The Princess and The Frog
As promised, my full report on the awesomeness that is The Princess and the Frog. Obviously, there will be spoilers.
I have significantly calmed down from my initial fangirl high of Friday night, so I expect that most of this recap will be written in a coherent and intelligent manner.
...of course, knowing me, don't be surprised if I still occasionally break into capslock, flailing, squeeing, and general fangirl spazzage.
Let's get started then!
The Animation
One word: GORGEOUS! The backgrounds were so... lush, I guess is the word I'm looking for. They had this beautiful richness of color that 1) was highly appropriate for the film and setting and 2) I had sorely sorely missed. The characters were very fluidly drawn, and moved suitably according to their body type.
I especially liked the way Lawrence's movements reminded me of the pompous museum officials in Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
The character design was very befitting for each character too. Tiana was soft, proportioned, and lovely, both as a human and as a frog. Naveen was stocky and broad-shouldered, like most leading Disney men, yet still had this soft roundness to eyes. Dr. Facilier was lean and slender, kind of spindly, but his features were all twisted, like the evil in him has affected his face. Charlotte was... like everything else about her; over-exaggerated and EXTREMELY girly. Louis the alligator was all round and tubby and generally very cuddly-looking for an alligator. And so on and so forth.
The musical numbers were especially breathtaking to look at.
The Story
Wonderful. Beautiful. Aww-worthy. And SO. DARN. FUNNY! I wasn't expecting it to be so gut-wrenchingly hilarious. The whole thing was very emotionally moving. Every five or ten minutes I was laughing, or aww-ing my head and shipper's heart off, or bouncing my head along with the music. And I might've cried too, once or twice, if I'd been a little younger and more prone to emotional trauma.
I'm rather surprised I didn't cry actually, knowing me I usually spill buckets at sad things in movies.
The Music
Randy Newman is amazing. Some people are a bit upset that Alan Menken didn't compose the music and write the songs this round but... personally I was very happy with Newman's work. Especially Dr. Facilier's Villain Song "Friends On the Other Side". Of course that might just be because of Keith David's deep sexy man voice.
Seriously, just listen to it.
...well okay, I think that the actual score might have been a bit lacking. Mostly because I didn't actually notice it. I usually notice the score on the first viewing if it particularly impresses me. Maybe I just need to see the movie again. Anyway, songs still very catchy.
Tiana
<33333333
She's awesome. I love her so much. She is now one of my top favorite Disney princesses of all time. Right up there with Ariel and Giselle. So very sensible and down-to-earth, PLUCKY and courageous and a damn hard worker and don't you forget it! She's one of the most well-developed Disney girls yet, with realistic goals and dreams and the willingness to go out and try her darndest to make them come true. On her own. Which is ten kinds of kickass.
She's just... GAH! I can't even find the words to convey just how much I love her.
Will you settle for some capslock gibberish?
*capslock on*
ASFAKLSFALKSFNATIAAANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
*capslock off*
Naveen
The charm that is the lazy, suave, egotistical, lady-killer Prince Naveen need only be summed up with these two bits of dialogue:
Lawrence: Your Highness! I've been looking for you all over!
Naveen: What a coincidence! I have been avoiding you all over.
Tiana: I could use some help.
Naveen: *thinks* Okay... I will play louder!
<3
Dr. Facilier
You know... I have never had a crush on a Disney villain before but...
Doctor Facilier voiced by Mr. Keith man-whose-voice-makes-my-lady-parts-feel-all-warm-and-squiggly David? Ooooh yes! He, as well, was quite awesome. Smooth, oily, wonderfully persuasive and scheming, seductive almost. As Naveen states, "He was very charismatic."
His backstory was mostly just implied and left a mystery. While tantalizing, I feel the character works better that way. Better we know very little about him and fill in the blanks ourselves. Besides, whatever his history and motives may have been, he was still pretty magnificently smooth at pulling them off. The Xanatos Gambit worked as follows: Step One-Turn Naveen into a frog for easy and convenient storage. Step Two-Use his blood in a magic voodoo talisman to turn Lawrence, Naveen's butler, into an impostor Naveen. Step Three-Impostor Naveen marries Charlotte, daughter of the richest citizen in New Orleans (and I think the mayor too?). Step Four-As soon as the nuptials are official and finalized-(seriously the guy was waiting with a needle poised over a voodoo doll of "Big Daddy", ready to stab his heart as soon as the priest stopped talking)-kill off "Big Daddy" rich citizen. Step Five-Impostor Naveen, and thereby Dr. Facilier, immediately inherit the man's fortune and status in New Orleans. Dr. Facilier is able to pay off whatever mysterious "debts" he owes to his "friends" on the Other Side.
I really liked this bit of implied backstory actually. Just how deeply was Dr. Facilier indebted to the shadow demons? He had apparently made deals with them a lot, and had yet to fully appease them. When things went awry with his "swindle "Big Daddy's" wealth" plan (in the form of Naveen escaping his jar and meeting up with Tiana of course), he seemed very uneasy and nervous to confront them and ask for another little favor. I get the impression that he'd been constantly squeezing favors out of these entities and they were getting cranky and tired of it. Thus, when he is forced to ask for their help again, he decides to sweeten the deal with an offer they can't refuse. Once he gains control of the city, he promises, he'll let them have free reign to devour any wayward souls they please.
Well I guess for shadowy and vaguely demonic evil entities you can't get much better than an All-You-Can-Eat soul buffet so naturally they agree to this plan.
*SPOILERS*
Only to become VERY pissed-off when Tiana shatters the voodoo talisman. Realizing that there's no way Dr. Facilier can pull off his plan and make good on his deal now, thus denying them their soul dinner, they proceed to give the Shadow Man one of the best and creepiest Disney Villain Deaths ever-dragging him disheveled and screaming by the ankle into the gaping maw of one of the masks we'd seen him talking to, which promptly chomps and dissolves into a gravestone with Facilier's shrieking face carved into it.
Prime Nightmare Fuel and hoist by your own petard and all. If that's not a fitting way for the jerk to go, I don't know what is. An awesome end for an awesome villain.
Supporting Characters
I'll be brief with most of them, because there's one in particular I want to focus on.
Charlotte was hilarious, with her spoiled glee and hideous over-the-top foofy pink dresses and excited, enthusiastic, desperate-for-love approach to romance. Her friendship with Tiana, whom she could not be MORE COMPLETE OPPOSITES WITH, was very precious.
Louis was, as I said, remarkably approachable and cuddly for an alligator. And funny. And a welcome companion.
Mama Odie was fun. Loved her song.
Last but not least... Ray the firefly.
Dear heavens the firefly. Had a great song, had great voice acting, had the most adorable cloudcuckoolanderish crush on "Evangeline", the evening star oft wished upon by characters in the film (gives new meaning to Timon's explanation of stars in The Lion King, don't it?), had... oh my gosh, just the sweetest most heartwarming supporting character.
*AND THERE ARE MORE SPOILERS*
And then he faced off against the shadow creatures, valiantly destroying several with his light before getting knocked aside and then Dr. Facilier stepped on him. Deliberately.
No, you heard that right. They actually KILLED OFF one of the quirky comic relief characters in this movie. Heck I read the spoilers about it and knew it was going to happen and I still wasn't expecting it. Just...
THE FIREFLY MAN!!! HE STEPPED ON THE FREAKING FIREFLY!!! AND YOU COULD HEAR HIS BODY CRUNCH OH MY-
And then the poor guy got to have one last moment with his friends, to see that they were all happy, and then he went peacefully and got a decent firefly funeral and then... and this part kills me...
A new evening star appeared in the sky, right next to Evangeline, and the two stars appear to hold hands.
My heartstrings were tugged right out of their sockets.
Who knew Disney could make me feel so much for a freaking middle-aged Cajun firefly?
The Costumes
WAASKLFHALSKPOAS!
20'S FASHION AND MASQUERADE BALL WITH TIANA WEARING A MEDIEVAL DRESS AND THEN LATER A REALLY REALLY PRETTY SPARKLY BLUE ONE AND THEN ANOTHER REALLY PRETTY MAGICALLY GENERATED GREEN ONE!
It's like this movie had a finger on all my Geeky Turn Ons and stuffed them all into the movie just for me.
Much obliged Disney.
The Romance
(BECAUSE I'M STILL A SHIPPER AT HEART AND THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ME.)
Squee!
*flail*
*dies a thousand happy deaths*
Naveen/Tiana is probably my favorite Disney Couple now. Maybe, maybe, beating out Robert/Giselle. At least getting into the top three with it. And Eric/Ariel YES THE LITTLE MERMAID IS MY DEFAULT DISNEY FAVORITE EVERYTHING.
Because you can see it happening, ever so gradually, as both characters grow and develop and influence and rub off on each other. The lingering gazes. The happy proximity. Dancing. Learning from each other.
And best of all, when normally smooth and suave ladies'-man Naveen falls in love for real and genuinely with Tiana, tries to set up a nice dinner date with her, and then proceeds to FAIL UTTERLY AT IT. The normally confident and sure-footed Naveen becomes the most awkward and clumsy DORK around her. And he stammers. LIKE A GEEK.
AND I LOVE IT!
And Tiana figuring out that, "My dream...? My dream wouldn't be complete... without you in it. I love you Naveen."
EXCUSE ME WHILE I SIT FOR A MOMENT AND SQUEE LIKE A MAD THING OVER THAT LINE!
AKFALSFLAKHLSASASS!
And then they go and get married and buy the restaurant Tiana always wanted and fix it up together in this wonderful montage. All that's missing are babies. HOP TO IT YOU TWO.
Uh... pun intended?
Conclusion
SQUEEEEEYAYHEARTSHAPPINESS! <333
It was everything I ever wanted out of my long-awaited 2D animated princess movie. And sometimes even more.
Now I can't wait for when they tackle Rapunzel and The Snow Queen.
THANK YOU THANK YOU DISNEY! WELL DONE OH HOUSE OF MOUSE! WELL DONE!
I have significantly calmed down from my initial fangirl high of Friday night, so I expect that most of this recap will be written in a coherent and intelligent manner.
...of course, knowing me, don't be surprised if I still occasionally break into capslock, flailing, squeeing, and general fangirl spazzage.
Let's get started then!
The Animation
One word: GORGEOUS! The backgrounds were so... lush, I guess is the word I'm looking for. They had this beautiful richness of color that 1) was highly appropriate for the film and setting and 2) I had sorely sorely missed. The characters were very fluidly drawn, and moved suitably according to their body type.
I especially liked the way Lawrence's movements reminded me of the pompous museum officials in Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
The character design was very befitting for each character too. Tiana was soft, proportioned, and lovely, both as a human and as a frog. Naveen was stocky and broad-shouldered, like most leading Disney men, yet still had this soft roundness to eyes. Dr. Facilier was lean and slender, kind of spindly, but his features were all twisted, like the evil in him has affected his face. Charlotte was... like everything else about her; over-exaggerated and EXTREMELY girly. Louis the alligator was all round and tubby and generally very cuddly-looking for an alligator. And so on and so forth.
The musical numbers were especially breathtaking to look at.
The Story
Wonderful. Beautiful. Aww-worthy. And SO. DARN. FUNNY! I wasn't expecting it to be so gut-wrenchingly hilarious. The whole thing was very emotionally moving. Every five or ten minutes I was laughing, or aww-ing my head and shipper's heart off, or bouncing my head along with the music. And I might've cried too, once or twice, if I'd been a little younger and more prone to emotional trauma.
I'm rather surprised I didn't cry actually, knowing me I usually spill buckets at sad things in movies.
The Music
Randy Newman is amazing. Some people are a bit upset that Alan Menken didn't compose the music and write the songs this round but... personally I was very happy with Newman's work. Especially Dr. Facilier's Villain Song "Friends On the Other Side". Of course that might just be because of Keith David's deep sexy man voice.
Seriously, just listen to it.
...well okay, I think that the actual score might have been a bit lacking. Mostly because I didn't actually notice it. I usually notice the score on the first viewing if it particularly impresses me. Maybe I just need to see the movie again. Anyway, songs still very catchy.
Tiana
<33333333
She's awesome. I love her so much. She is now one of my top favorite Disney princesses of all time. Right up there with Ariel and Giselle. So very sensible and down-to-earth, PLUCKY and courageous and a damn hard worker and don't you forget it! She's one of the most well-developed Disney girls yet, with realistic goals and dreams and the willingness to go out and try her darndest to make them come true. On her own. Which is ten kinds of kickass.
She's just... GAH! I can't even find the words to convey just how much I love her.
Will you settle for some capslock gibberish?
*capslock on*
ASFAKLSFALKSFNATIAAANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
*capslock off*
Naveen
The charm that is the lazy, suave, egotistical, lady-killer Prince Naveen need only be summed up with these two bits of dialogue:
Lawrence: Your Highness! I've been looking for you all over!
Naveen: What a coincidence! I have been avoiding you all over.
Tiana: I could use some help.
Naveen: *thinks* Okay... I will play louder!
<3
Dr. Facilier
You know... I have never had a crush on a Disney villain before but...
Doctor Facilier voiced by Mr. Keith man-whose-voice-makes-my-lady-parts-feel-all-warm-and-squiggly David? Ooooh yes! He, as well, was quite awesome. Smooth, oily, wonderfully persuasive and scheming, seductive almost. As Naveen states, "He was very charismatic."
His backstory was mostly just implied and left a mystery. While tantalizing, I feel the character works better that way. Better we know very little about him and fill in the blanks ourselves. Besides, whatever his history and motives may have been, he was still pretty magnificently smooth at pulling them off. The Xanatos Gambit worked as follows: Step One-Turn Naveen into a frog for easy and convenient storage. Step Two-Use his blood in a magic voodoo talisman to turn Lawrence, Naveen's butler, into an impostor Naveen. Step Three-Impostor Naveen marries Charlotte, daughter of the richest citizen in New Orleans (and I think the mayor too?). Step Four-As soon as the nuptials are official and finalized-(seriously the guy was waiting with a needle poised over a voodoo doll of "Big Daddy", ready to stab his heart as soon as the priest stopped talking)-kill off "Big Daddy" rich citizen. Step Five-Impostor Naveen, and thereby Dr. Facilier, immediately inherit the man's fortune and status in New Orleans. Dr. Facilier is able to pay off whatever mysterious "debts" he owes to his "friends" on the Other Side.
I really liked this bit of implied backstory actually. Just how deeply was Dr. Facilier indebted to the shadow demons? He had apparently made deals with them a lot, and had yet to fully appease them. When things went awry with his "swindle "Big Daddy's" wealth" plan (in the form of Naveen escaping his jar and meeting up with Tiana of course), he seemed very uneasy and nervous to confront them and ask for another little favor. I get the impression that he'd been constantly squeezing favors out of these entities and they were getting cranky and tired of it. Thus, when he is forced to ask for their help again, he decides to sweeten the deal with an offer they can't refuse. Once he gains control of the city, he promises, he'll let them have free reign to devour any wayward souls they please.
Well I guess for shadowy and vaguely demonic evil entities you can't get much better than an All-You-Can-Eat soul buffet so naturally they agree to this plan.
*SPOILERS*
Only to become VERY pissed-off when Tiana shatters the voodoo talisman. Realizing that there's no way Dr. Facilier can pull off his plan and make good on his deal now, thus denying them their soul dinner, they proceed to give the Shadow Man one of the best and creepiest Disney Villain Deaths ever-dragging him disheveled and screaming by the ankle into the gaping maw of one of the masks we'd seen him talking to, which promptly chomps and dissolves into a gravestone with Facilier's shrieking face carved into it.
Prime Nightmare Fuel and hoist by your own petard and all. If that's not a fitting way for the jerk to go, I don't know what is. An awesome end for an awesome villain.
Supporting Characters
I'll be brief with most of them, because there's one in particular I want to focus on.
Charlotte was hilarious, with her spoiled glee and hideous over-the-top foofy pink dresses and excited, enthusiastic, desperate-for-love approach to romance. Her friendship with Tiana, whom she could not be MORE COMPLETE OPPOSITES WITH, was very precious.
Louis was, as I said, remarkably approachable and cuddly for an alligator. And funny. And a welcome companion.
Mama Odie was fun. Loved her song.
Last but not least... Ray the firefly.
Dear heavens the firefly. Had a great song, had great voice acting, had the most adorable cloudcuckoolanderish crush on "Evangeline", the evening star oft wished upon by characters in the film (gives new meaning to Timon's explanation of stars in The Lion King, don't it?), had... oh my gosh, just the sweetest most heartwarming supporting character.
*AND THERE ARE MORE SPOILERS*
And then he faced off against the shadow creatures, valiantly destroying several with his light before getting knocked aside and then Dr. Facilier stepped on him. Deliberately.
No, you heard that right. They actually KILLED OFF one of the quirky comic relief characters in this movie. Heck I read the spoilers about it and knew it was going to happen and I still wasn't expecting it. Just...
THE FIREFLY MAN!!! HE STEPPED ON THE FREAKING FIREFLY!!! AND YOU COULD HEAR HIS BODY CRUNCH OH MY-
And then the poor guy got to have one last moment with his friends, to see that they were all happy, and then he went peacefully and got a decent firefly funeral and then... and this part kills me...
A new evening star appeared in the sky, right next to Evangeline, and the two stars appear to hold hands.
My heartstrings were tugged right out of their sockets.
Who knew Disney could make me feel so much for a freaking middle-aged Cajun firefly?
The Costumes
WAASKLFHALSKPOAS!
20'S FASHION AND MASQUERADE BALL WITH TIANA WEARING A MEDIEVAL DRESS AND THEN LATER A REALLY REALLY PRETTY SPARKLY BLUE ONE AND THEN ANOTHER REALLY PRETTY MAGICALLY GENERATED GREEN ONE!
It's like this movie had a finger on all my Geeky Turn Ons and stuffed them all into the movie just for me.
Much obliged Disney.
The Romance
(BECAUSE I'M STILL A SHIPPER AT HEART AND THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ME.)
Squee!
*flail*
*dies a thousand happy deaths*
Naveen/Tiana is probably my favorite Disney Couple now. Maybe, maybe, beating out Robert/Giselle. At least getting into the top three with it. And Eric/Ariel YES THE LITTLE MERMAID IS MY DEFAULT DISNEY FAVORITE EVERYTHING.
Because you can see it happening, ever so gradually, as both characters grow and develop and influence and rub off on each other. The lingering gazes. The happy proximity. Dancing. Learning from each other.
And best of all, when normally smooth and suave ladies'-man Naveen falls in love for real and genuinely with Tiana, tries to set up a nice dinner date with her, and then proceeds to FAIL UTTERLY AT IT. The normally confident and sure-footed Naveen becomes the most awkward and clumsy DORK around her. And he stammers. LIKE A GEEK.
AND I LOVE IT!
And Tiana figuring out that, "My dream...? My dream wouldn't be complete... without you in it. I love you Naveen."
EXCUSE ME WHILE I SIT FOR A MOMENT AND SQUEE LIKE A MAD THING OVER THAT LINE!
AKFALSFLAKHLSASASS!
And then they go and get married and buy the restaurant Tiana always wanted and fix it up together in this wonderful montage. All that's missing are babies. HOP TO IT YOU TWO.
Uh... pun intended?
Conclusion
SQUEEEEEYAYHEARTSHAPPINESS! <333
It was everything I ever wanted out of my long-awaited 2D animated princess movie. And sometimes even more.
Now I can't wait for when they tackle Rapunzel and The Snow Queen.
THANK YOU THANK YOU DISNEY! WELL DONE OH HOUSE OF MOUSE! WELL DONE!