It’s easy to get caught up praising The Princess and the Frog for what it does differently in the biz of children’s animation. First off, it’s the spirited revival — or attempted revival, depending on how well it does at the box office — of the classic hand-drawn 2D animation style that has gone the way of the VCR in the age of Pixar. More importantly, it’s the first Disney animation ever to feature an African-American princess, even if she does spend most of her screen time as a frog.
But while these are certainly admirable traits to have, they’re not enough to save The Princess and the Frog from the cold kiss of mediocrity. The film joins Home on the Range as the runt of Disney’s pedigree litter, with neither the sentiment of Bambi, the memorable musical numbers of The Lion King nor the witty dialogue of The Emperor’s New Groove. It’s by no means a terrible film – the animation is typically gorgeous and kids will appreciate the lively tempo – but considering it could very well be Disney’s 2D swan song, you can’t help but feel disappointed.
Reworking the famed fairytale ‘The Frog Prince’, the story revolves around hard-working waitress Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) living in 1920s New Orleans. Sharing the dream of her late father, Tiana one day hopes to own her own restaurant on the port. Meanwhile, the handsome foreign Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) arrives in town looking for work after being emancipated by his rich parents, but is cornered by the seedy voodoo Doctor Facilier (Keith David) who transforms him into a frog. After escaping from captivity, the Prince comes across Tiana an asks her for a kiss in a hope that it will transform him back. Instead, she is also transformed into a frog, forcing the two to take refuge in the swamps where they attempt to find a witch doctor who, according to the jazz playing alligator Lewis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a hillbilly firefly Ray (Jim Cummings), can make them human again.
The story is classic Disney, but the insipid protagonists are most certainly not. I never truly felt a connection with either of the two leads, partly because they spend so much time as frogs with limited expressions, but mostly because their romance develops so haphazardly. Their scenes together don’t quite have the charm or comedic timing we’ve come to expect from Disney, and I couldn’t get comfortable with Bruno Campos’ distinctive voice as Prince Naveen. The more enjoyable characters are found in support, with Jim Cummings provoking the most laughs as the endearing firefly Ray, channelling the likes of Jiminy Cricket of Pinocchio.
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The hand drawn animation is both fluid and beautifully detailed, and it’s great not having to don a pair of those pesky 3D glasses. That being said, most of the physical humour falls flat, particularly during a lengthy scene involving a trio of dim-witted frog hunters. Visually, the most impressive sequences are of Dr. Facilier and his army of shadows, although young children might find these frightening. Otherwise, I feel there is much more here for kids to enjoy than adults.
Usually, it’s damn near impossible to walk out of a Disney movie without humming one of the insanely catchy musical numbers, but that’s not the case with The Princess and the Frog. Randy Newman’s brass-based score is certainly toe-tapping, but the song writing is uncharacteristically sub-par, with the all-important choruses getting lost in the formless verses. Nothing sticks as a result, which is hard to forgive when you consider that the movie is set in New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz.
In the years to come, it’s likely that The Princess and the Frog will be remembered for being the first Disney animation to feature a black princess, rather than for being a great movie.
Dust off Beauty and the Beast now, rent this later.
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