The Princess and the Frog (Disney 2009)

[peep]

The film has also been nominated for two if it's songs, good luck Disney!

[Tuvok]

For once I hope that Pixar doesn't win the oscar for best animated feature film. Though UP is a really good movie, I personally think The Princess and The Frog is better, but that can also be because I'm so glad they returned to the beautiful handdrawn animation style. It's so good to see Disney back in action and it shows that Disney is still the absolute king in handdrawn animation. At first (before I saw the movie) I didn't like the songs, but IN the movie they work very well. Not as memorable as earlier masterpieces from The Mouse House, but still a nice swinging jazz sound which fits perfectly well. Go see this movie, I loved every minute of it. Hopefully the Disney execs will look past boxoffice results and see that this is the way Disney animation should go. Let Pixar do the CGI, it's what they do best. After all those dreadful movies like Chicken Little and Meet the Robinsons, Disney Animation is back where they belong: the top of the industry.

[dagobert]

I also like The Princess and the Frog better than UP, but I don't think that TPATF will win the Oscar for best animated movie.

[howtodeal]

Great photos Peep, you're very lucky and i'm really glad the movie got 3 nominations. Not bad at all
PS. her name is Anika not Anita

[Aveen2008]

It's weird to see my name with an N stuck infront of it N-aveen lol!

[littlemermaid83]

Anyone going to see the film today?

Me and DD are off in about 90mins to go see it.

[luke85]

I might wait for Orange wednesdays next week, although I am tempted to see it tomorrow...!

Anyone that does see it this weekend, have a great time!

[littlemermaid83]

All i can say is WOW!

I'm glad i waited untill i had seen the film before listening to the soundtrack, not sure why some people are not fans of the music but i loved it. Off to purchase the soundtrack now

[Pete's Dragon]

Just back from watching it. Its good. Its nice to see hand-drawn animation of a high quality. But as much as I enjoyed it there was something just not right about the whole thing. And I think the reson was 'too many' ....

too many songs, too many characters, too many mini-threads and plots. Someone should have came along and edited the script down into something a lot tighter and more coherent.

Overall, I'd give it 7/10

P.S. Look out for loads of nods to the other Princess films. Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella all get blatent mentions. There are others, but you can find them for yourselves. (quite possibly as many nods as Enchanted had)

[Anthony]

Can't not write a few thoughts. The summary: So much fun. So beautiful. So many wonderful characters.

I agree it could have been tightened up a bit, tied together better. I found Mama Odie was the point where it just got a bit "too much". The musical number there (Dig a Little Deeper) wasn't all that necessary and I've had to finally break out the soundtrack CD I've had waiting since Christmas to actually remind myself of it. It could really have been saved as a "Human Again" type segment for a DVD release. The character herself was a bit unnecessary, undeveloped. The voodoo elements only served to make Dr Facilier less unique.

Anyway, minor quibble in what is a truly remarkable film. I'm still pinching myself that this isn't just something I've imagined. It took a few minutes to get over the goosebumps of seeing moving drawings (mad!) up on the big screen, and then it has Ray, Louis and Lottie (fantastically voiced and animated!), stunning backgrounds and animation, a wonderful lead character (as a newspaper article said "a woman whose three dimensions you don't need to don daft specs to see"), not to mention -- a whole musical number in 1920s art deco style!! Just wow. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.

[penfold12]

I was totaly taken away to another world, the setting was so rich, as were the characters and I have to admit, the music ... Still, would love yo of heard what Alan Menkin had in store, rather than Randy Newman. Overall, a great return to hand drawn animation. While I loved Up, this for ms had more of a classic feel to it, and more timeless as with many Disney animated movies. Just wonderful. I did however catch myself wondering what and how those frogs would look like if it were cgi in the vein of ratatouliee...

[Masamune]

Just...wow. I absolutely flippin' loved it! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard during a Disney film! In a Disney/Pixar film perhaps, but never a proper Disney film. This film just had everything as far as I'm concerned. Seriously, my only negative is that I wished that certain characters had more screen time (Dr Facilier and Lottie to be exact). So other than that, it was totally perfect in my opinion.

I just...can't stop smiling when I think about it.

[CafeFantasia]

I just saw the Princess and the Frog. It was good. There was a lot I liked about it. The city scenes. The New Orleans music. The characters Louis and Ray. The fact that it was all drawn by hand, and not simulated on and rendered by computers.

Unfortunately, I found the Princess herself very boring and unappealing. Tiana seemed to lack a sense of humour and was obsessed with the idea that, because she had worked so hard, the World somehow owed her a massive restaurant. Not exactly charming like Ariel or Belle.

Comparing it to past animated feature films, I thought it was better than Treasure Planet and Mulan, but not a patch on Tarzan or Aladdin. Sorry guys.

[pussinboots]

Unfortunately, I found the Princess herself very boring and unappealing. Tiana seemed to lack a sense of humour and was obsessed with the idea that, because she had worked so hard, the World somehow owed her a massive restaurant. Not exactly charming like Ariel or Belle.

Yes, I had a somewhat similar thought when I saw the film a second time. Well, not that she thought the world owed her a restaurant, but she is a bit like a broken record. Work hard... Daddy... Work hard... Daddy...

[Javey74]

Well, this afternoon was our family afternoon to head off to the 'Vue' Cinema to see 'The Princess & The Frog'. This is a fab film, worth the money. For the past week or so I'd been listening to the soundtrack in the car, which got me really hooked on a lot of the tracks..

Seeing the film to how these musical tracks are slotted against the animation was brilliant, it certainly had me foot tapping throughtout the film. I'm not really into Jazz and Blues that much as far as music goes, but this I really like for some reason. It also has a resonance of walking down Mainstreet at DLRP..

I thought the storyline kept flowing on an even pace, with the music scores fitting in just right. So yeah, I'd give this one a very high mark and would recommend it as a big screen watch, a very colourful film, with a nice and fitting change back to the original Disney 2D animation..

I'll definitely be owning it when it comes out on DVD..

[Anthony]

Yes, I had a somewhat similar thought when I saw the film a second time. Well, not that she thought the world owed her a restaurant, but she is a bit like a broken record. Work hard... Daddy... Work hard... Daddy...

You could say that's what makes the whole encounter with Naveen worthwhile. It's only then as a frog that she changes her tune and starts thinking about the bigger picture. Maybe a lead character like this should never be anything but perfect, or maybe it's quite refreshing to see a "Disney princess" who has some self-inflicted human flaws. Not sure myself.

[Javey74]

Talking of the Princess and the Frog I come across these..

The Making of a Classic>>


YouTube link

Anika Noni Rose: 'A different type of Princess'>>


YouTube link

Princess and the Frog - Music & Animation>>


YouTube link

The Music of 'The Princess and the Frog'>>


YouTube link

[CafeFantasia]

Speaking of hand drawn animation, if you really are into animation then you need to check out Ponyo. The film came out in Japan in July 2008 and is finally being released in cinemas here in the UK. Ponyo was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, a close friend of John Lasseter's, and is being distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.

I hate to say this but I think Ponyo is actually a better film than The Princess And The Frog. A lot of others agree. Ponyo got 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas The Princess And The Frog got 85%.

Check out the trailer. Beautiful, beautiful film:


YouTube link

[Snow_White_Girl]

I saw the film the weekend it came out, and I loved it! I'm so happy to see Disney return to what they (in my opinion) do best with the 2D animation. Like people seem to have said, I'm not sure the songs would really hold up as "stand-alone" songs, but mixed in with the film's setting they worked perfectly, and I loved the whole jazzy feel to them. All in all I felt the music was something a bit new and different, while still retaining the essence of what is Disney As for the characters, I loved Louis and Ray, Naveen was hilarious in his frog form, and Facilier was just what a Disney villain should be. The range of emotions that can be traversed in a Disney film never cease to amaze me; I laughed, got scared, was in suspense and yes, cried! (Will put this bit in a spoiler in case anyone hasn't seen the film yet!)

Spoiler: show

"Ma belle Evangeline" had me in floods, it was so poignant that Ray was in love with a star, and when he died and appeared in the sky next to "her", oh dear was I bawling!!!!

All in all I would say this is a must-see, there really is something for everyone in this - I went to see it with my boyfriend, who is in no way a Disney fan, and even he liked it - I even caught him chuckling in a few parts!!!

More like this please, Disney! Simply gorgeous!

[The Butlin Boy]

I went and saw this today with my family as well, and as a 17 year old boy (not really the target market for this film!), I have to say that I absolutely loved it. It was funny, entertaining, had great music, a great cast, set of characters, story and a lot of emotion too (although I didn't cry like SWG, by I did well up a bit if I'm honest - just don't tell that to the guys ). This was a true Disney Classic film - exactly what the company needed (not wanted; I guess they had to dig a little deeper! ) to produce. I also had fun trying to spot the nods to other Disney films too (I definitely saw the flying carpet, I definitely picked up on the Randy Newman moment, I think I saw a few references to The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan too!).

Overall, a fantastic piece of work! Bravo Disney, Bravo