My thoughts on Princess and the Frog
I was going to post this over at DA, but seeing as so few people have seen it so far (as it only came out in the US on Friday and isn't out internationally yet) I figured it would be better to do it here so I can spoiler-block it. Needless to say that there will be A LOT of spoilers in this journal, so if you don't want any then please don't whine at me for clicking the below link and having things spoilt. If you have seen the film I'd love to hear what you thought in comparison to my own views :D
I got to see Princess and the Frog thanks to my bosses who had tickets for a super-super-early preview of the film at the London kids film festival. I got to see it even before it had reached American theatres, but wanted to wait to post this so that I could discuss it fairly with other people who have seen it.
To keep this simple (and because I have a lot to say) I've split this journal into categorical chunks based on story, characters and other bits and piece, each listed with the pros and cons of each. Hopefully this will make this seem less like an essay and more like an organised review.
NOTE: This review is based COMPLETELY on my own humble opinion, and you have EVERY RIGHT to disagree with what I've written. Heck you can argue points with me, I don't mind! Just don't be a douche bag about it ok?
Overall
Pros:
Overall I thought princess and the Frog was a good movie. In the context of it being a return to traditional mediums I think it fulfilled that area excellently and the whole movie looked stunning. The backgrounds, characters designs, set pieces, writing and storyline were all very fresh, fun and colourful, the trademarks of a good Disney movie. Also it seems Disney have learnt some lessons from their past films and tried a whole lot of new things (particularly relating to the topic of race, see below) and pulled off most of them pretty damn well. To summarise it's a far better re-entry for Disney into 2D than 'Home on the Range' was sending 2D out.
Cons:
Despite learning lots of new lessons Disney did fall into a few pitfalls of bad habits. Some of the plot elements were hackneyed and cliché, others to heavily handed while still others not touched upon nearly enough. As my boss said 'Disney make too much money to make things sub-par', and he has a point. Pixar consistently produce quality work, never faltering on character, story or look, and while some of their best habits have been picked up on by Disney it seems not quite enough has been learnt about making good, soul-stirring stories and believable and lovable characters while all the time making something that's so god damn pretty to look at
Story:
Pros:
I really liked the twist on the original Princess and the Frog story that Disney chose to take. Not just the obvious changes with the lack of a real princess, the woman being turned into a frog, and the whole adventure of the pair being frogs, but also the setting of the entire story in New Orleans. This extra location twist gave the film so much depth and life with the bonus of adding in some great characters in the form of Dr. Facilier and Charlotte (my favourite characters) and all the implied back-story of their heritage, social standing and place in the New Orleans setting.
Cons:
The main downside of this story is that despite starting so strong it gets a little weedy towards the end, and aside from some 'dramatic' plot elements (all of which seem pretty standard Disney-wise; misunderstandings, death, villain is defeated etc) the story seems to fade out after meeting Mama Odie and become slushy and sloppy.
Themes:
Pros:
The main theme of the plot seems to be about knowing what you want and working hard to get it. A noble cause IMHO, and something new for Disney. Normally the heroes/heroines just was recognition, love, fame or revenge, and it's refreshing to see characters striving for goals outside their own libido. The theme also focuses on the importance of having dreams, being open to the world around you, and taking responsibility for your actions, all of which are great morals to strive for. Plus there was the underlying racial message based on the time period the film was set in, but even this was done tastefully (from my viewpoint) and matter-of-factly without being stereotypical or unintentionally racist.
Cons:
Like all Disney films it falls into the trap of 'true love overrules everything'. Admittedly you do see that at the end the hero and heroine get together AND both get what they want (Tiana her restaurant and Naveen some sense of responsibility while still being free to have fun), but it seems to be that Disney had to crowbar in the romance element just so there could be a beautiful wedding at the end of the movie. Don't get me wrong, I love happily ever afters, but something about the romance element just seemed forced, and at one point Tiana is basically told 'screw your selfish dreams of being independent and having a restaurant, what you really want is a MAN, DUMBASS!'
Now onto the characters:
Tiana:
Pros:
A strong positive, outgoing and assertive female with no one to support her but herself and her dreams...sound familiar? Yep, makes me think of Belle too, but while Belle seemed to spend her whole life floating around in the state of 'no job, but manage to dress amazingly and have money for books', Tiana seemed wholly more realistic, and thus her struggle for her dreams seemed more real. She's hardworking, kind, intelligent and knows what she wants in life. Despite her poor background she doesn't lust for money and riches, but for her dream of owning her restaurant and sharing good food and fun with the people around her. IMHO she's one of the best female Disney characters not just because she's beautiful and looks great in a princess dress, but because she stands on her own two feet without cute animal sidekicks, fairies, rich parents or anything else to help her.
Cons:
Despite all these good qualities Tiana does come off as a bit one dimensional. Her restaurant dream is the only thing piloting her emotions, and while that's better than lusting after some nameless prince or thinking the grass is always greener over there, without it she comes across as a little dull, not to mention bossy and self-assured believing her way of doing things is the only way. Also she's pretty dense when it comes to her prince charming. How obvious do the signals have to be deary? And if you don't like him stop leading him along!
Naveen:
Pros:
If Tiana is Belle then Naveen is more like Gaston than Beast. Self centred and fun loving her makes quite a different impression compared to other princes (who all tend to be very vague, dashingly heroic and/or perfect in every way). he has his flaws by being like a big kid and just wanting to have fun, but that makes him likeable. He's a human being, and if you give humans lots of money and freedom what will they do? Ride around the world on horseback in full regal gear looking for their one and only? HELL NO, they'll party and enjoy themselves! It's nice to see a prince character who's a bit of a douche bag, and yet though his contact with Tiana he matures and becomes more responsible for himself and his friends. Good for him
Cons:
Again it's the 'love overrules all' syndrome, and despite only knowing Tiana for a very short period Naveen falls hopeless in love with her from about the middle of the movie onwards. His bantering with Tiana was quite clever to begin with and shows off his douchbaggery really well, but this kind of thing has been done. If you've seen Flushed Away you'll see similarities to Roddy and Rita and the way they interact, with the confident streetwise female and the puffed up spoilt male...and even though I'm not a fan of Flushed Away I think they did it better...and for longer. Tiana and Naveen argue for about 10 minutes screen time then become bestest best friends o_0
Dr. Facilier
Pros:
God i love this character, it's like if Jafar from Aladdin made babies with ZigZag from Cobbler and the Thief. he's dark, sadistic and evil, and best of all he doesn't try and hide it. He's a nasty no good character and everyone knows it, but put up with it either out of fear or superstition. He's quite happy to fuck with the lives of Tiana, Naveen, Charlotte, Lawrence and everyone else just so he gets what he wants. Admittedly he's working for a higher power and has it on his own head to succeed but that's never really an issue until the end, and it doesn't stop him being a potent threat all by himself. he also has one of the best musical numbers showing off his complete insanity and terror-making abilities. :D
Cons:
NOTHING, this guy is awesome
Charlotte:
Pros:
Charlotte is my favourite character in this film. She's the stereotype rich white girl that would commonly be classed as the 'ugly sister' or 'wicked bitch-foil', and yet she's not! She's one of Tiana's best friends despite their huge social differences, and it's blatantly clear that despite being spoilt and self-centred she is hugely fond of Tiana and wants her to be happy too. She's hysterically funny, she's slightly bonkers, and she has that adorable southern belle accent. There's not much really to describe her except how fun she is, and she really made me smile throughout the whole film. :)
Cons:
Not so much a criticism than an observation, but as a little girl doesn't she remind anyone of Darla Dimple from Cats Don't Dance? Not as evil naturally, but I half expected a huge bodyguard to learn round the doorframe and utter 'WILL THAT BE ALL, MISS DIMPUUUUL?'
Louis and Ray:
Pros:
What disney film wouldn't be complete without wacky sidekicks? Animals preferably! Admittedly i don't have much to say about either Louis or Ray because I didn't like either of them much, but as disney sidekicks go they fit the bill. Musical numbers, strange ambitions, comic hyjinx, weird accents, toilet humour...if you like that sort of thing then bam, Louis and Ray tick the boxes!
Though admittedly despite not being enamoured with him to begin with Ray was actually quite fun as a character after a while, and I liked seeing him on the screen more than Louis with his cute little bayou accent...and he had some great lines. I admit i got a little teary when Tiana tells him that his one true love is nothing but a star in the sky, and he tries to convince himself and his 'Evangeline' that she didn't mean it.
Cons:
Louis was loud, annoying and painful to me, and I couldn't watch him without thinking 'BIG LIPPED ALLIGATOR MOMENT'. Nuf said
As for Ray, well he should get credit for having one of the ONLY on-screen deaths ever seen in a Disney film (the only other one I could think of was Kerchak from Tarzan), where as most memorable deaths (bambi's mother, Mufasa, and of the villains) have happen off-frame. But with Ray you actually see him drawing his last breath on the screen....
Sadly the whole thing is so utterly ridiculous and sappy it does make you lose any respect you had for the character. if he had just died off screen and then mentioned with a mournful look later on then his integrity as a character would have been kept. But no, you have to see everything including his FUCKING FUNERAL. WE GET IT, IT'S SAD, LION KING DID IT BETTER, MOVE ON.
And then he becomes a star...what the fuck Disney. Cute but stupid.
Mama Odie
Pros:
Uuuuuuuh...........uhhh.......um.....uh....
...really, i got nothing. She was kinda fun i guess....and I liked her snake.
Cons:
She wasn't on screen enough to make any impression, most of her appearance was taken up with a pretty bad musical number, and character wise she was as vital to the plot as a plank of wood.
Other characters
Pros:
There were an abundance of other characters not mentioned here, from Tiana's father to the dark spirits controlled by Dr. Facilier, but most of them didn't get as much screen time as the above characters, and typing about all of them will take me all night. There were a mixture of good and bad characters but overall they were fun, full of energy and beautifully animated depending on their status
Cons:
the movie seemed to suffer from sidekick-itus. Everyone and their grandma had a sidekick of one sort or another to bog down the plot. Tiana as a human has her mum and Charlotte (who in turn has her dad) while Naveen has his butler Lawrence. Dr. Facilier has the dark spirits in the form of masks and shadows, Mama Odie has her snake and an army of spoonbills, as frogs Naveen and Tiana have Louis and Ray...seriously, TOO MANY SIDEKICKS. TOO MANY CHARACTERS. TOO MANY CHARACTERS WE'RE NOT GOING TO SPEND TIME DEVELOPING
Musical numbers:
Pros:
Like any good disney musical the song and dance numbers are the key, and this movie has plenty of them. The best ones have to Tiana's first song where she's singing about the restaurant and the style changes completely to a flat poster style with bright blocks of colour, and Dr. Facilier's number showing off all the terrifying monsters and ghoulish shapes New Orleans voodoo has to offer. The songs were fun and playful with great animation, the mainstay of a good Disney film :D
Cons:
Most of the other songs were fairly unmemorable and there were WAAAAAY too many of them, especially towards the end. MAMA ODIE DID NOT NEED HER OWN SONG...neither really did Ray, but they needed a romance song in there somewhere. The song numbers just seemed to get lazy, serving no purpose than to fill a gap that could have been filled with character development.
So there you have it. Overall I'd give Princess and the frog a 7.5/10 Not bad, there were some flaws, but definitely a step in the right direction with some great characters and a really well done story. And of course it's great to see Disney doing big screen 2D storytelling again!
I got to see Princess and the Frog thanks to my bosses who had tickets for a super-super-early preview of the film at the London kids film festival. I got to see it even before it had reached American theatres, but wanted to wait to post this so that I could discuss it fairly with other people who have seen it.
To keep this simple (and because I have a lot to say) I've split this journal into categorical chunks based on story, characters and other bits and piece, each listed with the pros and cons of each. Hopefully this will make this seem less like an essay and more like an organised review.
NOTE: This review is based COMPLETELY on my own humble opinion, and you have EVERY RIGHT to disagree with what I've written. Heck you can argue points with me, I don't mind! Just don't be a douche bag about it ok?
Overall
Pros:
Overall I thought princess and the Frog was a good movie. In the context of it being a return to traditional mediums I think it fulfilled that area excellently and the whole movie looked stunning. The backgrounds, characters designs, set pieces, writing and storyline were all very fresh, fun and colourful, the trademarks of a good Disney movie. Also it seems Disney have learnt some lessons from their past films and tried a whole lot of new things (particularly relating to the topic of race, see below) and pulled off most of them pretty damn well. To summarise it's a far better re-entry for Disney into 2D than 'Home on the Range' was sending 2D out.
Cons:
Despite learning lots of new lessons Disney did fall into a few pitfalls of bad habits. Some of the plot elements were hackneyed and cliché, others to heavily handed while still others not touched upon nearly enough. As my boss said 'Disney make too much money to make things sub-par', and he has a point. Pixar consistently produce quality work, never faltering on character, story or look, and while some of their best habits have been picked up on by Disney it seems not quite enough has been learnt about making good, soul-stirring stories and believable and lovable characters while all the time making something that's so god damn pretty to look at
Story:
Pros:
I really liked the twist on the original Princess and the Frog story that Disney chose to take. Not just the obvious changes with the lack of a real princess, the woman being turned into a frog, and the whole adventure of the pair being frogs, but also the setting of the entire story in New Orleans. This extra location twist gave the film so much depth and life with the bonus of adding in some great characters in the form of Dr. Facilier and Charlotte (my favourite characters) and all the implied back-story of their heritage, social standing and place in the New Orleans setting.
Cons:
The main downside of this story is that despite starting so strong it gets a little weedy towards the end, and aside from some 'dramatic' plot elements (all of which seem pretty standard Disney-wise; misunderstandings, death, villain is defeated etc) the story seems to fade out after meeting Mama Odie and become slushy and sloppy.
Themes:
Pros:
The main theme of the plot seems to be about knowing what you want and working hard to get it. A noble cause IMHO, and something new for Disney. Normally the heroes/heroines just was recognition, love, fame or revenge, and it's refreshing to see characters striving for goals outside their own libido. The theme also focuses on the importance of having dreams, being open to the world around you, and taking responsibility for your actions, all of which are great morals to strive for. Plus there was the underlying racial message based on the time period the film was set in, but even this was done tastefully (from my viewpoint) and matter-of-factly without being stereotypical or unintentionally racist.
Cons:
Like all Disney films it falls into the trap of 'true love overrules everything'. Admittedly you do see that at the end the hero and heroine get together AND both get what they want (Tiana her restaurant and Naveen some sense of responsibility while still being free to have fun), but it seems to be that Disney had to crowbar in the romance element just so there could be a beautiful wedding at the end of the movie. Don't get me wrong, I love happily ever afters, but something about the romance element just seemed forced, and at one point Tiana is basically told 'screw your selfish dreams of being independent and having a restaurant, what you really want is a MAN, DUMBASS!'
Now onto the characters:
Tiana:
Pros:
A strong positive, outgoing and assertive female with no one to support her but herself and her dreams...sound familiar? Yep, makes me think of Belle too, but while Belle seemed to spend her whole life floating around in the state of 'no job, but manage to dress amazingly and have money for books', Tiana seemed wholly more realistic, and thus her struggle for her dreams seemed more real. She's hardworking, kind, intelligent and knows what she wants in life. Despite her poor background she doesn't lust for money and riches, but for her dream of owning her restaurant and sharing good food and fun with the people around her. IMHO she's one of the best female Disney characters not just because she's beautiful and looks great in a princess dress, but because she stands on her own two feet without cute animal sidekicks, fairies, rich parents or anything else to help her.
Cons:
Despite all these good qualities Tiana does come off as a bit one dimensional. Her restaurant dream is the only thing piloting her emotions, and while that's better than lusting after some nameless prince or thinking the grass is always greener over there, without it she comes across as a little dull, not to mention bossy and self-assured believing her way of doing things is the only way. Also she's pretty dense when it comes to her prince charming. How obvious do the signals have to be deary? And if you don't like him stop leading him along!
Naveen:
Pros:
If Tiana is Belle then Naveen is more like Gaston than Beast. Self centred and fun loving her makes quite a different impression compared to other princes (who all tend to be very vague, dashingly heroic and/or perfect in every way). he has his flaws by being like a big kid and just wanting to have fun, but that makes him likeable. He's a human being, and if you give humans lots of money and freedom what will they do? Ride around the world on horseback in full regal gear looking for their one and only? HELL NO, they'll party and enjoy themselves! It's nice to see a prince character who's a bit of a douche bag, and yet though his contact with Tiana he matures and becomes more responsible for himself and his friends. Good for him
Cons:
Again it's the 'love overrules all' syndrome, and despite only knowing Tiana for a very short period Naveen falls hopeless in love with her from about the middle of the movie onwards. His bantering with Tiana was quite clever to begin with and shows off his douchbaggery really well, but this kind of thing has been done. If you've seen Flushed Away you'll see similarities to Roddy and Rita and the way they interact, with the confident streetwise female and the puffed up spoilt male...and even though I'm not a fan of Flushed Away I think they did it better...and for longer. Tiana and Naveen argue for about 10 minutes screen time then become bestest best friends o_0
Dr. Facilier
Pros:
God i love this character, it's like if Jafar from Aladdin made babies with ZigZag from Cobbler and the Thief. he's dark, sadistic and evil, and best of all he doesn't try and hide it. He's a nasty no good character and everyone knows it, but put up with it either out of fear or superstition. He's quite happy to fuck with the lives of Tiana, Naveen, Charlotte, Lawrence and everyone else just so he gets what he wants. Admittedly he's working for a higher power and has it on his own head to succeed but that's never really an issue until the end, and it doesn't stop him being a potent threat all by himself. he also has one of the best musical numbers showing off his complete insanity and terror-making abilities. :D
Cons:
NOTHING, this guy is awesome
Charlotte:
Pros:
Charlotte is my favourite character in this film. She's the stereotype rich white girl that would commonly be classed as the 'ugly sister' or 'wicked bitch-foil', and yet she's not! She's one of Tiana's best friends despite their huge social differences, and it's blatantly clear that despite being spoilt and self-centred she is hugely fond of Tiana and wants her to be happy too. She's hysterically funny, she's slightly bonkers, and she has that adorable southern belle accent. There's not much really to describe her except how fun she is, and she really made me smile throughout the whole film. :)
Cons:
Not so much a criticism than an observation, but as a little girl doesn't she remind anyone of Darla Dimple from Cats Don't Dance? Not as evil naturally, but I half expected a huge bodyguard to learn round the doorframe and utter 'WILL THAT BE ALL, MISS DIMPUUUUL?'
Louis and Ray:
Pros:
What disney film wouldn't be complete without wacky sidekicks? Animals preferably! Admittedly i don't have much to say about either Louis or Ray because I didn't like either of them much, but as disney sidekicks go they fit the bill. Musical numbers, strange ambitions, comic hyjinx, weird accents, toilet humour...if you like that sort of thing then bam, Louis and Ray tick the boxes!
Though admittedly despite not being enamoured with him to begin with Ray was actually quite fun as a character after a while, and I liked seeing him on the screen more than Louis with his cute little bayou accent...and he had some great lines. I admit i got a little teary when Tiana tells him that his one true love is nothing but a star in the sky, and he tries to convince himself and his 'Evangeline' that she didn't mean it.
Cons:
Louis was loud, annoying and painful to me, and I couldn't watch him without thinking 'BIG LIPPED ALLIGATOR MOMENT'. Nuf said
As for Ray, well he should get credit for having one of the ONLY on-screen deaths ever seen in a Disney film (the only other one I could think of was Kerchak from Tarzan), where as most memorable deaths (bambi's mother, Mufasa, and of the villains) have happen off-frame. But with Ray you actually see him drawing his last breath on the screen....
Sadly the whole thing is so utterly ridiculous and sappy it does make you lose any respect you had for the character. if he had just died off screen and then mentioned with a mournful look later on then his integrity as a character would have been kept. But no, you have to see everything including his FUCKING FUNERAL. WE GET IT, IT'S SAD, LION KING DID IT BETTER, MOVE ON.
And then he becomes a star...what the fuck Disney. Cute but stupid.
Mama Odie
Pros:
Uuuuuuuh...........uhhh.......um.....uh....
...really, i got nothing. She was kinda fun i guess....and I liked her snake.
Cons:
She wasn't on screen enough to make any impression, most of her appearance was taken up with a pretty bad musical number, and character wise she was as vital to the plot as a plank of wood.
Other characters
Pros:
There were an abundance of other characters not mentioned here, from Tiana's father to the dark spirits controlled by Dr. Facilier, but most of them didn't get as much screen time as the above characters, and typing about all of them will take me all night. There were a mixture of good and bad characters but overall they were fun, full of energy and beautifully animated depending on their status
Cons:
the movie seemed to suffer from sidekick-itus. Everyone and their grandma had a sidekick of one sort or another to bog down the plot. Tiana as a human has her mum and Charlotte (who in turn has her dad) while Naveen has his butler Lawrence. Dr. Facilier has the dark spirits in the form of masks and shadows, Mama Odie has her snake and an army of spoonbills, as frogs Naveen and Tiana have Louis and Ray...seriously, TOO MANY SIDEKICKS. TOO MANY CHARACTERS. TOO MANY CHARACTERS WE'RE NOT GOING TO SPEND TIME DEVELOPING
Musical numbers:
Pros:
Like any good disney musical the song and dance numbers are the key, and this movie has plenty of them. The best ones have to Tiana's first song where she's singing about the restaurant and the style changes completely to a flat poster style with bright blocks of colour, and Dr. Facilier's number showing off all the terrifying monsters and ghoulish shapes New Orleans voodoo has to offer. The songs were fun and playful with great animation, the mainstay of a good Disney film :D
Cons:
Most of the other songs were fairly unmemorable and there were WAAAAAY too many of them, especially towards the end. MAMA ODIE DID NOT NEED HER OWN SONG...neither really did Ray, but they needed a romance song in there somewhere. The song numbers just seemed to get lazy, serving no purpose than to fill a gap that could have been filled with character development.
So there you have it. Overall I'd give Princess and the frog a 7.5/10 Not bad, there were some flaws, but definitely a step in the right direction with some great characters and a really well done story. And of course it's great to see Disney doing big screen 2D storytelling again!