For a while now, Pixar has been doing most of the heavy lifting for Disney's animated film department. Apart from distributing Hayao Miyazaki's occasional masterpiece, Disney has little stock left in the hand-drawn animation department, though they seem out to remedy that unfortunate trend with their recent feature The Princess and the Frog. It might not be the cure they wanted, but it will definitely be considered a solid strike towards the direction of getting their once revered house of mouse back in the hand-drawn animation biz. To its credit, The Princess and the Frog does a lot to recreate that magic Disney was once known for around the world (would anyone have cared about the Disneyworld resorts were it not for that sense of whimsy?). It has a few inspired musical numbers, a majority of wonderfully animated scenes against terrific backdrops true to the story's bayou setting, and most of the elements needed to set it in the pantheon of Disney greats – it's just not quite there.
The film's title deceives both the audience and the frog prince by calling its protagonist Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) a princess. She's not really a princess until the end (spoiler – if you don't already know the story it's based on), and even then the movie's pretty much over. Digression. Disney has transposed the traditional story from some setting in Victorian England to the streets and bayous of New Orleans, Louisiana. If you want an interesting way to look at Disney's newest film, it's the first, good, hand-drawn Disney film set in modern America since Oliver and Company. That says something.
The stunning Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) from abroad arrives in Louisiana for festivities and on the lookout or a bride. Tiana'a best friend since childhood (Jennifer Cody) is ecstatic and has her father (John Goodman) invite the royal man to their annual masquerade ball. As the prince sings and dances his way through New Orleans, he catches the eyes of the lithe, sinister Dr. Facilier (Keith David) who casts a spell turning the prince into a frog and giving his bumbling servant the appearance of the prince. This comes immediately after the shadowy man tells the prince his fortune, the predicted events coming true following the tarot card display just doesn't seem fair. That's not fortune telling, that's insider trading.
Newly transformed into a frog, the Naveen escapes and hops about New Orleans until he shows up at the Masquerade ball where Tiana, a workaholic dead-set on raising the necessary funds to open her own restaurant, is working as the main pastry chef. She dresses up for the party donning a dress and tiara, thus prompting the frog prince to mistake her for a princess. He convinces her to kiss him (because he thinks she's a princess), only to find them both slimy amphibians after the fact. Then, because it's dangerous living as amphibians in New Orleans, they escape into the bayou hoping to find a way to transform themselves back into their human forms. Each learns a respective lesson about their life (him to take responsibility, her to loosen up) and make a few animal friends along the way. A musically ambitious alligator and hepcat lightning bug become their comrades in adventure.
Disney was very proud of itself for producing its first African-American princess, a point which actually does address a discussion raised a few years back. However, the inherent message for this princess is similar to that of Aladdin: marry into royalty. At least here the message isn't completely moot as we learn early on that the Prince Naveen was cut off financially by his parents, thus inciting his search for a rich princess. Ending the story with Tiana, the two of them opening up her dream restaurant, poses a rather decent lesson of hard work being the ultimate solution to good fortune.
We tend to talk about the beauty of Pixar's gorgeous CGI renderings, but hand-drawn animation can be just as great. The Princess and the Frog rarely disappoints visually save for a few scenes where certain characters just don't fit into the typical animation schema. It's a weird occurrence but it happens enough to be noticeable. Otherwise it's a brilliant animated film and certainly warrants a high-definition purchase on Blu-ray.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Disney continues its Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy combo packs – good for them. For extra features we get the full Disney treatment analyzing every aspect of the film, from the creation of a princess for a new generation, a sinister villain, the joy of hand animation, to a music video by Ne-Yo. Ne-Yo, really? Rarely is a Blu-ray's animation stills set worth a look, but in this case it's interesting to see the concept art behind the venture. A featurette chronicles the Disney legacy up to this point, covering past films, their princesses, while making suggestive hints at the future hand-drawn animation projects they might have in store.
"The Princess and the Frog" is on sale March 16, 2010 and is rated G. Adventure, Animation, Comedy. Directed by John Musker, Ron Clements. Written by Ron Clements & John Musker. Starring Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Jennifer Cody, John Goodman, Keith David, Michael Leon Wooley, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard.
