The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog is Disney’s new take on an old story. The new parts are really just there to extend what otherwise would be a very, very short story.

Said story takes place in a town in Louisiana, who’s residents apparently communicate frequently though large choreographed sing and dance numbers. One of these residents is a girl named Tiana, who dreams of opening a world class restaurant. As it so happens, a prince is also visiting from his homeland, in order to marry into more money. The prince is cornered by the mysterious “Shadowman,” and morphed into a frog. Tiana runs into the prince and, after some haggling, agrees to kiss the prince in his frog form just like in E.D. Baker’s novel.

At this point things go a little haywire and instead Tiana is transformed into a frog as well. During their journey they run into several characters who help them figure out how to regain their original forms. In the end, the Shadowman is defeated, and the characters realize that “all they need is love.” (Yes, that was a Beetles reference.) This is a Disney move after all, it’s mostly expected how things play out.

This brings me to my one, out of two, complaints about this movie. It seems as thought the production team was given a checklist of things to put in, in a certain order, with very few surprising events. (Though, there are a few.) It’s like Disney left them a manual that has been collecting dust all this time, and the animators have just now decided to pick it up…and follow it in a deliberate, literal, and cult like way. Don’t get me wrong, Disney was a good animator, but I don’t think he was looking for a formula to follow for ever, like the kind the Disney staff seems to be searching for. He was an innovator after all.

The second complain revolves around the interesting character of the Shadowman. Who’s motives were never really revealed outside of the mustache twirlingly clichéd plan to, brace yourself, take over the town. I cant help but feel that if the character was being manipulated or if I was supposed to feel sorry for him he would have faired much better. The reason it bothers me so much is , as with many Disney villains, the character is a visual marvel to watch, more so then any of the good guys for sure.

All in all, it’s a good movie. Just don’t expect any variations on the “Disney formula.”