The Princess and the Frog (2009)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  7 / 10

  The Princess and the Frog flamboyantly leaps into Disney's classics. A welcome return to the hand-drawn animation style that the studio is renowned for, this film marks the first musical since their Renaissance era. With that, you could say there is a sense of tangible nostalgia as it imitates the exact same structure as the classics before, thus consequently also being its downfall. A hard working waitress aspires to be a restauranteur where she encounters a talking frog who has been cursed by voodoo magic. Believed to be a prince, she kisses the amphibian and becomes a frog herself. A twisted adaptation of the famous fairy tale 'The Frog Prince', Disney have gone back to their roots and crafted a solidly entertaining musical. The animation is visually stunning as usual and makes a refreshing change from the lacklustre CG pictures the studio produced during the mid naughties. New Orleans is bustling with street musicians and a hearty community where you feel absorbed by the rustic watercolours of the signature architecture. Then, switching to a swampy bayou, allows the animators to differentiate between the human perspective of the urban town to the animal viewpoint of the rural marshlands. The protagonist Tiana holds her own with a hint of sassy independence that cements her as one of Disney's more memorable princesses. A myriad of supporting characters including a trumpet-playing alligator, firefly, hoodoo priestess, seamstress, frog hunters, a snake that is used as a guide stick, sugar mill owner and his daughter...I'm sure I'm forgetting more...oh, a valet, creepy stalking shadows and a dog. Highlighting the above is the major issue, there are far too many characters that do not have enough screen time to be developed or atleast memorable. I appreciated the antagonist who utilises voodoo magic to become a puppeteer as he manipulates several characters with curses. The story was well paced with little to no downtime. The musical numbers, whilst performed well, just weren't memorable. I think you've got my point, a wonderful yet unmemorable animation.

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