THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (2009)
Let's face it. Pixar pissed people off.
When Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story" opened to unforeseen success in 1995, purists proclaimed it the end of an era; the death-blow to the long reign of hand-drawn animation. Disney's "Nine Old Men" were now "ninety-year-old men." Computers were in. Paper-and-pencil were faux pas.
When Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story" opened to unforeseen success in 1995, purists proclaimed it the end of an era; the death-blow to the long reign of hand-drawn animation. Disney's "Nine Old Men" were now "ninety-year-old men." Computers were in. Paper-and-pencil were faux pas.
A decade-and-a-half later, and under the supervision of John Lasseter as executive producer and Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios (and ironically the founder of Pixar), Mickey and company are back doing what they do best, though sadly, their un-retirement isn't up-to-par.
"The Princess and the Frog" tells a familiar fable of ordinary Disney proportions. Though character work is fleshed and thoughtful, the story lacks any sense of iconic weight that propelled previous hand-drawn Disney classics to fame. Musical numbers at times pull their weight in heart and charm, but at other times are superfluous and boggy.
The animation here recalls the films of Disney past, though at times the computer-enhancement seems jarring. Still though, Disney's flourishing color palettes shine and the classic character designs pull through, making "The Princess and the Frog" a trip down memory lane that's worth the price of admission.
However, the one problem plaguing "The Princess and the Frog" is one that the hand-drawn Disney films have had for decades now and have shown an unwillingness to change. "The Princess and the Frog" has no qualms bringing stereotypes to life, moreso typecasting the people (and animals, I guess) of Louisiana as toothless, jazz-loving Cajuns who want to do nothing more than eat gumbo and play with voodoo.
Is that really something you want to perpetuate in your child's head?
Regardless, "The Princess and the Frog" serves as an adequate memory-jolt of the classic Disney films that are staples in everyone's library. Though the film lacks the iconography of the more heralded Disney flicks and seems to have no problem painting the picture that all Southerners have rampant tooth decay and a love for Tobasco sauce, "The Princess and the Frog" remains an apt 97 minutes of Disney magic rekindled for a new generation of movie-goers.
B-
The animation here recalls the films of Disney past, though at times the computer-enhancement seems jarring. Still though, Disney's flourishing color palettes shine and the classic character designs pull through, making "The Princess and the Frog" a trip down memory lane that's worth the price of admission.
However, the one problem plaguing "The Princess and the Frog" is one that the hand-drawn Disney films have had for decades now and have shown an unwillingness to change. "The Princess and the Frog" has no qualms bringing stereotypes to life, moreso typecasting the people (and animals, I guess) of Louisiana as toothless, jazz-loving Cajuns who want to do nothing more than eat gumbo and play with voodoo.
Is that really something you want to perpetuate in your child's head?
Regardless, "The Princess and the Frog" serves as an adequate memory-jolt of the classic Disney films that are staples in everyone's library. Though the film lacks the iconography of the more heralded Disney flicks and seems to have no problem painting the picture that all Southerners have rampant tooth decay and a love for Tobasco sauce, "The Princess and the Frog" remains an apt 97 minutes of Disney magic rekindled for a new generation of movie-goers.
B-
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