fairy tale story told to two about a frog who transforms into a handsome prince after a kiss from his true love. From there, we move on to each girl, one pampered and rich and the other working-class and poor.  Each has a dream and we move ahead in years to see them all grown up but still maintaining their friendship.  Charlotte, the rich girl is little changed, still dreaming of her prince while Tiana works two jobs to save for her dream restaurant.  Enter the handsome prince and the dark Shadow Man, Dr. Facilier who casts the spell which changes the prince to a frog and off we go on the slime (sorry, mucus) trail of true love, dark spirits and cute critters.

We meet the trumpet-playing gator, the helpful firefly and the good witch of the bayou, Mama Odie who all pitch in to help  Tiana and her Prince discover not what they want but what they need. Once they realize all they need is each other, frog or human, well the pieces all click into place and they get everything after all. This isn't a surprise, as this is a kid's Disney movie, but there are three characters who die and enough twists and obstacles along the way to keep kids worried until the very end.

The Genre

The speed in which CGI animation has taken over the PG fantasy movie genre is remarkable, as it was only 1992 when Aladdin was released. It was John Lassiter's Toy Story in 1995 which transformed this genre and now, with Lassiter running the Disney animation studio, he brings both styles together, claiming executive producer credit on The Princess and the Frog.

Regardless of how the characters are drawn, the charm of an animated gator playing music is timeless. There is a lot of The Jungle Book, The Wizard of Oz and The Little Mermaid in this latest effort, all for the best. Kids will walk away with a few tunes in their heads, some great lines to repeat over and over again and a life lesson on having to dounpleasant things sometimes in order to get what you really want out of life.

The Overall Quality

The Princess and the Frog starts traditionally with a fairy tale but quickly twists conventions and expectations with every scene.  The writing is clever, with lines true to each character instead of tossed in just because they were funny. The structure of statement, reversal and surprise is evident throughout as we learn what a character wants, finds the truth is something else and then, just when you think they're going to succeed, they get tossed into another predicament. The Prince tells Tiana, "You are secretly funny", but he could be talking about the movie itself.

The songs by Randy Newman are the real dialogue high points, as they spell out the whole story in high musical style from the opening tribute to New Orleans, performed by Dr. John in a funky voice, "dreams do come true in New Orleans" to Dr. Facilier's ode to badness, "I've got friends on the other side". The highlight is the motivational anthem by Blind Mama Odie, "Dig a Little Deeper", advising the young frogs to make a choice between what you want and what you need. It won't replace the Rolling Stones anthem, but it's got way better choreography.

Which brings me to the overall look of the movie which drips imagination from every image on the screen. Great care has gone into the design of characters and settings, the movements and expressions and exaggerations when someone gets stomped or pulled or twisted in knots. All stuff you've seen before, but used with restraint to drive home a plot point. It keeps the action real and believable, given all the fantasy in the story.

The voice acting is awesome, but especially Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen, Keith David as Dr. Facilier and Jimmy Cummings as Raymond, but you can call me Ray, the firefly. Finally, give credit to Disney to release the old-style animation again. This movie is a tribute to what has always worked and will work again, no matter how the lines are drawn.

Movie/Market Analysis

MarketBOB’s sentiment indicators, the GQS (Genre, Quality, Story) rate The Princess and the Frog an emotional BULL. You cannot leave the theater feeling sad and grumpy, and if you have kids with you, the buzz between them will keep them singing and dancing for days and out of trouble. The charm of the story will inspire a search for a princess to kiss and if you haven't already found one, give you hope there's one hiding under a lily pad somewhere just waiting for you to pucker up and plant one. Just remember to watch out for the tongue.

The Princess and the the Frog: Movie Review

In the past few months, 3D has become huge. Just compare the local cinema scene a year ago and you will know what we mean. Before, when we want to watch in 3D, we need to go to an IMAX theater to get the experience. Now, almost every cinema house in the vicinity of the Metro has a digital cinema capable of recreating the 3D experience. Part of 3D's evolution probably started off with animation moving from the traditional hand-drawn one to utilizing 3D computer-animation as a medium. Just look at all the animated films we have right now - aren't the majority made with computer graphics? Sadly, we miss the good old days of cartoons being 2D and all. So when we saw the trailer for "The Princess and the Frog", we saw hope. If Disney retracted their decision six year ago (that "Home on the Range" will be their last hand-drawn cartoon film), maybe other publishers will see that the magic of the 2D, hand-drawn cartoons can never be replaced. Read on to find out if "The Princess and the Frog" is a good start to re-envision an old, misunderstood craft.

In 1912 at New Orleans, two young girls are talking about the fairytale of "The Frog Prince". One dreams to someday marry a prince while one vows that she will never kiss a frog. The latter child is Tiana and her only dream is to fulfill her father's dream of owning their own restaurant. Moving forward to the Twenties, Tiana is now a young woman and we discover that her father has already died. This makes Tiana more desperate to fulfill her late father's wish - so desperate in fact that she is already working double shifts just to save money for the downpayment of the building she wants to buy. When a certain Prince Naveen arrives at New Orleans, the whole town is abuzz especially Tiana's childhood friend Charlotte. Charlotte decides that Tiana could serve beignets at the ball so Charlotte could impress the Prince with good food. Before the Prince could get to the ball, he is lured by a man who calls himself Doctor Facilier and he in turn morphs him into a frog. Everything falls apart further when Tiana kisses the frog prince and instead of turning Naveen human, Tiana also turns into a frog.

What we can say for "The Princess and the Frog" is that it was almost there but it missed perfection by a small fraction. What we liked about the film is that it never strayed away from the old Disney formula which can almost mean sure success. It was also not bad that it was in 2D and hand-drawn in the style of late Eighties and Early Nineties Disney animated films(which in our opinion is the best style we have seen when it comes to film cartoons). It was not all visual though as the movie had a great story and even better songs to sing along with. We guess the biggest disappointment for the movie is that the characters are not memorable at all. Also, the whole film did not meet our standards when it comes to Disney films. Although that is the case, this is still a wonderful film to watch and definitely a must-see for everyone. We think 2D films just made a comeback with this one.

Rating: 4 and a half reels 
Why you should watch it:
- this is the traditional Disney cartoon film at its core - which is not a bad thing at all
- 2D and hand-drawn makes the experience nostalgic, worthwhile and even refreshing

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- not as good as some of the Disney classics we have seen before
- characters are not memorable at all

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Recommendations:

Last updated: 2010-03-11 19:38:50 by user06

Review: The Princess and the Frog

* * * out of four stars

While James Cameron sits across the street churning out the mega-budget, larger-than-anything, computer-generated 3-D flick “Avatar,” the Walt Disney Studio is returning to its roots with a hand-drawn, simple comedy they like to liken to “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.” I’m not so sure it’s that good, but it’s a welcome break from “Ice Age” and “Madagascar.”

It’s called “The Princess and the Frog,” and it retells the story of “The Frog Prince” in early twentieth century Louisiana. As always to Disney movies, there’s a catch. We can’t just give you “Hamlet,” we have to give you “Hamlet… with Lions!”

So in this story, our princess, who originally kisses the frog, who then turns into a handsome prince and marries her, is nothing but a down-on-her-luck waitress at the local diner. Her name is Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose), and she aspires to one day own and run her very own restaurant. When handsome (and broke) Prince Naveen (voice of Bruno Campos) comes to town looking for a young rich lady to settle down with, Tiana’s rich best friend (not knowing Naveen is broke) sees an opportunity to marry royalty. However Naveen is tricked by a Voodoo master and turned into a frog!

There’s the set-up. What eventually happens is, Naveen, as a frog, convinces Tiana to kiss him. Little do either of them know it isn’t exactly how the spell works. Tiana is then turned into a frog and they must journey through the dangers of the bayou to find a way back to normal.

The wonderful Disney humor is here. I snorted a number of times at the trumpet-playing alligator and the love-stricken firefly. And Naveen himself, so inept in his “suaveness,” is a hoot too! There are plenty of laughs in the film, but where’s the music? Let me be more accurate… where’s the really good, hummable, memorable music? Walking out of the theater I couldn’t remember a single tune in the whole movie and there had to have been at least seven or eight! Remember “The Little Mermaid,” and how “Under the Sea” was instantly pounded in our heads for all eternity? Why can’t I remember a single tune from this movie?

The music isn’t the only problem with “The Princess and the Frog,” but it is its biggest. Another problem with the film is its hesitation to get on with the story. The first twenty minutes or so take too long in developing the plot and characters and surroundings in the human world. This makes for very dull storytelling, as the humans are some of the more boring characters. It isn’t until our heroes are frogs that the film really takes off.

All this said, I really did like “The Princess and the Frog.” It had its heart (and Louisiana soul) in the right place, it was quite funny, and above all, it left me smiling.

the princess and the frog

this is actually a pretty good movie.  i enjoyed it.  it’s really got a classic disney feel to it.  and i think the animation had a great deal to do with that.  and also the very family friendly story line.  there’s a real positive message to this film and i liked it.

my favorite character was the little firefly guy.  he so funny.

and i say this film has that classic disney feel when in reality it’s something that disney has never done before.  it has a black princess.  or i should say african american princess.  whatever.

the opening scenes are some of the most touching i’ve seen from disney since, since…well wall-e.  which wasn’t that long ago, but the scenes are really touching.  where little tiana’s father tells her to never forget the important things in life.  the important things like family, and love.

the movie breaks out into song on several occasions and i’m reminded of the great musical scenes from aladdin.  although i’d have to rate aladdin several steps above this film.  just always been a big fan of that one.  that and the little mermaid.  but that’s another story.

the little voodoo lady is awesome, the fat trumpet playing alligator is awesome, i already mentioned my little firefly buddy.

i don’t know what else to say about this film other than it’s a classic disney princess movie.  i’m not gonna run out and buy it on dvd as soon as it’s released but if i had kids i’d pick it up on the 3 for 20 rack at blockbuster.

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Cal Reed

The Princess and the Frog

Basic Premise:

Tianna is a hard working woman with a firm goal in mind who doesn't have time for wishes and fairy tales. Naveen is a prince looking for a party and the cash to fund it. They both hit a brick wall when Disney spins this classic and turns them both into frogs. Now they have to work together, get to know each other, and find a way back to being human.


Review:

I saw this movie twice (in as many weeks). The first time I was enamored of the promise of another Disney classic and went in with a bias. I didn't want to write a review based on that. The second time, I went in wanting to see a romantic animated movie. That's what I got.

The Princess and the Frog is definitely a movie that will grow on you the more times you watch it. There's always something you missed and the jokes are funny every time.

Normal Disney classics take place in far off times and places, but this one hit home with it being in good ole New Orleans (pronounced the right way, not the way its spelled) during the roaring 20's. It had a feel about it that something like this could happen... well minus people becoming frogs... or maybe not.

I really enjoyed it, both times. Not even the few crying/talking children could ruin this film for me. The twist at the end makes the whole film worth it.

I'm happy Disney is back to the fairy tales and I hope they keep it up. And while I do love their rendition of the age of classic, I hope they don't make a habit of changing so much in later works. I'm used to tidbits here and there (ending of The Little Mermaid, et al), not a complete overhaul. But it was a fun overhaul so I'll let it pass.

Family friend with a few dark parts (ie the voodoo and the guns). The singing and technicolors should keep most toddlers entertained but the story may go over their heads.

My favorite song is "Almost There" by Tianna. My second favorite is "Friends on the Other Side"... come on, Keith David is singing. How can you not love that? :P Third place is a tie between both of Ray's songs, "Gonna Take You There" and "Ma Belle Evangeline".

For Disney's first black princess, I think they did a wonderful job. She's a great addition to the long line of ethnic princesses that Disney boasts (count them again, it is a long line). Though, I'm sure somebody somewhere is going to find some thing to sue them about (they always do), I'm happy they made it and look forward to owning the soundtrack and the DVD as well as seeing the next classic on the schedule.

Recommendations: Star Trek (2009), Avatar, 300

D. Renee Bagby<br />
Building New Realms of Passion<br />
http://dreneebagby.com

The Princess and the Frog

"The Princess and the Frog" is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker ("The Little Mermaid and "Aladdin.") It stars the voices of Anika Noni Rose ("Dreamgirls"), Oprah Winfrey, John Goodman, and others...these are just the most famous and/or recognizable people in the cast.

The movie is semi-based off of the book, "The Frog Prince." In this version we have Tiana, the ninth Disney princess and the first black Disney princess...in the Walt Disney Company's defense, it only took 72 years for this to occur. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana and works as a waitress trying to raise money to open up the restaurant that her late father dreamed of. Through completely unforeseeable circumstances she becomes a frog and goes through a heck of a lot to become an actual person again. This, of course, would involve a prince, some voodoo and other magical occurrences. Yes, there is slightly more to the plot, but it would be tiring for me to explain it all in minute detail...and Disney's movies really aren't all that complicated.

First of all, and for me most importantly, "The Princess and the Frog" is animated in the traditional, hand-drawn, 2-D style. I'm not sure everyone can even comprehend how amazing this is. Walt Disney Pictures for whatever reason decided that it would be a good idea to stop making hand drawn, animated movies. The last one was 5 years ago when "Home on the Range" came out which really wasn't that good, but back then I wasn't smart enough to realize it. Luckily someone over there realized that was a really awful idea to stop using that type of animation. Disney's newest hand-drawn animated outing looks fantastic. It is basically what most people expect from a Disney movie and fits right in with the likes of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," etc.

The voice cast is great. Anika Noni Rose was a really good choice for the lead character. This probably is going to sound strange, but she sounds like a Disney princess. And she has a great singing voice, which she proved in "Dreamgirls." I'm glad that Disney likes to use John Goodman in their movies occasionally, because I love listening to him. He has a distinctive voice that works out so well in animated movies. Throwing Oprah Winfrey into the mix really doesn't hurt...her voice is not as distinctive....but trust me, she is in this movie and gets the job done.

Randy Newman composed the score and the songs for this movie. He has previously worked on several Pixar movies, such as "Toy Story" and "Monsters, Inc." True, the songs that he has written and performed in Pixar movies are more memorable than what is in "The Princess and the Frog." But, I happen to love Randy Newman and he does have some very catchy songs in this movie and they just fit the overall tone and energy of the movie so well. Music is often a key part in Disney movies and this one is no exception.

"The Princess and the Frog" is more or less the same as all the other princess/fairy tale movies that Disney has released over the past 7 decades. No new ground is really covered, which is fine because these are family movies and Disney can get away with those sort of things. Something tells me this movie didn't require a whole lot of thought that hadn't already been used elsewhere in a Disney movie.

There also are some drawn-out scenes, like most movies. And a couple unnecessary and/or just kind of annoying scenes. It's really not worth going into them...just trust me...they are there... But then again I'm probably not the target audience for this type of movie...so I'm assuming most people wouldn't be bothered by this and sometimes I just enjoy complaining about things.

Finally, a Disney movie (not made my Pixar) that is worthy of the Walt Disney name. The animation is great and I'm glad Disney went back to their roots, for at least one more time. The songs are catchy (Randy Newman has done better) and the voice cast is great. Not an original approach to or type of movie, but thoroughly enjoyable, nonetheless. 3 out of 4 stars.

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The Princess and the Frog

"The Princess and the Frog" is admirable for the fact that it goes back to the charming hand drawn animation of old Disney in the midst of these CGI, stop motion animation films recently. It is also admirable for having the lead character, a Princess, that is African American and other characters that are also African American. There hasn't been a lead character that was African American since "Song of the South" which caused needless controversy. The only thing wrong about "The Princess and the Frog" is that it is safe and dull with mostly unmemorable songs. I couldn't get into it and I loved "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast" which are ten times better and more alive. "The Princess and the Frog" has a great setting taking place in a colorful and alive New Orleans with a couple of good Jazz songs and I mean good old Dixieland Jazz. I like a couple of those Jazz numbers but I don't really recall them and I mean actually an hour after I left the theatre. The characters are also a little too quaint even though the Princess is independent and strong willed. The main villain is also cliched and seen before and reminded me of the bad guy in the 1975 Bond movie "Live and Let Die". It might come off as a stereotypical black voodoo character and the film has already gotten outed by some Christian group. That is pure baloney and not the problem with this movie. I just think only real little girls will like this and I found it pretty unimaginative, dull and safe. I am glad though that little African American girls will have someone in a movie they can look up to.

Vincent Snavely

The Princess And The Frog

Returning to practical animation was pretty much the only thing for Disney to do at this point. Pixar has so monopolized CGI film-making both financially and more importantly in terms of quality. Other entries into the sub-genre are either awful or kids films that don't pretend to be anything else. But the Princess And The Frog almost recaptures that marvelous sense of wonder that pervades most if not all of Disney's intimidating archive. The nostalgia is operating an all cylinders here, from the songs to the storyline, it all seems to be Disney saying ' hey remember the time when we were awesome ', but in a good way.

The plot follows Tiana a waitress in what I assume is 1920's New Orleans, working long hours to save money to buy her own restaurant a dream she's held since childhood. Then there's Prince Naveen, a broke royal from a faraway land who has come to America to marry money. Naturally, dude gets turned into a frog by magic man Dr. Facilier and accidentally turns Tiana into one too when trying to restore his humanity. Swamp-set hijinks ensue. The film is hardly original, and I'm pretty sure every single narrative and emotional beat on display here has been in a disney film of some sort. But like I said, the plot itself is so generic it almost doesn't matter. This is an animated statement crying out for a simpler time. No heart-breaking emotional journeys here. But the vibrancy of the film is its saving grace. Jazz age New Orleans is a great setting for a disney movie, and all the energy and music work well for the atmosphere, even if the movie shows the same exaggerated attitude to it as Live And Let Die. Facilier, also known as the shadow man, is a great 2-D villain, brilliantly voiced by cult movie living legend Keith David, is admittedly a black voodoo stereotype, but a well executed one and that's all you want from a disney villain isn't it? The lead female is pleasingly empowered too, and not the whiny little pushover we've come to expect from this kind of thing.

For me once we left the city for the swamps, the whole thing became slightly less interesting. With some unfortunate hillbilly stereotypes and grating dialogue, it lacked the visual wonder and adventure of the human orientated action and for me the movie kind of derailed there. But look, its a kids movie. It looks great. Its very saccharine and allows you to leave with a big artificial grin on your face. But it doesn't reach the level of artistry in say Snow White or The Jungle book. It just reminds you of it.

Rating: 6/10

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The Princess and the Frog (published December 2009)

Not until the final month do we get this decade's first truly satisfying feature length animated musical from Disney (although there's only been a handful of attempts). This is a rebirth of Disney filmmaking in the traditional sense. To watch this movie is to watch something magical that hasn't happened in nearly a dozen years.
 
There are a variety of opinions concerning which Disney films of the Renaissance era are better than others, but I'm going to take it upon myself to say that the last great traditional animated film was The Lion King in 1994. Good films still came out and Alan Menken continued to put together some wonderful soundtracks for the remainder of the decade, but the new millennium has not shown much promise.
 
What really sells The Princess and the Frog is that it tells a story worth telling (take note Dreamworks) and tells it well. As the second American protagonist (after Pocahantas), Tiana stands apart from many of the other Disney princesses as being the first to seek the American Dream. She aspires to own a restaurant and works two jobs to save up enough money for the down payment. Unlike Ariel, Belle and Jasmine, she does not dream of an escape from her current lifestyle. She is satisfied until she hits a roadblock with her plans, which then cues our inciting incident.
 
Along the way she learns to place family and relationships above her personal dreams, a very modern message to say the least. There is a particularly powerful moment when the villain tempts her with a virtual tour of the restaurant she desires to have and a flashback with her father.
 
Two years ago, Enchanted reminded us of what we were missing out on. For those of us whose childhood took place during the Renaissance era, it was a refreshing and extremely nostalgic experience to see Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz at work again. The filmmakers for that movie knew it too. The way in which the sequence for the catchy number "That's How You Know" plays out was... enchanting. The disappointment with "The Princess and the Frog" is that it lacks a really moving score from Randy Newman and while the musical numbers are fun and energetic, what's missing is the one song that encompasses the emotions of the film the way "Beauty and the Beast" did for Beauty and the Beast or "A Whole New World" did for Aladdin. There is a song called "Almost There" that comes close, but it’s just not catchy enough to really satisfy.
 
Alan Menken will fortunately be back with 2010's Repunzel. However, that movie will involve CGI with the "intention to look and feel like traditional hand-drawn animation" (a curious description indeed). Time will tell if Disney can get any momentum going off the wake of The Princess and the Frog, a film that deserves to take its place amongst the studio's numerous animated greats.

The Princess Called Katrina And Her Frog!!!

/</gispan/>/giFor years Disney has not try to make the audience to get impressed by their hand-drawn animation. Now, you got one. Adapted from E.D. Baker's novel The Frog Princess and Grimm Brother's The Frog Prince, the film was a successful return to the traditional form. Now who said non-3D does not made any impact?

The story is a straight forward as it sees. The central story uses the American-Black cultures that we have seen before to anchor it, a Black princess, a voodoo magic-spells and a setting of post World-War 1 New Orleans in Lousiana. Watching this movie makes me few how beautiful this city port on the delta of mangrove forest is once. Perhaps, watching the movie brings back all those memory we have watched in the past like The Lion King, Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast.

Disney is the only reliable production company that makes a good animation. Thanks to their all reliable and strong story plot to venture, this one makes no different, a similar out-of-the-edge inspiring piece of tales with pleasant and relaxing pace. The anchor story is very fundamental where it has accompanying with Broadway-like musical arrangement, the story-telling is simply brilliant. It is gravy, delicious and it is definitely ageless. The rich in flavours, tune and golden eccentric display did the film much of the excitement to watch.

The story itself is comparable with Pixar's Up, rich in styles but the latter still have the edge over the former due to the uniqueness story theme involving an old man. Perhaps, the best sentence is that Pixar serves more to cater a story with an anti-hero male character while the traditionalist would prefer a story with an amazing woman to spiral it up. Nevertheless, no matter which is it, this froggy flick serve what its best for - no crappy action-coordinated and a joyful entertaining animation.

The role of Princess Tiana by Anika Noni Rose is well-developed. We can see huge transformation and dramatical on her life throughout the story but she retained some of her believe and passion. The character is nevertheless inspiring and has bigger dream for life. The similar pattern can be seen on the character Prince Naveen (Bruce Campbell). However, Dr Facilier (Keith David) seems purposeless and until now I do not seem to have any idea on his plan at all. His role was a bit chaotic. Ray, the firefly was somehow awesome too. Tiny but he has a strong heart for the love of his life, Evangeline, thought it is not a firefly at all, like him.

The cinematographic experience has it that the city of New Orleans been transformed as a city of lights and magic. It was great to see how this 1930's background would have brought a much breathtaking take to play a major role for the movie. The lights of beautiful jazz music and the magical spirit of voodoo spells are pretty much the stage set for the movie to run. Simply amazing.

Need a year-end animation thrust to fill those thirst for at least a non-eye-soring 3D pop-out, The Princess and the Frog is the best choice. You will love it and enjoy it. Don't worry, the voodoo spells and the alligator won't bite in the peaceful bayou. </span>

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Recommendations: Inception

Have yourself a cup of green tea

Last updated: 2010-01-13 09:42:22 by BernardGT

The Princess and the Frog — 10

First off I would like to say that I am sooo excited to see Disney go back to 2D animation, all thanks to John Lassater. He is the one who convinced Disney to once again try a 2D animation. My god I’m am so glad I cannot tell you how much.

This movie has all the making of an old school Disney movie: Songs, dance, an easy, yet intricate story, a genius voice over and most of all likeability. I was eagerly awaiting this release and I am thrilled to finally see it. It was way better than I expected it to be.

Let’s start off with the music. The movie is based in New Orleans, birthday of Jazz, and the music gets its roots heavily from there. The songs were easy to listen to, had a great beat and fit the flow of the film like a Speedo gently grasps a swimmers banana. It literally fit that well. There was only one song that I didn’t really like, but based on what was happening on screen I really didn’t care. For those of you wondering which one, it was the song in the swamp when the firefly first got introduced. I really didn’t like the song, but the dancing/action was awesome!

Now the story actually caught me off guard. It was way better than I expected it to be. Then again most Disney movies are. But let’s just say that Princess Tiana has rightfully taken to the list of Disney Princesses. I do not wish to ruin the movie, but even though I knew how the movie was going to end after about the first 15 minutes of the movie, it didn’t matter, what mattered was the awesome adventure they had on the way there. It actually made the ending GREAT, even though I knew where it was heading.

The other thing that amazed me was the villain. The effects they used for him were almost scary, but I enjoyed every minute of it and It was so cool watching him and his shadow. Some of the coolest ideas were put to use using the shadows I cannot say them here because it would ruin certain parts of the movie.

All in all if you like Disney, or you don’t mind a ‘kids movie’ or you just want a movie to pick you up from a bad day, then sit down and watch this movie, its fantastic!

Base Score = 9
+1 for awesome music
+1 for a great story
+2 for going back to a format that works (2D)
+1 for an awesome villain
+1 for Tiana’s friend Charlotte
=15/10

Last updated: 2010-01-12 02:06:31 by Tolll

The Princess And The Frog

“Look, a black princess!” says Disney, proud of itself for being sostunningly ahead of its time, like we’re all supposed to let our jaws drop and applaud pretending it isn’t a marketing strategy, but a genuine attempt to show the world that it doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white — which paradoxically defeats the purpose of this film, since if it doesn’t matter, why the fuck should I care whether the princess is black, white, albino or vomit-green? I thought the whole idea of this “no racism” thing is, you know, not taking skin color into account?

And okay, Disney, if you really must act like a little kid seeking mom’s approval, at least do it by giving your film the same thing your older classics used to have: a heart. “The Princess And The Frog” is one of the blandest animations ever made by the studio, so irritatingly happy, artificial and unimaginative that the mostly well-done 2D animation stops mattering. This from someone who grew up on Disney movies.

The story is set in Jazz-era New Orleans and it’s about Tiana, a black waitress with no flaws whatsoever who is a darling to everyone and comes from a equally perfect family, therefore establishing herself as a painfully dull character. Dreaming to have her own restaurant, she finds herself in a desperate situation and, suffering from a lack of mental faculties like everyone else in this film, she keeps asking a star to help her out. Eventually, a talking frog shows up and asks her to kiss him so he’ll go back to being the prince he was a few minutes ago before being cursed. But when she kisses the frog, she becomes a frog herself and they’ll meet several characters in their journey to blah blah blah insert artificial love story and monologues about the importance of dreaming here yawn fuck off.

Of course that, for the entire film, you don’t see the slightest bit of racism. Proving that their “look, a black princess!” bravado was just as shallow as this film, the most Disney risks is portraying class differences, but never showing a single black character being noticed as such, despite this happening in a time when racism was much more blatant. In fact, in an overcompensatory fashion, there are no good WHITE characters in this film. Tiana’s white millionaire friend (yes, Tiana has a millionaire white girl as her best friend, I’m completely serious) is the closest we get to one, and she’s a vain idiot. And the black villain, Facilier, divides his evil deeds with the prince’s aide, an evil white fat guy who looks quite a lot like poor Timothy Spall.

And of course, Facilier is the ONLY black villain in the entire movie (and the only character, save the hunters, who is even slightly interesting, ironically). Every other black character in the film is nothing short of an angel (the arrogant prince is from another country and his skin color is kind of mid-term, so I’m not counting him) proving that while the filmmakers wants us to believe they understand racial differences, they completely fail to understand people.

And that’s the film’s main flaw: it tries to make a big deal out of its supposedly important “breakthrough”, but making a film about skin color in such an era and failing to address how it truly was like is far more offensive, mainly to the portion of the audience who likes using their brain every now and again. Black people, white people, people who use piercings, religious people, gay people, they’re all PEOPLE and as such, you’re going to meet many who suck regardless of sexuality, fashion preferences, beliefs and skin pigmentation in any time period you care to name.

Of course people eat this shit up. They want to take Disney’s hand toward a future where there is no racism, but Disney’s notion of morality is way back into the past. I’ve had people, including friends, make racist comments to me in this day and age. Making a big deal out of a black princess won’t achieve a thing — you’re still setting black people apart from a different direction, and announcing this loudly and proudly helps absolutely no-one but the filmmakers themselves.

Having a black princess go through the same motions of every other Disney film will only mean marketing and money for the studio. The least I expected was for Disney to have some balls, instead I was treated to a pretentious film that tries its hardest to end on the happiest note it possibly can — even a character’s death is compensated by retarded symbolism.

To make things worse, “The Princess And The Frog” is painfully badly-written, with bland dialogue and uninspired characters. It takes only a few hours for the frog prince and the frog princess to go from hating each other to wanting to marry each other, and the new friends they make in their journey, an idiotic jazz-playing crocodile and an idiotic firefly, are written in such a jolly way they kept reminding me of the adorable Happy Tree Friends, with the exception neither of them dies in hilariously gruesome ways (which is the reason the Happy Tree Friends are so adorable: they die horribly).

Only the three hunters who show up halfway through the film are truly interesting and funny, being hillbillies depicted in a relentlessly stereotypical fashion — and their participation lasts no longer than five entertaining minutes, after which we’re back to the frog prince falling in love with the frog princess and the supporting characters trying to be adorable and only managing to be retarded.

And here’s the film’s idea of a good one-liner to be said in a moment of triumph over the villain: “It’s not slime, it’s mucus!”
The musical numbers fare slightly better, failing to be memorable to the ear but the eye is treated to some inventive animations (especially during Facilier’s turn). However, some notes on the first song reminded me strongly of “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” from “Toy Story”, and the composer of both films is Randy Newman, so I think it’s a fair guess that the guy was simply out of inspiration and not willing to try any harder. As for the cast, I saw the version with Brazilian voiceovers, so I can’t form an opinion on the original actors.

As for the visuals, I caught some bad animations here and there (depictions of characters walking, mainly), but overall it lives up to Disney’s standard of fluidity and energy, and there’s some good visual jokes (like a couple dancing very exageratedly, and it’s a shame the camera barely gives them two seconds of screen time).

So yes, the studio most definitely should go back to 2D animation — it was stupid they ever gave it up to begin with. But next time the usually ingenious John Lasseter should remember to attach a good story to it, and try and make that the film’s highlight rather than the amount of melanin in the protagonist’s skin.

Written by André Navarro on December 14th 2009 

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Last updated: 2009-12-22 13:59:04 by andre_navarro

The Princess and the Frog

Remember the days when movies were hand drawn and in 2D? Well, if The Princess and th Frog is any indication, they may be coming back. I’ll admit, I’m a Disney freak, and have been looking forward to this film longer than just about any movie in my life, including both Transformers. After watching this afternoon, I can say with pride that it did not disappoint.
Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Tiana, is Disney’s first African-American princess. However, as you watch the movie, you don’t even notice, and why should you? Aside from the culture difference between her and her best friend, Charlotte, who appears to be the richest girl in New Orlans, you don’t even notice it. Such a shame that people are making such a big deal about the race of the newest princess, especially since they didn’t make a big deal about Ariel being the first redhead, or Mulan being the first Asian, or Aladdin being the first human male to get his own picture.
When you make a picture set in New Orleans, no matter what the genre, you must have jazz and food in it, and those are exactly two of the biggest driving forces in this picture, aside from the voodoo (another key New Orleans draw) and story. Set in the 1920s, the city sets the perfect backdrop for this story, and the animators and storyboarders captured the city to near perfection (it was a little clean for my taste, even for those days).
Tiana…what can I say about her. I’ve touched on her in previous entires, Defending the Disney Princesses and Who Should be a Princess, and now she has her time to shine.In the lexicon of Disney heroines, in years to come she will be remembered up there with the greatest. She works two jobs to scrimp and save in order to buy her own restaurant, something her father and she dreamed of. It is never said what happened to her father, but it appears he may have dies in WWI. Although this is her movie, she doesn’t hog the spotlight, just as her fellow princesses didn’t. I have to wonder when she was cast, if she sought out advice from the likes of Ariel, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, etc. Speaking of Belle, she bears a slight resemblance to her and the actress who gives her a voice, Anika Noni Rose. Anika’s vocals do this character justice, but it is her singing that really sets her apart. While not the strongest in the world, they are solid. For goodness sakes, Tiana isn’t an opera or Broadway star. Rose allegedly beat out the likes of Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Hudson, for the role. I think she was a perfect choice.
Prince Naveen…this guy comes off as your typical cocky prince when we first meet him. He’s carefree, but when you have no money and have been cut off, you have to find some way to get that out of your head, right. Naveen falls prey to the Shadow man,and spends the majority of the film trying to decide what it is he wants, true happiness or love…not to mention the constant berating be Tiana he endures. I’m not exactly sure where this country he’s from, is, but his accent leads me to belive it’s somewhere near France or Spain, but I can’t pinpoint it. In terms of looks, he reminds me of Eric from The Little Mermaid, only with more, for lack of a better term, ethnic features.
Dr. Facilier…another in a great line of tremendous Disney villains, which include Jafar, the Wicked Queen, Ursala, Scar, the Horned King, Cruella de Ville, and Maleficent. When you talk about giving this guy a voice, no one is better than Keith David. This guy’s rumbling baritone vocals really resonated with the character and were downright creepy at times. I didn’t quite understand what is deal was with this “friends from the other side”, but that’s just one of those mysteries that may have been uncovered in the book, or is best left unknown. What I do know is that this guy’s song steals the show. It is such a shame he isn’t more in the film. Also, I do believe he is the first villain to no have some sort of sidekick. Even Maleficent and the Wicked Queen had crows. All he has is his shadow.
Mama Odie…I guess you can say she is the equivalent to the fairy godmother in the picture. Like Facilier, her song steals the show, and she also uses voodoo, but at least she doesn’t owe a debt to mysterious voodoo masks. This blind woman uses a pet snake as a walking stick, and like Cinderella’s fairy godmother, is a bit…shall we say…out there. It works for her, though, and makes for quite the enjoyable character.
Ray and Louis are the token sidekicks. Ray being a firefly they meet in the bayou (that’s a swamp for you non southern/Louisiana readers), and Louis is an alligator who years to play his trumpet for people. I don’t think I need to tell you who Louis is named after, do I? Both characters are there to add comic relief, but Ray, I have to say, does a better job. I warn you now, there is a moment of sadness near the end, involving one of these characters.
Charlotte, Tiana’s best friend, is a spoiled rich girl, who you just know she would want to keep the prince all to herself, but in a break from the norm, she actually is as nice (and airheaded) as can be. Bi Daddy LeBeouf and Tiana’s parents are some of the most caring people I’ve ever seen on film.
This film isn’t all rave review from me. The drawing seemed a bit off, as if they had either gotten artists straight out of high school or were rusty. I’ll chalk it up to the latter, since Disney has been obsessed with computer animation since Home on the Range. The beginning of the picture, where we meet Tiana seems to drag on. I mean we get the pciture…thisi s Tiana and Charlotte and New Orleans, blah, blah, blah, get on with it. Also, when Tiana first becomes a frog and she and Naveen are escaping the party, Charlotte’s dog apparently speaks to her, giving the audience the impression that the animals can hear her, but this is never touched on or talked about again. I’d say that this is how they hear Louis and RAy, except that the humans Louis plays with on the steamboat (they think he’s in a Mardi Gras costume) can hear him just fine. I guess that’s one of those mysteries like who all can hear Stewie from Family Guy.
I am so glad Disney decided to not only go back to 2D, but bring back the musicals. If they were smart, they go back and look at their most successful animated pictures (not counting the Pixar films), these would be the ones that are musicals, yet for some reason they abandoned the concept and eventually gave up on hand drawn animation. Often times musicals will leave you with songs that are just ho-hum and you won’t remember then 5 minutes after they’re done, let alone be singing them after the film is over, but this one had my toe tapping all the way through. Trust me, I will be adding this music to my collection. Randy Newman did an excellent job, and Ne-Yo’s song during the end credits just was the cherry on top.
As I was sitting in the theater, I was surprised at how excited everyone was to see this. Aside from your typical summer blockbuster, I have to say I have not seen a theater so packed. It was almost standing room only, and I went during the day!
Oh, one more thing, Tiana’s dream sequence…the animators captures that 20s style of art. It reminded me of the “RHapsody in Blue” segment from Fantasia 2000, and was just as good!
Disney has recaptured the magic with this one. No, it’s not as good as some others, but it is a major step in the right direction. Tiana hopefully won’t get mired down in controversy, as is sure to come her way from people who just want to be haters. This is a beautiful picture, and most importantly, is didn’t const $2.50 extra for what accounts to renting a pair of sunglasses to watch! I love this movie and even if I wasn’t a collector of Disney animated pictures, it still would be going in the collection. Let the countdown begin for the DVD! In the meantime, you should go see it, preferably more than once. Yes, it is that good!

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