The Princess And The Frog Review

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 11.28.2009

The Magic is back.



Directed By: Ron Clements and Jon Musker
Written By: Ron Clements, Rob Edwards, Greg Erb, Jon Clements, and Jason Oremland; Based on the novel, "The Frog Princess," by E.D. Baker
Runtime: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated G
Official Website: The Princess And The Frog Official Site

Tiana - Anika Noni Rose
Prince Naveen - Bruno Campos
Dr. Facilier - Keith David
Louis - Michael-Leon Wooley
Ray - Jim Cummings
Mama Odie - Jenifer Lewis
Eudora - Oprah Winfrey
James - Terence Howard
"Big Daddy" La Bouff - John Goodman
Charlotte - Jennifer Cody
Lawrence - Peter Barlett

Ladies and gentlemen, the Disney Magic is back. When theatrical animation has moved more and more to the CG medium, studios and production companies adapted a flawed mindset that all animated movies should be made by computer. Yet when the shift began Disney still produced the hit Lilo And Stitch. Apparently, traditional hand-drawn animation was no longer relevant. Now CG-produced animated movies are a dime a dozen. In addition to the modern classics made by Pixar, Dreamworks Animation produced movies such as Shark Tale, the now abominable Shrek franchise, and Monsters vs. Aliens. Don't even get me started on trash like Happily N'Ever After, Delgo, Battle For Terra, and Hoodwinked.

The recent shifting of powers that led to Michael Eisner's exit as CEO, Bob Iger's rise to power, CG-animated producer powerhouse Pixar merging with Disney, and the naming of Pixar director and animator John Lasseter as the Chief Creative Officer of Disney/Pixar Animation, set the stage for theatrical feature traditional animated movies to return to prominence. Long did Lasseter bemoan the idea that this medium was no longer relevant because of the rise of CG-animation. Lasseter made it his mission to bring prominence back to traditional animation at the studio that made animation and cartoons what they are today.

Thus, The Princess And The Frog, a new fairytale update of the classic "The Frog Prince" story was revamped from E.D. Baker's novel, The Frog Princess. This version of the story, set in 1920's New Orleans, gives a fresh and original setting for Disney animation, and brings a fresh, exciting, romantic, and jazz-laden tone and atmosphere to the picture. Here, the main heroine is not a chaste, young maiden waiting to meet her Prince Charming and swept off her feet. Tiana (Rose) is the daughter of a working class seamstress, Eudora (Winfrey), and a gumbo chef, James (Howard). Inspired by the love of cooking and the way good food brings people from all walks of life together, Tiana aspires to follow her father's dream of opening a restaurant. James encourages Tiana to follow her dream, noting that working hard is half the way to the goal. As an adult, after the tragic passing of her father, Tiana works very hard working two jobs as a waitress to save up money for a down payment for space to open the restaurant she and her father wanted. Tiana saves little time to enjoy herself or attempt to start a family and give Eudora grandchildren.

In the other part of the story, Prince Naveen (Campos) arrives in New Orleans. Naveen, a crown prince of a country called Macedonia, was cut off from his family and needs to marry a rich heiress or debutante in order to continue living his cushy and carefree lifestyle. Naveen is immediately at home in the musical and lively city of New Orleans, but falls in with the wrong type of sort in the Voodoo master, Dr. Facilier (David). Dr. Facilier has friends on the other side. Since Dr. Facilier has friends on the other side, he's the ultimate badass of all time Disney animated villains. Facilier aspires to take over the city, sees an opportunity with Naveen and Naveen's manservant, Lawrence (Bartlett), and convincing them to make a deal that will give Naveen and Lawrence what they both want.

Tiana later encounters Naveen at a masquerade party thrown by her wealthy friends Big Daddy (Goodman) and Big Daddy's daughter, Charlotte (Cody), a childhood friend of Tiana. Tiana lost the property rights to the building she wanted for her restaurant after the scumbag realtors sold it out from under her. Down in the dumps, Tiana once again almost foolishly wishes on a star and meets Naveen . . . who is now mysteriously a frog. Tiana is shocked to find a talking frog. The frog entices Tiana into kissing him after he gets the idea from The Frog Prince storybook he finds in Charlotte's bedroom. Reluctantly, Tiana agrees to kiss Frog Naveen, believing that he will pay the rest of her way for the restaurant after he turns back into his human form and marries Charlotte. Instead, the process merely turns Tiana into a frog as well. Tiana and Naveen then have to go on the run from Facilier and his friends on the other side who need Naveen's blood in order to make their scheme work. Fleeing into the bayou, Naveen and Tiana befriend the alligator Louis (Wooley). Louis is a kindly gator who wishes to play jazz on his trumpet in the bright lights of the city. Louis is self-taught and learned from all the showboats that go down the river. Louis brings forth the idea that the three all find the Voodoo priestess, Mama Odie (Lewis), so they can all become human again and gain their hearts' desires.

As simple as the story sounds, Lasseter, Musker, Clements, and their crew have achieved imbuing the characters in the movie with more heart, charm, and warmth than one will ever find in the typical, run of the mill, CG-animated trash that usually gets released. These are all great, amazingly well done, and meticulously drawn characters.

Even more amazing about the movie is that in no way is it condescending. Yes, this is a Disney animated feature, but that does not prevent the use of painful, real, and tragic moments usually found in the subplot with Tiana and her father. The movie does not go to huge lengths in revealing the fate of James. When the story moves forward and Tiana wakes up in her home as an adult, you see a framed picture on her dresser of her father, James, dressed in his uniform from The Great War with a medal placed on the frame. Through no dialogue whatsoever and only through the imagery, does the audience know what happened to James.

The new music by Randy Newman is fantastic and uses jazz beats and tunes as the basis. This is an old fashioned Disney music with lots of songs, but they are all great. There are times during the screening I wanted to jump up and clap during Dr. Facilier's "I've Got Friends On The Other Side," but only some of the audience was really feeling the rush of the moment. This is a great, original sound for a Disney picture.

More than anything, the movie proves that Disney 2-D animation is still relevant as the movie does not look like it could be made any other way. Visually, it appears stunning and perfect. However, the animators still pull off some amazing and awe-inspiring tricks.

The 411: Many over-anxious and eager viewers and fanatics have already opted and resigned themselves to the notion of giving the award of Best Animated Feature to the Pixar movie, Up. Those viewers are only sleeping on the only true movie deserving that award, The Princess And The Frog. Is Up fantastic? Yes. The Princess And The Frog however breathes new life and revives a medium people were saying was dead. The Princess And The Frog at the end of the day is a much greater and more significant achievement than any other animated movie released this year.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]