The Princess and The Frog

Directed by: Ron Clements and John Musker

Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jennifer Cody, Jim Cummings

Running Time: 1h 37min

It's almost surreal to think that an African American was voted president of the United States before one was anointed princess in a Disney film, but it is certainly a sign of the times. Oddly enough, this momentous occasion comes in the form of traditional, two dimensional hand drawn animation. Lovingly rendered, The Princess and the Frog feels like a film Disney should have made a few decades ago.

Watching this film evoked a feeling of nostalgia, even from someone such as myself, who didn't really live and breathe Disney as a child. In all honesty, I was always a fan of the "animal" animated Disney films (Robin Hood, Fox and the Hound, The Jungle Book) and not one for the princess tales. Which is probably why I enjoyed this film. A majority of the film involves no humans, but rather two frogs, a trumpet playing crocodile, and a forlorn firefly. These characters are not all that memorable, meaning they won't merchandise as well as Disney would like them to.

Yet the classic animation styled in the manner of the era, coupled with the jazzy soundtrack straight from its New Orleans setting, give this film its memorable moments. The music bounces along with a rhythm stylistically matched by the animation. The feeling is not unlike The Aristocats or Cousin Louie's "I Wanna Be Like You" number from The Jungle Book; you can't help but tap and move your feet and get into the groove. I truly enjoyed the musical numbers and the animation that went along with them. However, when the music stops, the story lingers with little humour or suspense or even a sense of adventure; all elements that we've come to expect from a decade's worth of Pixar as our animation diet. (Studio secret: We LOVE Pixar because of the stories they concoct; the animation just happens to be equally as good and up to par with the stories themselves.)

The Princess and the Frog is a bit of a letdown when it comes to having a memorable villain. The entire voodoo premise could be downright frightening but Dr. Facilier (who thought up that name??) isn't as menacing as he could be. His creepy shadow buddies seem straight out of Oogie Boogie's spooky repertoire, but the doctor himself doesn't have enough cojones to place him in the classic villain Parthenon. All in all, the movie certainly is reminiscent of Disney gems of old, but definitely not worthy of the Disney greats that graced us in the early nineties.

Grade: B+