The Princess and the Frog

Let me start off with a disclaimer: I am a child of the Disney Renaissance. When I was growing up, nearly every year brought a new masterpiece from the House of Mouse: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Hercules, Mulan. These movies are classics, and for good reason. So it's probably a bit of an understatement to say that I have HIGH STANDARDS for my Disney movies.

So what did I think of The Princess and the Frog, the film that marks Disney's return to the hand-drawn animated musical format (which, in my opinion, it never should have left)?

Bottom line, I call it a major win. Not perfect, but a great return for the good, old-fashioned Disney musical.

First of all, the film is BEAUTIFUL. If anyone thought that hand-drawn animation was passe in the age of computer animation, they were wrong. The settings were absolutely amazing - so amazing, in fact, that they seemed to glow.

Next, the characters. I have to begin with Tiana, the newest member of Disney's most exclusive sisterhood: the Disney Princess club. I thought the writers did a fantastic job of creating a princess for the 21st century. Tiana is smart, driven, and concerned about more than her looks or finding her Prince Charming. In short, she's a great role model for the girl of today.

Of course, she does find her Prince Charming in the end - or, more precisely, her Prince Naveen, the spoiled but charming prince of Maldonia who learns a lesson about hard work and dedication from Tiana. I must say, I might have a new favorite Disney prince. Well, no, that's not true; Beast is still my first love, but Naveen is a close second. This prince is hilarious, sweet, and pretty darn handsome, I must say.

I also really loved the chemistry Naveen and Tiana had. They had a really fun, sweet, honest vibe between them, which really made me believe it when they fell in love. And unlike a lot of Disney couples, Tiana and Naveen actually had a chance to get to know each other before they fell in love. In fact, they hated each other at first, and it was only after they saw each others true colors that hate gave way to friendship and, eventually, to love. It reminded me a bit of Beauty and the Beast, actually, and that's a high compliment.

As the villian, Dr. Facilier was downright creepy. The best part was his minions: the oh-so-creepy shadow creatures that snaked across surfaces and did his evil bidding. Dr. Facilier wasn't quite as deliciously snarky as Scar or Ursula, and he didn't have the hilarity of Hades, but his evil scowl was enough to make him a worthy member of the Disney villians club.

As for the music, I enjoyed it for the most part. The score definitely gave a fun, bouncy, New Orleans vibe, even if the songs themselves were rather "meh"-worthy. I love Randy Newman as much as the next person - I'll never forget that he's the man who brought us "You've Got a Friend in Me" and the tear-jerking "When She Loved Me" - but I found myself longing for the musical genius of Alan Menken. Luckily for us, Menken will be doing the score for Rapunzel, coming out in 2010. To me, that man IS Disney musicals. Period.

One element that really shocked me: Disney actually KILLED A CHARACTER. And the character I'm talking about is NOT THE VILLAIN (who always seems to die in Disney movies, so that death wouldn't be a surprise). I won't reveal here who exactly shuffles of the mortal coil, but I will tell you that I was very surprised. True, Disney has killed characters before - Bambi's mother and Mufasa, to name two - but they rarely kill anyone in the climax of the film (Megara doesn't count - she was only mostly dead). I wasn't sure exactly WHY they killed the character, though I did think the death scene was effective: it was handled very sweetly and got me all teary-eyed. Honestly, I'm torn: I don't know whether I should be horrified that Disney offed a major character or appreciative that Disney is gutsy enought to trust that kids can handle something as emotionally heavy as death. I'm leaning toward the latter.

Well, those are my thoughts. Please, share your own in the comments! I'd love to hear what others thought.