Disney's first hand drawn animated film in years has a lot of weight on it's shoulders. Not only is it carrying the burden of all those years when Disney's animation studios were the crown jewel of the House that Walt Built, but it's also the first animated film they've produced in over 50 years to primarily feature African-Americans. In New Orleans, no less. With so much weighing it down, Disney's return film feels like it's going through the motions, trying hard to hit every note that it feels it must to appease everybody.
The film paints a gloriously vibrant picture of New Orleans, in all it's splendor. Coming off a string of films that have used the grand city in it's current state of disrepair, it's a refreshing site to behold. Here we meet Tiana, a young African-American girl with a dream. She wants to build her own restaurant, that would become the centerpiece of the city. It's a dream she shared with her late father, and encouraged by her loving mother. Tiana, now grown up, has become a fiercely independent woman. Working multiple jobs to save money for the down payment to buy a building, she's long since given passed on the idea of a prince whisking her away from all her troubles. Not so much Tiana's best friend, Charlotte, a spoiled ballerina princess, who longs to marry a rich prince some day.
As fate would have it, a prince is making his way to town. The down on his luck Prince Naveen from Maldonia. He's slick, suave, and charming but also a little on the skeevy side. He's flat broke, cut off from his parents. A lover of jazz music and the social scene, the Prince makes his way to New Oreleans with the hope of marrying into a rich family and regaining the respect of his family. Unfortunately, he falls into the slippery schemes of a voo doo practioner, Dr. Facilier, aka the Shadow Man. Facilier curses Naveen, turning him into a talking frog, although Naveen never seems shocked by this and just resumes his philandering ways. During a party, he fairly easily manages to convince Tiana to kiss him by promising to give her enough money to start her restaurant. The plan backfires, and she herself becomes one of the wet, slimy, and jumpy.
They go off on a fairly pedestrian journey to find the wise old Mama Odie, who supposedly can break the Shadow Man's curse. They're joined on their quest by an over-sized talking alligator who's sole wish is to be a jazz musician; and a firely who sounds like Adam Sandler's Cajun Man routine.
Tiana fits the mold of your typical Disney heroine. Strong, capable, and altogether quick with a quip when the time calls for it. She'll no doubt be a good role model for African-American girls to look up to, which in and of itself is one of the film's strong points. Up until she's turned into a frog, that is, then she becomes rather wishy washy and non-descript as a character. I was much more invested in her goal of achieving her dream than I was in her return to human form. There seems to be no attempt to forge a real bond between Tiana and her obvious Prince-in-Waiting, so when they finally do fall in love there's nothing to latch on to. I could care less.
There also seems to be some confusion as to the tone of the story. It bounces around haphazardly from whimsical to downright dark and disturbing, so much so that I'm not sure small kids wouldn't be terrified by it. The story also features more than one brutal death, one of a character who was clearly designed with the little kids in mind. There's an attempt to bring meaning to his death at the last minute, but children probably won't get it.
Disney films have pretty much always been graced with memorable music. Who here doesn't remember the word to every single song from The Lion King? Or from Aladdin? I know I do, and yet this time around I'm hard pressed to find one track that stands out. With the possible exception of the deliciously evil, thumping "Friends on the Other Side" performed by the Shadow Man(Keith David) I wouldn't recommend any of these songs to be on any soundtrack.
The animation itself, on the other hand, is simply gorgeous. I had forgotten how bright and vibrant the colors could be when combined with the traditional hand drawn technique. I got a thrill just by the fact that I didn't have to put on a pair of glasses to watch the thing. I already felt like a big enough nerd sitting in what is basically a cartoon for little girls. The last thing I needed was to shove a pair of dork specs on my face, too. Clearly, Disney still has the goods to produce some beautiful work that doesn't have the name Pixar latched onto it. I never wanted a spoonful of gumbo so bad in my life
Whether or not this reinvigorates Disney's struggling studio is yet to be seen. Princess and the Frog packs plenty of heart, and is certainly a reminder of how great hand drawn cartoons can be, but it is hamstrung by a lackluster script and woeful songwriting.
5/10
