The wait if FINALLY over! Disney returns to 2-D, hand-drawn animation with their new film, "The Princess and the Frog"! Filled with tons of new songs by composer Randy Newman and plenty of new characters that can join the Disney family, this movie was a great start in what should become a string of successful animated features. Disney is already in the works for "Rapunzel" which is set to hit theaters next holiday season. But this time, our princess is a girl named Tiana!
She will fit right into the Disney Princess family, although, her dream isn't to "meet her prince charming and dance off into her happily ever after"! Being inspired by her father, she dreams of owning her very own New Orleans restaurant, and she's "Almost There"... she just needs the money! Tiana is voiced by Tony Award winner, Anika Noni Rose, who also stared in the movie "Dreamgirls" back in 2006. Tiana's dream is put on hold when she meets Prince Naveen... except when she meets him... he's a frog!
This is the kind of movie that Disney is supposed to be making, but did it live up to previous animated features? In my opinion, Disney will never be able to create hand-drawn animation masterpieces like "Beauty and the Beast" or "The Lion King" because the new generations are not as fascinated by the hand-drawn creations as people were years ago.
The key isn't necessarily hand-drawn animation, it's good quality, family movies... which is exactly what Disney has done with "The Princess and the Frog"! Though it lacked memorable music, it is a great film that the entire family will enjoy! When I say it lacked memorable music, I mean that unless you have the soundtrack and you've been listening to it non-stop, you probably won't be able to leave the theater singing any of the music in the movie. The one song that stuck out to me was the song "Down In New Orleans" which was played during the beginning of the movie and performed by Randy Newman himself. If any Oscar nominations are in store, that will probably be the song that will be nominated. I would have preferred for Alan Menken, who composed many of the songs for Disney's previous animated musicals such as "The Little Mermaid" to have written the movie's music, but Randy Newman was fine. As for the movie's characters, I didn't find them to be that likable! Tiana was so determined to open up her own restaurant to a point you find yourself saying, forget the restaurant and fall in love with the prince. And as for Prince Naveen, you weren't exactly "on his side" until about mid-way through the film. Other characters such as Mama Odie, the fairy godmother figure, and the villain, Dr. Facilier, weren't very impressive either. The two characters that stood out the most were the movie's two goofy sidekicks that reminded me of Timon and Pumba. Ray and Louis were humorous characters that won't just catch the children's attention, but grown-ups as well! I think any age will enjoy the movie, but unfortunately it mainly appeals to a range of 6 to 8 year olds. I would have only changed one thing about the film, but I can't say what it is because it might ruin the ending! Other than that, be sure and SEE IT!
