Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog

Walt Disney Pictures' newly released The Princess and the Frog marks a much-publicized return to the studio's hand-drawn animation. The colorful, painterly look harks back to such classics as Little Mermaid and Aladdin, and this time, it looks like they went out of their way to show that nothing here even "looked" computer-generated. This is interesting given that Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Tarzan all had their (sometimes jarring) CG moments.

So, what is Princess and the Frog about? It's a modern take on the The Frog Prince tale in Jazz-era New Orleans where we meet Tiana, a waitress who wants to start her own restaurant (a dream her late father had), but comes across Prince Naveen, who had been transformed into a frog by a conniving voodoo magician. The Frog Prince, thinking she is a princess (because she happened to be dressed as one at a masquerade party), convinces her to kiss him, but since she wasn't a real princess, the act itself turns her into a frog also. The rest of the story centers around Tiana and Naveen, as two frogs, meeting various (singing) characters, such as a trumpet playing alligator, a Cajun firefly, and an old voodoo lady, while trying to break the spell by looking for a princess to kiss Naveen. Meanwhile, Naveen's conniving servant has been masquerading as Naveen (through voodoo magic) and is trying marry a princess, which basically would result in Naveen and Tiana stuck as frogs forever (I think).

So, what did I think? Starting off with the visuals, the skies, the colors, the cities, and the swamps, the beautiful water-effects, and the overall look of New Orleans are amazing. There are fluid, glowing, painterly moments that even Pixar (with all their realistic, yet fantastic, imagery) would appreciate. In comparison, though, the characters, while well-drawn, look rather flat, but not jarringly so. They do not particularly stand out as innovative, stylistically-speaking, but they are expressive and as far as the human counterparts go, quite poignant and subtle at times. Unfortunately, once the characters turn into frogs (which they stay for most of the movie), they didn't seem as interesting-there's little subtlety, they're more cartoony and stretchy, and goofiness ensue.

As for the characters, it's noteworthy that there have been much talk about the fact that this film is the first time we get to see an African American princess in a Disney cartoon. I'm rather thankful that they didn't just change the character's race and merely breezed into the generic Western fairy tale as if nothing happened. It at least made sense that it took place in New Orleans, where we get an array of various dark-toned characters who inhabit it. We get to see both of her parents and those family moments are nicely introduced. The character of Tiana is quite likable, although her character seemed fairly single-minded. Prince Naveen, other the fact that he likes to dance and is a bit of a playboy, isn't explored too much either (but then again, compared to most past Disney princes, he's no cardboard cutout). Tiana's bubbly yet self-centered childhood friend, Charlotte, is hilarious in her outlandish "princess" mannerisms and speech. The trumpet-playing alligator seemed more like a gimmick and it wasn't explained how or why he plays a trumpet. (True, the animated furniture in Beauty and the Beast was a gimmick too, but at least they explained it at the end) As for the voodoo villain, with his dark inclination to the occult, he is too strange and creepy for a Disney film, and why he wants to take people's souls may be hard to explain to the little ones.

The music had a lot of energy, and there were more than enough elaborate music numbers, where every character seemed to break into a song. While enjoyable enough, I didn't find a particularly memorable song. Perhaps I was distracted by all the visuals and sounds. I have to admit, though, it takes extra work for Disney these days to really captivate me with their music. Perhaps the enormous plethora of all the teen musicals are to blame.

Now, going to the humor-much of it consisted of sight gags and many quips. After a while, I was starting to miss all the quiet moments. Why do animators feel a need to squeeze so much gags in a short period of time? I'm reminded of nervous stand-up comedians who are afraid that people wouldn't laugh at their jokes so they keep churning out new jokes before people can react. It's kind of like all the explosions in a Michael Bay film-too much just isn't exciting. Generally these were the moments, mostly in the middle of the film, that dragged the film (I was starting to yawn around this time). There are also various random events that don't seem to serve a particular purpose except for slapstick (like a scene where two bumbling hoodlums capture the frogs). In contrast, I loved all the quiet moments, especially when one really gets to appreciate the beauty of the backgrounds.

Many will agree that the rather clever-than-usual ending was a lot stronger than the rest of the film and one does hope for the best between these two lovebirds. It is hard to show chemistry between two frogs, and near the end, there was some. I just wished the other parts were as good, and that the journey itself was a little more plot than joke-driven.

Overall, I appreciated it more than really entertained by it. I loved the artistry more than the sum of its parts. I felt the amount of work that went into it needed more story and more characterization. For the most part, it seemed like a jumble of gimmicks. The music didn't stand out too much. I wanted more human time, less frog time. Will the kids love it? While some elements will be hard to understand, especially with the way people talk, and business-related scenes, there are enough funny-looking creatures and slapstick. The frogs, however, weren't as well designed as the other animals. And, the dark, voodoo elements seem like something more fitting in a horror movie. In the end, I give The Princess and the Frog ** ½ out of **** stars.