“The Princess and the Frog” might look like an old Disney movie, but it’s definitely something new.
The film is the first hand-drawn, 2D musical Disney has made many years and it’s from the team behind “Aladdin” and “The Little Mermaid.” In films like those though, we were treated to privileged characters and people who fall into situations because they are just generally good people. Those highfalutin ideals are nice in theory but today’s audiences have much more realistic problems: no jobs, no money, etc. And looking up to someone who just makes it for being pretty or rich isn’t exactly inspiring.
So, in a response to the times, “The Princess and the Frog” presents us with Tiana – a beautiful African American girl who has worked two jobs for as long as she can remember hoping to realize her dreams.
She’s the first, true working class princess in Disney history and while she gets her happily ever after, she has to work hard for it.
That strong center is why “The Princess and the Frog” succeeds on so many levels. The animation is beautiful, almost 3D like even though it isn’t. The songs are extremely catchy and certainly have the ability to make a mark more so than songs in some previous Disney fare. The side characters are round, funny and fantastic to the point you want to buy toys of them but, ultimately, the story is a little bit thin. And that’s the only real problem with the movie. You want epic but you get simple and straight forward.
Tiana is a young waitress in New Orleans who is a fantastic cook and has a dream of opening her own restaurant. She was brought up with a spoiled rich brat who one day decides she is going to marry Prince Naveen, who is coming into town. What no one knows is that Naveen is broke too and in desperate need to marry this rich girl. (See? What other Disney movie even makes the PRINCE poor? This is very different folks.) He get involved in some voodoo and ends up as a frog and when Tiana kisses him, hoping to turn human like in all the fairy tales, she herself turns into a frog. And so the two frogs set out to return to human form in the frightening bayou’s of Louisiana where they’ll encounter hunters, crocodiles, mosquitoes and more.
Unlike her spoiled friend, Tiana doesn’t particularly want Prince Charming. She doesn’t need a man. She just wants to that restaurant and is willing to do anything to get it. Those are the kind of morals parents can get behind. And even the Prince, who doesn’t know hard work from a hole in the head, doesn’t find his true happiness until he realizes that nothing comes easy.
“The Princess and the Frog” isn’t the best Disney movie they’ve ever made, or even the best one out this year (Hello “Up”) but it’s a true change in direction for the company in a multitude of ways. Your kids are going to love this movie and you might even love it more as it preaches that all dreams can come true, if you are truly willing to work for them.
“The Princess and the Frog” is playing in two exclusive engagements now and will open everywhere December 11. For tickets to the special engagements, click here. And keep checking KidGlue.com for more on this fantastic film.
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