THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
(G) This will be a schizophrenic review. On the one hand, I LOVE hand-drawn animation. I was heartbroken when UP won the Golden Globe for best Animated Feature. There is really no comparison to the artistic achievement of PRINCESS over UP. Now, if we are talking about technical achievement, then that’s a different story. It’s amazing with can be done with computer generated images, but in that department...well, we have AVATAR. Maybe I’m a stubborn old fool, but I still think of animated as a bunch of hand-drawn frames places side-by-side on film. Disney artists should be proud of their accomplishment in PRINCESS and Randy Newman’s songs and soundtracks are absolutely vintage. I was very impressed with all the songs except for the one at the end that wasn’t penned by Newman. Even Disney, it seems can make mistakes.
On the other hand, I cannot bring myself to place an animated film into the same category as one with live actors. It’s just not fair. That’s why we should NOT see PRINCESS or UP considered for the Best Picture category, or actors who are merely voices being given a “Best” nod at some awards show. If there is a “voice over” category, then fine, submit these names. It’s just not fair to compare the work of writers, directors on on-screen actors with a process that eliminates the human element.
The story is a twist on the classic concept of turning a bewitched frog into a prince with the kiss of a princess. Not only is the result of the kiss reversed (the princess becomes a frog) but the door is open for a brand new kind of princess for Disney (the company’s first black princess character). There is the usual clever Disney dialogue throughout and again, the elegant, hand-drawn lines are pleasant to look upon.
For these reasons, it is very difficult for me to review the movie THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG in the same way that I review other movies...with real people. Although, in the end (as with all art) all I can really say with authority is, “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it.” In this case, I have to say, I liked it and give it a comfortable three binoculars.
(B) I liked the story and I loved the music. Randy Newman’s score made me long for New Orleans (which is not that hard to do). His song that is nominated for an Oscar, Almost There, should win. I think Gordon has said about everything that needed to be said about this film. It’s a good one to watch with the children or grandkids, or with friends who are really just kids at heart. The message is the same a dream can come true. Sometimes, it’s just the act of wishing that is significant.