The Princess and the Frog 2009
This seemed like a lackluster animated movie when it came out. It uses conventional animation and the story about a princess kissing a frog is an old one. Then they seemed to try to make it politically correct by having Disney’s first black heroine. I ordered it from Netflix anyway based on generally positive reviews. As I first started watching I remembered that the soundtrack was by Randy Newman, which seems particularly appropriate since he has written some great songs about Louisiana, the movie’s setting (even down to the time period which is the roaring 20’s). His songs aren’t that great, but two were nominated for Oscars, so they’re not too bad either.
The movie is very conventional in a lot of ways, but it does have some nice flourishes. The princess of the title isn’t a true princess, but a struggling young black woman. I don’t think I’m spoiling the movie when I say she spends most of the movie as a frog, since this is shown in the previews. And she meets some other animals in the bayou as another story is revealed in the city. I think they got some things right about the south, like a spoiled rich white girl having the black maid’s daughter as one of her best friends.
Anyway, the movie is actually pretty good. Although conventional, it is well made and while computer animation and 3-D are all the rage, a movie still can be just as entertaining as long as there is a good plot, strong characters, and quality writing. This movie is definitely worth watching, but little kids might be scared by some of the voodoo which is more intense (still cartoonish) than I expected. B+.
Written: 24 Jul 2010
Owned on: Blu-ray, Digital