Beginning with The Little Mermaid in 1989 and ending with Tarzan in 1999, Disney experienced a string of box office successes in the form of traditional, 2-D animated Broadway-like films. Among these included the now classics, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. These films were predominantly reinventions of fairy tales that captured the hearts of children and families, bringing to the forefront a parade of “Disney princesses” and memorable musical numbers.
Jump ten years to 2009. Despite intending to discontinue its traditional animation films, Disney has set the stage to return to its renaissance years with The Princess and the Frog. It has all the workings of a movie from that time: a twist on a fairy tale, a beautiful princess and a handsome prince, set in a Broadway-style film. Thus, Disney has really raised my expectations for this one.
The movie opens in early twentieth century New Orleans, when jazz is on the rise. Tiana and her childhood friend Charlotte La Bouff listen to Tiana’s mother tell the story of The Frog Prince, and while Charlotte dreams of one day kissing a prince, Tiana swears to never kiss a frog, and instead sets her dreams on one day owning a restaurant. Some years pass and we find Tiana working hard at multiple jobs, taking no time to relax, for the sake of her dream and in memory of her late father. We are introduced to a shady character, “The Shadowman,” who’s intentions aren’t fully understood.
Enter Prince Naveen, the other protagonist of the story, a prince who has been cut off by his parents and is seeking to marry into the La Bouff fortune. He loves jazz and is immediately enraptured by the New Orleans spirit. But his free spirit leads him to be deceived by the Shadowman, who turns Prince Naveen into a frog and has the prince’s butler take his place. By chance, Prince Naveen runs into Tiana, and convinces her (thinking she is a princess), to kiss him. The plan backfires and Tiana suffers the same fate as the prince. The rest of the film chronicles their adventures through the swamps of New Orleans to find a cure for their condition. Along the way, they meet Louis, a trumpet playing alligator who dreams of playing along side other jazz players, and Ray, a firefly in love with the Evening Star, whom he has named Evangeline. The Evening Star connects all the different story lines with the classic concept of “when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true”. (Interesting fact: Evening Star is a nickname for Venus, which in Roman mythology is the goddess of love.)
For the most part Disney succeeds in creating a story that is memorable for its characters and creativity. The supporting cast of Ray, Louis, Madam Odie, and friends is one of the more lovable ensembles that Disney has produced. The scenes with fireflies guiding the way were simply gorgeous and even reminiscent of the clever use of the insects in A Bug’s Life. Glass bottles for colored lights, anyone?
The music was good, but not great. All of it had a flavor of jazz, which fit the setting very well, but coming out of the theater, I didn’t really remember any particular songs. Perhaps a second viewing would make them stick. Similarly, the humor was a little sub par by Disney animated feature standards. I remember chuckling a little here and there, but never really laughing out loud.
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SEMI-SPOILER ALERT!
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I really enjoyed the ending. It was a subtle touch to add a second star next to Evangeline, but it was absolutely heartwarming. And I applaud the Disney lawyers for finding a loophole to the whole kiss a princess to reverse the spell curse — that was clever.
One could say the message it sent was a little dubious (“hard work pales in comparison to true love”, as my friend put it), but that’s what Disney movies are — idealistic, fairy tales with a happy ending. I’d argue Tiana’s happy ending came from in part due to her hard work and determination, in part due to the friends she had (what better way to keep real estate agents honest than having your alligator friend have a chat with them?), and in part due to luck (in meeting the prince). After all, she still paid for her restaurant with her hard earned money.
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END SPOILER
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The Princess and the Frog was a pleasant return to traditional Disney Animation, and even though it fell a little short of the 90s films, I’d like to see more like it (and better!) in the future.
8/10
PUZZLEOLOGY 