‘The Princess and the Frog’ is an Average Animated Endeavor
-----After a five year hiatus from traditional 2D animation, Disney has returned to the art form with ‘The Princess and the Frog.’ From the creators of classic animated fables ‘Aladdin’ and ‘The Little Mermaid,’ their new film is being sold as a return to glory for the old school Disney animators. Unfortunately their new tale about the bayou doesn’t stand up with Disney’s cornerstone classics, instead being a mediocre though deliciously animated and somewhat nostalgic outing.
-----It’s early 1900s Louisiana, and Tiana is a struggling young woman with aspirations to own her own restaurant. When young Prince Naveen comes to town, Tiana’s rich friend has a party, hoping to win a proposal from the handsome charmer. Unknown to everyone, the Prince had an unfortunate run-in with a voodoo master and now finds himself trapped in the body of a frog. He then finds Tiana and, mistaking her for a Princess, enlists her to give him a kiss, assuming that it will break the curse. Tiana reluctantly agrees only to find herself turned into a frog. The two will now have to navigate the swampy bayou and find the magical Mama Odie to turn them human again. Will they fall in love along the way? Two guesses.
-----Anika Noni Rose plays the seemingly headstrong Tiana. Her performance, while agreeably less stereotypical than the rest of the cast, isn’t particularly distinct. Her singing voice is good, but the songs aren’t anything spectacular. Playing opposite her as Prince Naveen is Bruno Campos, and ultimately the same description amply sums up his performance as the fun loving and arrogant Prince. Much of the cast fall into this mold of adequate vocals with no particularly intriguing voicing talents. Some of this is due to the use of unknown actors rather than Hollywood stars, contrary to casting like George Clooney in last month’s ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox.’ One benefit of the lack of stars is that they all sing their own songs. The downside of this is no familiarity and little relation to the audience. Joining the leads as their goofy sidekicks are Michael-Leon Wooly and Jim Cummings as alligator Louis and firefly Ray, respectively. Louis is basically a bayou spin on Baloo from the Disney classic, ‘The Jungle Book.’ But not only was Baloo a more authentic and entertaining character than Louis, but ‘The Jungle Book’ is likewise a superior experience, with better characters and songs both catchy and memorable; ‘The Princess and the Frog’ just doesn’t standout. Jenifer Lewis plays mama Odie, in a performance that reeks with the stereotypical Louisiana Grandma. While this may be endearing for some and might even capture a part of Louisiana, I mostly just found her “give me some sugar” antics annoying. The only familiar faces who lend their voices are Terrence Howard (‘Iron Man’) and John Goodman (‘Speed Racer’) in bit parts.
-----The problems facing ‘The Princess and the Frog’ are its aforementioned generic tendencies. While it’s good to see Disney make the effort to have a black Princess, it also seems a bit unnecessary. Though not as forced as the trailer would suggest, the fact remains that race relations aside there weren’t really any real life black Princesses, given the European origins of the monarchy system. Regardless, it’s a nice gesture with a reasonable twist as to why there would be a Louisianan Princess, though this brings up another issue. While it may be an attempt to bring attention back to the disaster devastated state, it also brings with it a landscape we’ve seen very often. Rather than a magical fairytale world, we get a lusciously animated bayou. Unfortunately this element is a bit bland, as the film gets caught between a reality and fantasy that the narrative seems to be wrapped around instead of pioneering its own path. The final result is a film that winds up everywhere, spread with busy scenes and a crowded ninety minutes void of heartfelt character chemistry and loaded with unnecessary extras.
-----The animation is a saving grace for this so-so adventure. Not very funny and without outstanding songs, the film’s only reliable source of consistent entertainment is its gorgeous animation. It capably reminds its viewers of the many Disney classics before the age of Pixar, including many it’s been far too long since we’ve visited. However it also makes its viewers long for the superior storytelling of the best Disney cornerstones as opposed to the forgettable, if enjoyable, tale currently onscreen. The music is often average, and while certainly not annoying it too just sort of hints at better days long since past. Ultimately the effect is a number of scenes nearly identical to films like ‘The Jungle Book,’ but rather than packing an emotional punch these replications serve only to awaken you from the detached daze you’ve settled into.
-----‘The Princess and the Frog’ seemed very annoying upon my initial exiting of the theater. I found the stereotypes distractingly blatant, until later it occurred to me that Disney didn’t likely carry a political agenda with their latest entry, and in reality I was just a bit tired of being spoon fed the same old depiction of Louisianan culture. In reality the film has its moments, even if it is a bit busy. The villain may be a bit dark for the youngest children, along with his rather harsh crescendo. Most of the scares will likely be dulled for desensitized kids though, especially given the old school 2D animation. The film would like to be a Disney classic, and is certainly packaged and sold as one, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been seen many times before. It tries to develop a love-hate relationship between its leads, harkening back to ‘Shrek’ in its tale of love beyond appearances, but unlike ‘Shrek’ it never effectively develops the couples relationship. By the time they apparently like each other you feel as if you’ve missed something during your entranced and mostly neutral gaze at the screen. Rest assured-you haven’t missed anything, that’s just the life blood missing from the film’s heart. Nonetheless, ‘The Princess and the Frog’ is a mildly enjoyable animated outing, one that is far less annoying than the worst children’s entertainment, but nothing too special in its own right. You can rent it if you have kids or a love for old school Disney, but why not just pop in the superior classics of yesteryear (many of which have been wrongly forgotten due to Disney’s inconsistent DVD releases).
-----Oscar Watch: It will receive a Best Animated Feature Nod for its luscious animation and its universally amiable if still unexceptional experience.
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