The Princess and the Frog
A return to classic Disney animation, talking animals, musical numbers with song and dance. The Princess and the Frog is Disney’s first attempt in nearly a decade to tell an original story in that classic style of animation those of us who were born before the new millennium grew up with and came to know and love. It absolutely succeeds. It’s engaging, fun, hilarious, meant for children, but enjoyable for adults, as well. This may be Disney reminding the world of who it is and where it came from. Old school Disney animation is a class of its own, and this film is a taste of that earlier era in children’s cinema, full of magic and wonder.
Much ado has been made over the fact that this film marks the first time in the storied history of Disney that an African-American is the protagonist. In the scheme of animated feature films, this is a landmark. In the movie, it is a detail which adds some texture to the story’s landscape. In Jazz-age era New Orleans (with a requisite Streetcar reference), the relationship between blacks and whites was imperfect, to say the least. Disney pulls a lot of punches, however, in having Tiana’s best friend, Charlotte, be white. This anachronistic friendship seems to be intended to allow that most impressionable group, kids, to enjoy the movie without leaving with any hint of racial confusion or ambiguity, a necessary, if not historically correct, touch.
Tiana grows up in a tight-knit community in New Orleans with her parents. Her father’s dream is to open a fancy restaurant in the most happening area of the city, but he isn’t able to see his dream realized. Years later, Tiana is working double-shifts at a diner to make her (and her father’s) dream come true. Though a recluse due to her hard working ways, Tiana is loved by one and all. She chooses work over play in every situation, and her dream is beginning to seem within arm’s reach. After Prince Naveen of Maldonia comes to town, the cards begin to fall where they may, and Tiana and Naveen find themselves under a new skin, in a new swampy wilderness, with a whole cast of talking animal friends, on a journey back home, both geographically and taxonomically.
Disney keeps the laughs rolling and the musical numbers soaring. The voice-acting is spot-on, from John Goodman to Terrence Howard and Keith David, and from Anika Noni Rose to Jennifer Cody and Jennifer Lewis (even Oprah has a vocal cameo). The animation has the feel of films like The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid, among others. Some of the characters are so reminiscent of predecessors, it seems it must be intentional. Louis, the talking, trumpet-playing alligator, is clearly reminiscent of Baloo, at one point floating down a river on his back, nearly identical to a scene from The Jungle Book. Dr. Facilier (the antagonist) seems to be an amalgam of Jafar and Ursula, with magical powers, minions, and a beguiling demeanor, employing Lawrence for his dirty work, a character who is a mixture of Iago and the Sultan from Aladdin.
This at times expressionistic and self-aware film openly borrows from earlier animated Disney feature films, and it works, reminding us of why we love Disney, and of the magic that captivated us as children and will captivate our children as well. Disney is, in a word, enchanting. Any film under their banner must have this delightfully spell-binding quality. The Princess and the Frog is another film to add not only to the Disney canon, but to their growing oeuvre, a collection of movies without which no shelf is complete. If you are a Disney fan, an animation fan, or just like musicals, see this one, and be reminded of why you fell in love with Disney in the first place.
Rating: 3.5/4 Stars
