The Princess and The Frog could have, probably should have been good.
Disney's return to classic 2D features Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), the godfather of Disney's late 80's renaissance at the helm. Those films were landmarks: visually captivating, filled with bright, inventive environments, fast paced action and animation both subtle and vigorous. More important, though, is Clements' ability to create endearing, engaging characters and shape stories that often carry the timeless quality of true fairy tales. All of the traditional Clements elements are in The Princess and The Frog – a down-and-out protagonist with ambitions just beyond her grasp, a self-assured, cocky yet charming companion who gets knocked down a peg or two, an evil antagonist with supernatural powers and a support cast of talking, singing animals. The elements are there, but something in the mix doesn't quite work, certainly not in the way that Clements' earlier work did.
The animation feels flat and uninspired. Scenes are blocked quite wide, and takes are long and sustained, often slowing the pacing down to a grinding halt. Musical and action sequences are full of missed opportunities, scenes that should be good simply aren't. One musical number features thousands of fireflies lighting the path through the darkened bayou for the protagonists, but lacks the cinematic splendor that it should possess. It's almost as if in an attempt to throwback to films like Aladdin and Mermaid, he overshot the mark by an extra 30 years, and the result feels oddly old-fashioned. Clements' films usually have a good sense of humour – a humour that stems from situation and character rather that the pop-culture-reference well that films like the Shrek series have taken non-Pixar animation. However, jokes in The Princess and The Frog are too few and far between. It's not that they're lame, it's that they're just not there, and the support characters (the aforementioned talking animals) that should provide a steady stream of comic relief simply aren't that funny.
The film does possess some endearing qualities. The spoiled Charlotte La Bouff (Jennifer Cody) and her bend-over-backwards father, the wealthy "Big Daddy" provide laughs but don't have enough screen time. The protagonist Tiana, voiced and sung by Anika Noni Rose has some serious vox, but her songs are forgettable (as, for that matter, are all of the rest of them). Older audiences may appreciate a level of meta-Princess tale – the tongue in cheek remarks to "sleeping beauty", "prince charming" and advice like "when you wish a star, and work really hard towards your goals, your dreams might come true", as well as the clear nods to other Clement films – previous Disney princesses appear as dolls on a bookshelf, the evil Dr. Facilier is likely a distant cousin of Jafar, King Titus makes and appearance as a parade float, and so on, and so on. But these elements will likely be overlooked by the intended audience, and aren't enough to sustain adult interest.
Maybe I'm just too old to appreciate this movie, but I think it panders to a demographic of pre-cognitive, non-discerning 5-year olds who may hold this film nostalgically in their adolescence due to their parents' claims that "you used to love this movie". Though filled with good intentions, it's mostly boring, hardly funny, and easily forgettable. Watch the One Jump Ahead sequence from Aladdin for more entertainment and inspiration in 2.5 minutes then Princess and the Frog carries in 80. 4/10
Disney's return to classic 2D features Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), the godfather of Disney's late 80's renaissance at the helm. Those films were landmarks: visually captivating, filled with bright, inventive environments, fast paced action and animation both subtle and vigorous. More important, though, is Clements' ability to create endearing, engaging characters and shape stories that often carry the timeless quality of true fairy tales. All of the traditional Clements elements are in The Princess and The Frog – a down-and-out protagonist with ambitions just beyond her grasp, a self-assured, cocky yet charming companion who gets knocked down a peg or two, an evil antagonist with supernatural powers and a support cast of talking, singing animals. The elements are there, but something in the mix doesn't quite work, certainly not in the way that Clements' earlier work did.
The animation feels flat and uninspired. Scenes are blocked quite wide, and takes are long and sustained, often slowing the pacing down to a grinding halt. Musical and action sequences are full of missed opportunities, scenes that should be good simply aren't. One musical number features thousands of fireflies lighting the path through the darkened bayou for the protagonists, but lacks the cinematic splendor that it should possess. It's almost as if in an attempt to throwback to films like Aladdin and Mermaid, he overshot the mark by an extra 30 years, and the result feels oddly old-fashioned. Clements' films usually have a good sense of humour – a humour that stems from situation and character rather that the pop-culture-reference well that films like the Shrek series have taken non-Pixar animation. However, jokes in The Princess and The Frog are too few and far between. It's not that they're lame, it's that they're just not there, and the support characters (the aforementioned talking animals) that should provide a steady stream of comic relief simply aren't that funny.
The film does possess some endearing qualities. The spoiled Charlotte La Bouff (Jennifer Cody) and her bend-over-backwards father, the wealthy "Big Daddy" provide laughs but don't have enough screen time. The protagonist Tiana, voiced and sung by Anika Noni Rose has some serious vox, but her songs are forgettable (as, for that matter, are all of the rest of them). Older audiences may appreciate a level of meta-Princess tale – the tongue in cheek remarks to "sleeping beauty", "prince charming" and advice like "when you wish a star, and work really hard towards your goals, your dreams might come true", as well as the clear nods to other Clement films – previous Disney princesses appear as dolls on a bookshelf, the evil Dr. Facilier is likely a distant cousin of Jafar, King Titus makes and appearance as a parade float, and so on, and so on. But these elements will likely be overlooked by the intended audience, and aren't enough to sustain adult interest.
Maybe I'm just too old to appreciate this movie, but I think it panders to a demographic of pre-cognitive, non-discerning 5-year olds who may hold this film nostalgically in their adolescence due to their parents' claims that "you used to love this movie". Though filled with good intentions, it's mostly boring, hardly funny, and easily forgettable. Watch the One Jump Ahead sequence from Aladdin for more entertainment and inspiration in 2.5 minutes then Princess and the Frog carries in 80. 4/10