The Princess and the Frog Reviews

Like most of the other reviewers here, I am a massive Disney fan at 17. Not only growing up on movies like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, which are not only two of my favourite Disney movies but two of my favourite movies ever, but also watching shows like Darkwing Duck, Talespin, DuckTales and The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and singing along to their theme tunes. From my earliest memories as a child, I remembered wanting to be a mermaid with Ariel, being spellbound by The Circle of Life, wanting to fly on a magic carpet with Aladdin, wanting to stay in Neverland with Peter Pan, getting all nostalgic whenever I heard When You Wish Upon a Star, singing The Bare Neccessities at the top of my lungs(still do it actually), wanting to hug Quasimodo as he cried over Esmeralda, crying at Bambi's mother's death, being scared to death by Ursula's laugh and laughing at the witty banter between Prince John and Sir Hiss. The Princess and the Frog mayn't be the best Disney movie of the lot, but it is for me the best Disney film of the last decade. This is coming from someone who loved Emperor's New Groove, Lilo and Stitch and Fantasia 2000, but was disappointed in Home on the Range and save a few exceptions(ie. Bambi 2) most of the sequels.

One thing that springs to mind is the quality of the animation. I know some have complained of it being Saturday morning cartoon standard or direct to video sequel quality, but I found it absolutely stunning. The bayou scenes especially were exquisitely rendered and gave the film a warm richness, reminding me slightly of the Kiss The Girl scene from The Little Mermaid, and the backgrounds and landscapes reminded me of the splendour of the animation in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a very underrated Disney film. The characters were also very well drawn, Tiana looking like a traditional princess and Dr Facilier looking as suave and charismatic as he sounds. The animation here is better than that of Titanic:The Animated Movie(which I am mentioning because that ripped off Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella, all but to name a few) and The Return of Jafar, both of which had in my opinion sloppy art direction. I know parents may complain of the voodoo scenes being inappropriate perhaps, but they were for me very vibrantly animated, intoxicating and both fun and scary.

Another complaint I read was the songs being generic and forgettable. Can I disagree here? I am not trying to say people who say that are wrong, no, no, no, what I am saying is that I liked them. I do admit I am not a Randy Newman fan but I loved his songs for Cats Don't Dance and thought I will give Newman a chance. The tunes here are appropriately jazzy and upbeat, maybe not as memorable as the beautiful music of Beauty and the Beast, the rousing Lion King numbers, the lyrical melodies of Sleeping Beauty or the haunting and almost operatic ones of Hunchback(Hellfire never fails to give me goosebumps), but goodness aren't they an improvement on Home on the Range? The only song I remember from that film, which I found disappointingly average despite the voice cast and Alan Menken, was Slim's yodel song and that was for the use of William Tell and Ode To Joy. I loved the sinister yet upbeat tone of Friends on the Other Side, the tenderness of Ma Belle Evangeline, the fun of Dig a Little Deeper and the celebratory mood of Down in New Orleans. I also feel Anika Noni Rose has a strong, powerful, beautiful singing voice that I felt could've been used even more.

The story is obviously enhanced and modernised to a New Orleans setting, I do agree there are some moments in the film that drag, but the film took a simple fairytale, enhanced it and on the whole made a charming and likable film out of it, and that isn't easy to do. The scripting isn't bad either, there are no lame pop culture references like there were in Doogal, and look how awful that was, and while maybe not as intelligent as films like Watership Down, there are some funny and moving moments. And I loved the characters. Both Tiana and Naveen have flaws(Tiana being ambitious and Naveen being spoilt), but they also have their charm and avoided being completely clichéd thanks to how they were animated, their motives in the film and the enthusiasm of Anika Noni Rose and Bruno Campos. Dr Facilier is a great villain, suave, charismatic yet menacing, he mayn't be the best of the lot, not being as complex as Frollo, as calculating as Maleficent, as funny as Ratigan or as scary as Ursula, he definitely leaves an impression, and Keith David's melodious and malevolent voice was perfect. Louis, the trumpet-playing alligator is a fun character, same with Charlotte who could have been clichéd but had some depth to her, while Ray the Cajun firefly is one of the better characters of the movie, being both funny and charming. It also helps he is voiced with real exuberance and sensitivity by the legendary Jim Cummings. His death I think is shocking and heart-rending, and Dr Facilier being dragged to the graveyard was suitably creepy.

Overall, not the best Disney movie out there, but it is great, one of the better films of theirs to come out in recent years. 9/10 Bethany Cox

It was five long years between Home on the Range’s hand-drawn animation and The Princess and the Frog’s return to the format. In fact, it feels like a long-lost relic from the Disney Renaissance, that second golden age which brought about neo-classics like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. If everything in The Princess and the Frog feels slightly formulaic, at least it’s an exceptionally well-done piece of formula, and, frankly, in my eyes, a welcome and missed one. Hand-drawn animation, how do I miss you as each year goes by.

 

What The Princess and the Frog has going for it in spades, in stark contrast to the gag-a-minute brain-dead films of DreamWorks, is a solid story structure, characters who clearly articulate their wants and needs, warm and lovely animation, and a score that maybe lacks in instant classics but makes up for with authenticity of time and place. Although the few musical numbers which burst out from the rest of the pack are a one-two punch of “Almost There” and “Friends on the Other Side.” Both of them explode with color, various shapes, and artistic experiments in contrast to the glossy and clean animation of the rest of the film. “Friends,” in particular, is great for its Cab Calloway-meets-Faustus spice. The only other song which linger in the mind is the gospel-tinged “Dig a Little Deeper” with voodoo queen/fairy godmother Mama Odie, a charming and memorable minor player.

 

Like any of the Renaissance era princess, our latest heroine, Tiana, isn’t in dire need of a personality, or even necessarily a prince. Tiana believes in hard work, setting goals, and making her life-long dream a reality. She’s a little Type A, and could use some fun and adventure in her life. She learns to soften her Type A after accidentally turning into a frog, and finds a prince to add some fun and color to her life. And it must be said, Prince Naveen is, without a doubt in my mind, the handsomest prince that Disney has ever come up with, and kudos to Disney for reflecting our modern culture’s tendency towards interracial marriage and giving their latest princess a racially ambiguous prince to live out her happily ever after with.

The story is, like many of their best features, a retelling of an old Grimm Brothers fairy tale. A prince by magical circumstances becomes a frog and seeks a princess to break the spell. That’s about all of the connections that this has with the original fairy tale. Gone are the golden ball, the spoiled princess, and that pesky, briefly hinted at sex and nudity. In their place are New Orleans culture and music. I think it’s a more than fair trade.

 

Orbiting around the two romantic leads are a series of mostly enjoyable supporting players. My personal favorites are the aforementioned voodoo queen Mama Odie, the villainous Dr. Facilier, a neurotic jazz-trumpet playing alligator named Louis, and Tiana’s childhood friend, Lottie, a southern debutante with a flair for the dramatic. Not every single digression is golden, a brief detour with some hillbilly stereotypes is a bit of dead weight. But The Princess and the Frog has a higher rate of hitting its various check-boxes than missing them.

 

I don’t know if it’s a new masterpiece, but it’s certainly a solidly made and highly enjoyable film from the Disney canon. If it’s not top-shelf, then, damn, it’s got to be a solid member of the B-team. Shame this film didn’t perform better at the box office. Rumor has it that it’s underperformance convinced Disney to abandon hand-drawn animation and remove girl-centric titles from future films. Guess that explains thatRapunzel turned into Tangled, and The Snow Queen into Frozen. The Princess and the Frog is the Disney formula operating at top speed, providing the kind of charm, wit, and pleasing visuals that only the House of Mouse can.

Disney tried desperately to create a 2D classic and failed. It's not a bad movie, but I wasn't impressed and I don't think I would have been 20 years ago either. I would put it on the same level as Disney's 'Hercules'.

I firmly believe that "The Princess and the Frog" is one of the best non-pixar animated film ever to be created. There has never been a better argument for the revival of traditional animated films.

"The Princess and the Frog," follows of the story of Tiana, a young woman who dreamed of opening her own resteraunt since she was a child. She's so close to her dream, when she gets outbid for the building she wants, and worse; turns into a frog due to a voodoo spell. Tiana and the spoiled Prince Navine must find a way to turn back into a human.

This film is visually enchanting, with gorgeous 2D animation that even rivals modern day CGI. One particularly dazzling scene, is during Dr. Facilier's song, "Friends on the Other Side," a vibrant colored, and elaborate musical number that will win the audience's attention with ease.

So, there are lots of songs, as I should probably mention. Some worse than others, but there's nothing terrible. They range from mediocre, and even incredible. Randy Newman pens all these songs, and composes the score.

All Disney princess films have their magic. This time around, there's voodoo. Certainly there will be discerning parents, and sensitive children may be frightened. I personally enjoyed this unique, and far less generic take. It's darker, and has much more potential. It also provides a lot of unique bits in the film.

The cast is colorful and unique, the movie is hilarious, and at times, quite emotional. There may not be a lot of tears, but you wouldn't be human not be touched by this wonderful film.

I am disappointed that this movie has yet to spark any new 2D developments with Disney. This has to be one of the best examples of 2D animation out there. "The Princess and the Frog" should not be missed or overlooked, it is a treasure.

Tiana is a young inhabitant of 1926 New Orleans. She has held a passion for the culinary arts since childhood, and works two jobs in order to save money and eventually open her own restaurant. Charlotte La Bouff, a débutante and childhood friend of Tiana, hires her to provide refreshments for the Mardi Gras masquerade ball being thrown by her rich daddy, Eli La Bouff. Eli, the perennial King of the Mardi Gras, seeks to welcome Prince Naveen of Maldonia, who has recently arrived, as an eligible suitor to his pampered daughter. Tiana is thrilled to finally have enough to purchase and renovate an old sugar mill into her restaurant.

The disinherited Prince Naveen, penniless and unskilled, is nevertheless intent on marrying a wealthy woman, rather than learning a trade. He and his valet Lawrence encounter Dr. Facilier, a voodoo witch doctor who convinces the pair that he can improve both their lives. Instead, Facilier transforms Naveen into a frog and gives Lawrence a voodoo charm, filled with Naveen's blood, which when worn transforms his appearance to that of Naveen's. Facilier intends for Lawrence, under the guise of Naveen, to marry Charlotte in order to gain access to her father’s fortune.

At the ball, Charlotte flirts with Lawrence as Tiana discovers she may lose the mill to a higher bidder. Tiana then meets Naveen, who, believing her to be a princess because of her costume, asks her to kiss him and break Facilier's curse. Tiana agrees, in exchange for the money needed to outbid the other buyer. However, instead of Naveen turning into a human, Tiana is turned into a frog herself. Naveen and Tiana escape to a bayou.

Lawrence later proposes to Charlotte, who happily agrees, but soon the magic in Facilier's charm wears off and Lawrence reverts to his original form. Facilier tells Lawrence they need another sample of the prince's blood in order to prolong the spell, but discovers that Lawrence had foolishly released him. Facilier turns to the voodoo gods for help, with the promise that once Lawrence marries Charlotte, he will have total control over New Orleans and will be able to offer the citizens' souls as payment. The voodoo gods give Facilier shadow demons, who are then dispatched to locate Naveen.

At the bayou, Tiana and Naveen meet Louis the Alligator, who plays a trumpet expertly, and Ray, a Cajun firefly. Louis and Ray offer to lead them to the good voodoo priestess Mama Odie, who they believe can undo the curse. Mama Odie tells the frogs that Naveen must kiss a true princess for them to become human. They determine that since Eli La Bouff is King of Mardi Gras, it follows that Charlotte is a princess. The quartet return to New Orleans in order to find Charlotte before Mardi Gras ends, at the stroke of midnight. Tiana and Naveen realize that they love each other but before they can admit their feelings, Naveen is captured and brought to Facilier.

Before Lawrence (disguised as Naveen) and Charlotte can marry, Ray helps Naveen escape and steals the charm. Ray gives the charm to Tiana in order to hold back Facilier's minions, but is killed by Facilier. Facilier then confronts Tiana and offers to make her restaurant dream come true in exchange for the charm, but she refuses and destroys it. The angered voodoo spirits claim Facilier himself as payment for his debts and drag him into hell.

Tiana and Naveen reveal their love to each other and explain the situation to Charlotte, who agrees to kiss Naveen. Unfortunately, the clock strikes midnight before she can kiss him, but the two decide they are content to live together as frogs. After a funeral is held for Ray, Tiana and Naveen are married by Mama Odie. Because of Tiana's new status as princess, they are restored back to human form after their kiss. The couple return to New Orleans to celebrate and, with Louis's help, finally buy and open the new restaurant

This movie was actually the first movie my little daughter saw in the movie theater so it has a special value to me. Anyway, even though it wasn't really a box-office success, I thought it was actually not bad at all. First of all, it was really nice that Disney tried again to make a hand-drawn animated movie, just like in the good old days. Unfortunately, it would be their first and last attempt which is rather sad (at least, so far). Still, it was definitely a nice looking movie but there is no denying that it could have been much better. For example, why did it take place in the New Orleans? Why was the princess actually black? These were actually some really nice ideas though (New Orleans, Voodoo, Jazz,...) but none of them were developed enough, just like the whole concept behind the story. Indeed, I loved this concept of the Princess becoming a frog but it showed up way too late in the story and, like the other things mentioned before, it was hardly developed enough. Furthermore, I'm not sure it was a good idea to mix all those elements together. Still, in spite of these flaws, I think it was an entertaining and enjoyable feature and it is definitely worth a look especially if you like the good old Fairy tales created by Disney.

''There is no way I'm kissing a frog and eating a bug in the same day.''

A fairy tale set in Jazz Age-era New Orleans and centered on a young girl named Tiana and her fateful kiss with a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again.

Anika Noni Rose: Tiana

The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated family film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, inspired in part by E. D. Baker's novel The Frog Princess, which was in turn inspired by the Grimm brothers' fairy tale The Frog Prince.



It is the 49th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics line, and the first of these films to be traditionally (2D) animated since 2004's Home on the Range. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, directors of The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, and Treasure Planet, with songs and score composed by Randy Newman and featuring the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jennifer Cody, Jim Cummings, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, and John Goodman. Tiana, the main character, is also notable as Disney's first black princess.

When I first heard about this film back in 2009 I felt somewhat nostalgic. Having seen the Directors had worked on some Disney offerings from my childhood; Aladdin & The Little Mermaid.
I was willing to give the film a chance, I was however not excited enough at the time, to rush down to the Cinema and see it.
Thank God I didn't. Disney's latest has the same tired formula that the 49 films previously have all touched upon; The fact remains the pacing is slow, the depth and meaning relatively non-existent, and the characters are hardly easy to understand or warm affection upon.
The Princess and the Frog certainly proves that if you have seen one Disney film you have seen them all. Girl and guy argue, they fall in love, and then the flat villains are defeated by the good guys. Everything wraps up nicely, to the extent, one feels sick with intrepidation.
Running to the defence, the film does have some gorgeously drawn frames and animation. Unfortunately the unmemorable songs negate the charm and charisma that is necessary to propel the story and characters into the memory. It is simply forgettable, dull and somewhat pointless in it's pretentious self righteousness.

The visual effects and backgrounds for the film were created digitally using Cintiq tablet displays. Perhaps the best aspect of the film and the smooth animation rates.
The backgrounds were painted digitally using Adobe Photoshop, and many of the architectural elements were based upon 3D models built in Autodesk Maya. Nicely done.
The former trend in Disney's hand-drawn features where the characters and cinematography were influenced by a CGI-look has been abandoned. Andreas Deja, a veteran Disney animator who supervised the character of Mama Odie in Princess and the Frog, says "I always thought that maybe we should distinguish ourselves to go back to what 2D is good at, which is focusing on what the line can do rather than volume, which is a CG kind of thing. So we are doing less extravagant Treasure Planet kind of treatments...''
Deja also mentions that Lasseter was aiming for the Disney sculptural and dimensional look of the 1950s: "All those things that were non-graphic, which means go easy on the straight lines and have one volume flow into the other – an organic feel to the drawing." Lets save these people time explaining because the finalised piece is a disappointing slog. A 2D farce with no proper storytelling elements to back its style. The substance is lacking.

Overall, The Princess and the Frog feels a waste. It also has the good and evil themes concerning black and white. Voodoo is unjustly labelled as devilry while doctrines are sadly stereotypical.
Woefully sad the experience becomes because I had some high expectations from Disney as always. It doesn't retain the former glory of previous instalments. The Little Mermaid had charm, Aladdin had charisma, even Beauty and the Beast had heart and passion...So why on earth does The Princess and the Frog have none of these elements?
I'm actually still in a state of flux and fuming rage due to the lack of provocative the Picture takes with it's A to B simplicity. Mindless children and witless adults may indeed lap this rustic affair up, but I energetically see the charade for what it is...A complete travesty only saved by luscious animation and drawings. Seeing past the surface, The Princess and the Frog neither pleases musically or with the unoriginal storytelling it divulges.

"The evening star is shinin' bright. So make a wish and hold on tight. There's magic in the air tonight, and anything can happen."

If you were unaware of its 2009 release date, you could easily believe that The Princess and the Frog was created in the late 1980s or early '90s, alongside The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. All the proverbial Disney elements are in place - a loose connection to a time-worn fairy tale, Broadway-style music numbers, animal sidekicks, a type of fairy godmother, and a mixture of comedy & romance. More importantly, The Princess and the Frog marks Disney's return to the realm of hand-drawn 2-D animation following a five-year hiatus. While this is all well and good, The Princess and the Frog merely comes across as a well-meaning but overly calculated effort to please everyone, and the result feels like a formulaic direct-to-DVD effort as opposed to a triumphant return to form.

The titular princess is an African-American named Tiana (Rose), who is in reality not a princess at all but rather a working-class waitress in New Orleans who aspires to someday open her own restaurant. Tiana's life suddenly takes a turn when Prince Naveen (Campos) visits New Orleans. After a run-in with the shadowy Dr. Facilier (David), Naveen is turned into a frog and believes a kiss from a princess will bring him back to his human form. Unfortunately, Naveen mistakes Tiana's ball costume for the dress of an actual princess, and, when he convinces Tiana to plant a smooch on his lips, the lip-lock results in Tiana becoming a frog herself. With Tiana and Naveen stuck together as frogs, they navigate the backwaters of southern Louisiana in search of a certain Mama Odie (Lewis), who may be able to restore their human form.

Not leaving anything to chance for their hand-drawn animation comeback, Disney hired animation directors Ron Clements and John Musker to oversee The Princess and the Frog, as well as bringing Randy Newman on-board to take care of the songs. Speaking from a visual standpoint, there's little to differentiate this picture from the likes of Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. The animation is, of course, delightful, with the streets of New Orleans and the dangerous backwaters of Louisiana being imbued with the same subtle magic which gave life to the main locations of esteemed Disney classics. Most impressive, though, is Dr. Facilier. Speaking from a narrative perspective, he's a one-dimensional villain, but he's genuinely sinister and interesting. In addition, the voice cast is fantastic. The little-known voice actors do a superb job in their respective roles (Anika Noni Rose as Tiana in particular), while the big-name actors (Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard and John Goodman, to name a few) are equally terrific.

The Princess and the Frog was heralded as a breakthrough due to two particular factors: it's Disney's return to hand-drawn animation, and it features Disney's first African-American heroine. But really, it was only five years since Disney's last hand-drawn animated feature (Home on the Range), which, in the grand scheme of things, is not a particularly lengthy hiatus (especially if one considers the lengthy production periods on these projects). Secondly, Disney pictures have always featured diverse heroes, so the notion of an African-American heroine is nothing groundbreaking. If one removes these two elements from the equation of analysing The Princess and the Frog (they are, after all, more marketing concerns than artistic concerns), all that remains is a passable but entirely forgettable and unremarkable addition to the Disney canon.

The set-up for The Princess and the Frog is entertaining and interesting enough, but the execution of the story fails to bring it to life in a grand or memorable way. While the animation is colourful, there are only a few select moments in which the artists have brought true dynamic colour to the screen. Pacing is also an issue, as is the stale, clichéd nature of the entire narrative. From the outset, the narrative's conclusion is terribly predictable, and the ending is even more saccharine-coated than you'd expect. While recent Pixar movies such as WALL-E and Up were predictable too, they were mature, fun, and each film managed to pack a tremendous emotional punch. These aforementioned positives are generally absent from The Princess and the Frog. Additionally, the inert love story between Tiana and Naveen never develops the type of romantic traction which other Disney classics benefitted from. And sure, while the characters burst into song and dance more than a couple of times, these musical numbers feel obligatory (this is a Disney movie!) more than anything else. Randy Newman's jazzy songs are entirely unremarkable, as they merely reassert information already established outside of the music.

Formula is, of course, a Disney staple - it's required to help develop a sense of comfort for young viewers. While there's a sense of nostalgia watching all of these generic elements playing out once again, the recipe no longer feels fresh. In fact, it feels as if those behind The Princess and the Frog were perpetually on autopilot. Thus, a strain of fatigue mars the movie; preventing the material from exploding into brilliance. Instead, it's just a mediocre, merely watchable effort.

6.1/10

I was going into this film with high expectations because it is Disney's first animated musical in a decade (last one was Tarzan) and after reading production diaries and reviews, it is another Disney Renaissance. It was a 2D animation which is tradition Disney animation and is one of the hand-drawn animated films which hasn't been done for many years. I was nervous about it as well because ever since Tarzan, the Disney classics have been either really bad or just disappointments. When I saw The Princess And The Frog, I was in awww just as I was walking out of the cinema and I absolutely loved it! The Princess And The Frog certainly brought back something from Disney that I didn't think we'd ever see again. They bought characters that are full of jokes, which have both adult and child humour involved and most importantly, feeling the magic of the chemistry between the characters and the mesmerising score. The Disney Classics that this reminded me a lot of are Aladdin, Tarzan, The Little Mermaid, Lady And The Tramp and Beauty And The Beast.


Pretty much every single actor who provided their voices in this film I had not been familiar with except John Goodman who played a minor role in the film. The Princess And The Frog tells the story of a young woman called Tiana. She is a waitress and she dreams of owning her very own restaurant. Tiana just wanted her restaurant with a simple name: "Tiana's Place". Prince Naveen arrives in New Orleans where he is turned into a frog by evil voodoo master, Dr. Facilier. To become human again, he must kiss a princess. When he comes across Tiana, thinking she is a princess they share a kiss and Tiana herself turns into a frog. After that one simple kiss, everything starts to change around and in come the new extraordinary characters. Tiana is now one of the 9 Disney Princesses, being the first African-American Disney Princess. When Prince Naveen is a frog, he reminds me a lot of Lumiere from Beauty And The Beast because of his accent and the smile as well when he shows his teeth. Louis the trumpet-playing alligator is like Tantor from Tarzan who has a taste for music as well. Louis is very loosely based on jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Ray the lovesick Cajin Firefly made me laugh in this film too.


Ron Clements and John Musker as directors of this film are another reason why my expectations were pretty high on this film. They both previously directed Disney Classics Basil The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules and Treasure Planet. Together they revived something that I thought I was never going to see again and that I thought was dying: a beautiful, heart melting and smart Disney classic. They will be remembered even more now for reviving Disney animated films again (dropping Pixar aside). 2009 has been a FANTASTIC year for animation so it has been quite hard to decide which animated film is the best. The Princess And The Frog perhaps isn't as good as Up or Ponyo but deserves to be up there with them.


Overall, The Princess And The Frog is an amazing film that has revived Disney again and we saw something in this one like we did in Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King etc that we didn't think we would see again. No other animated Disney can take that away from Princess And The Frog. Walt would have been proud of this! Definitely the best Disney animated film (excluding Pixar) since Tarzan.

I love this disney movie and they haven't been done drawing disney cartoon movie for a long time. I love disney cartoon movies.