Are you reeeeeeady~
Figure I should jump on the Disney bandwagon and do my own review of The Princess and the Frog.
Spoilers behind the cut, of course.
I totally loved this movie oh my God. It wasn't so much "Disney got their magic back" as it was "Disney never lost it." And of course, moviegoing companions make the experience, and I was lucky enough to go with lynxgriffin and amorsinseramada - win squared, basically.
- I kind of called that her dad was going to die, unfortunately. Those scenes on the back porch...I just sat there and went, "oh no, at least don't show it to us. Please." Disney was kind enough in that respect, at least.
- I loved Tiana. I really didn't see any stereotypes in her at all - I saw a developed character who grew and changed throughout the story. I actually really liked how they developed her and Naveen's relationship; it was incredibly believable, well-written and well played, and...well I have never cared so much about frogs before. Awesome. :Db
- Speaking of Naveen, I freaking loved him. He is such a smarmy bastard and I loved his development more than any other character's, I think. Again: it was believable. I bought it. Yes please.
- Louie was fun. :3 I agree with Lynx in that he wasn't the most memorable character out there, but he added his own part to the movie - this is where the moral about "being yourself" comes in, and I did love it. Plus, the cutaway of "I tried to play on a boat once. It didn't work out well." was just brilliant.
- Ray. I totally didn't expect to like him. He made a pretty poor first impression - stereotypes and fart jokes and everything the four year old boy would like. It was when they started developing his character that I just loved him. (Seeing a theme here, yes? Yes. Totally.) Freaking loved the whole thing with Evangeline, from the love song to her to the fact that everyone started calling the star "Evangeline" to Ray seeing (and glowing) red when he thinks Naveen is romancing her. That entire touch was fantastic. XD
- Which is why the death scene was an exercise in oh my God whaaaaaaaat. I was watching that shoe come down and just going, he's wearing saddle shoes. saddle shoes have a slight heel, there's enough wiggle room in there, come on.
And then Louie showed up with Ray in his hand and we had the flicker-out scene and I was just sitting there going, what happened to the LOL JK deaths Disney's so good at? Damn.
Being with Evangeline made me wibble, though, right up the point where Lynx leaned over and whispered, "They're fireflies! Stuck up in that...bluish-black thing."
Of course, after trying really hard not to laugh my rear off at an incredibly inappropriate moment in the movie, I immediately leaned over and passed that bit of wisdom on to my roomie, who replied with, "You mean there's a bunch of dead guys up there watching us?"
Totally wasn't kidding when I said companions make the experience. |D
- LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CRAZY GUY FOR A WHILE. Dr. Facilier was an absolutely fantastic Disney villain, with the one exception of failing to fall from a high place (unless you consider being dragged into voodoo hell "falling." I'll spot you that one). "Friends on the Other Side" was a very catchy song - it wasn't any "Be Prepared" or "Poor Unfortunate Souls" or "Why Me," but the voodoo masks singing backup were just. Yes please. The musical part of me just squeed like a moron. His shadow was a fantastic touch, and scared the hell out of me more than once. The shadow beasts were even better, or worse depending on how you looked at it. I kept on having "Silence in the Library" moments - "Stay out of the shadows" pardon me while I go shudder in abject terror holy gad. Between the Vashta Nerada, the Heartless, and Facilier's "friends," I will be staying the hell out of dark and scary places.
My roomie told me she got big Rasputin vibes from him, given the whole THAT TALISMAN IS MY LIIIIIIIFE thing. "I sold my soul for this and you nearly broke it!" Somehow, I'm thinking putting your entire being into a small, easily-parted-from-your-person object is a bad plan. Then again, so is making a deal with Satan. \O_o/
Somehow, being the derp I am, I completely managed to miss that his name was Facilier until it showed up on his headstone. Everyone kept calling him "that shadow man," so I just kind of rolled with it. Of course, my English major and language nerd kicked in at the same time. Facile = French for "easy," and "facil" is the Latin root meaning (and I quote this from the website) "make, do, build, cause, produce; forming, shaping." I just kind of sat there and went "eeeeeeee language" for a while. Chalk up another clever moment for Disney.
Plus, he was indeed very charismatic. :3
- AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Charlotte! I have no idea how Disney managed to make her so likeable, but she was an incredible amount of fun, from the fake beauty mark to the sparkles from nowhere to the "sweating like a sinner in church" line to the multiple kisses because "maybe that old clock is fast..." More fun than she ever should have been, but do love.
Incidentally, did anybody else notice that the dog is part of the movie but the cat never shows up again? Probably hiding in a corner somewhere, in desperate need of kitty therapy. |D
- Speaking of the dog, I wanted a bit more of the "why is the dog talking to me? O_o" moment. Probably not a good time or place to fit it in, but nonetheless.
The entire language discrepancy bothered me, actually. Tiana could understand the dog after she became a frog, but the guys in the costumed jazz group could understand Louie...how?
...DISNEY MAGIC. *ducks and runs under the cover of sparkles*
- This entire movie was, in my opinion, much more referential of Disney than even Enchanted was, but somehow a bit more subtle about it. Lynx and I were the only ones who caught that the scene of Charlotte and "Naveen" dancing was a straight Cinderella reference, and the Aladdin and Little Mermaid references were just about everywhere, with Lion King not far behind. I was watching the costume party, trying to mark off how many people were dressed as other Disney characters.
Speaking of references, where were the Minnie ears, Carpet, and cameos that everyone keeps talking about? Totally missed them.
- I have to say it because it made me squee: I KNOW THE DANCE TIANA AND NAVEEN WERE DOING AT THE END. We did those steps in my Stage Dance class. I am such a gorram derp, but oh, I squeed.
- I do have a small list of nitpicks, though, beginning with our first few moments with adult!Tiana. Has anyone ever worked a shift as a waitress? You can not do that on no sleep, especially after working all night at another waitress job holy gad Tiana is nuts. Only other nitpick is that I didn't find the songs to be as lyrically complex and clever as previous Disney soundtracks. Catchy? Oh yes. Fun? Definitely. Will I listen to it again? OF COURSE! Will I still be picking out puns and clever turns of phrase the hundred-somethingith time I hear the songs? Probably not. Did either of these detract from my enjoyment of the movie? Hell no. This is why they're nitpicks. |Db
Judging from the reactions in the audience and on my flist, I'd call the movie a rollicking success. The sheer number of small children in the theater made it that much better, and they were a fantastic audience: gasping and laughing in all the right places and even applauding after a musical number or two, which made me grin like a moron because kids nowadays appreciate art! *A* Disney has succeeded in the age-old tradition of scaring the everloving hell out of the audience before making everything better - dead silence after "Friends on the Other Side." Kids were absolutely terrified of the crazy voodoo man. Who says the new generation is desensitized? And the small child chatter about how awesome the movie was and what their favorite part was and who their favorite character was and repeating all the funny lines...oh Disney, you've done it again. I haven't heard post-movie chatter like that since Atlantis, and goodness knows that was a good long while ago.
Let's top this off with the Wheel of Morality. What is the lesson that we should learn from The Princess and the Frog?
1. Be yourself.
2. If you want something, you have to work for it.
3. However, all work and no play is bad for you. Remember to live a little.
4. True love does exist! (In just about every Disney move ever? You betcha.)
5. Don't make deals with Satan.
Rules to live by, I think.
Definitely going to see this again. :Db
Spoilers behind the cut, of course.
I totally loved this movie oh my God. It wasn't so much "Disney got their magic back" as it was "Disney never lost it." And of course, moviegoing companions make the experience, and I was lucky enough to go with lynxgriffin and amorsinseramada - win squared, basically.
- I kind of called that her dad was going to die, unfortunately. Those scenes on the back porch...I just sat there and went, "oh no, at least don't show it to us. Please." Disney was kind enough in that respect, at least.
- I loved Tiana. I really didn't see any stereotypes in her at all - I saw a developed character who grew and changed throughout the story. I actually really liked how they developed her and Naveen's relationship; it was incredibly believable, well-written and well played, and...well I have never cared so much about frogs before. Awesome. :Db
- Speaking of Naveen, I freaking loved him. He is such a smarmy bastard and I loved his development more than any other character's, I think. Again: it was believable. I bought it. Yes please.
- Louie was fun. :3 I agree with Lynx in that he wasn't the most memorable character out there, but he added his own part to the movie - this is where the moral about "being yourself" comes in, and I did love it. Plus, the cutaway of "I tried to play on a boat once. It didn't work out well." was just brilliant.
- Ray. I totally didn't expect to like him. He made a pretty poor first impression - stereotypes and fart jokes and everything the four year old boy would like. It was when they started developing his character that I just loved him. (Seeing a theme here, yes? Yes. Totally.) Freaking loved the whole thing with Evangeline, from the love song to her to the fact that everyone started calling the star "Evangeline" to Ray seeing (and glowing) red when he thinks Naveen is romancing her. That entire touch was fantastic. XD
- Which is why the death scene was an exercise in oh my God whaaaaaaaat. I was watching that shoe come down and just going, he's wearing saddle shoes. saddle shoes have a slight heel, there's enough wiggle room in there, come on.
And then Louie showed up with Ray in his hand and we had the flicker-out scene and I was just sitting there going, what happened to the LOL JK deaths Disney's so good at? Damn.
Being with Evangeline made me wibble, though, right up the point where Lynx leaned over and whispered, "They're fireflies! Stuck up in that...bluish-black thing."
Of course, after trying really hard not to laugh my rear off at an incredibly inappropriate moment in the movie, I immediately leaned over and passed that bit of wisdom on to my roomie, who replied with, "You mean there's a bunch of dead guys up there watching us?"
Totally wasn't kidding when I said companions make the experience. |D
- LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CRAZY GUY FOR A WHILE. Dr. Facilier was an absolutely fantastic Disney villain, with the one exception of failing to fall from a high place (unless you consider being dragged into voodoo hell "falling." I'll spot you that one). "Friends on the Other Side" was a very catchy song - it wasn't any "Be Prepared" or "Poor Unfortunate Souls" or "Why Me," but the voodoo masks singing backup were just. Yes please. The musical part of me just squeed like a moron. His shadow was a fantastic touch, and scared the hell out of me more than once. The shadow beasts were even better, or worse depending on how you looked at it. I kept on having "Silence in the Library" moments - "Stay out of the shadows" pardon me while I go shudder in abject terror holy gad. Between the Vashta Nerada, the Heartless, and Facilier's "friends," I will be staying the hell out of dark and scary places.
My roomie told me she got big Rasputin vibes from him, given the whole THAT TALISMAN IS MY LIIIIIIIFE thing. "I sold my soul for this and you nearly broke it!" Somehow, I'm thinking putting your entire being into a small, easily-parted-from-your-person object is a bad plan. Then again, so is making a deal with Satan. \O_o/
Somehow, being the derp I am, I completely managed to miss that his name was Facilier until it showed up on his headstone. Everyone kept calling him "that shadow man," so I just kind of rolled with it. Of course, my English major and language nerd kicked in at the same time. Facile = French for "easy," and "facil" is the Latin root meaning (and I quote this from the website) "make, do, build, cause, produce; forming, shaping." I just kind of sat there and went "eeeeeeee language" for a while. Chalk up another clever moment for Disney.
Plus, he was indeed very charismatic. :3
- AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Charlotte! I have no idea how Disney managed to make her so likeable, but she was an incredible amount of fun, from the fake beauty mark to the sparkles from nowhere to the "sweating like a sinner in church" line to the multiple kisses because "maybe that old clock is fast..." More fun than she ever should have been, but do love.
Incidentally, did anybody else notice that the dog is part of the movie but the cat never shows up again? Probably hiding in a corner somewhere, in desperate need of kitty therapy. |D
- Speaking of the dog, I wanted a bit more of the "why is the dog talking to me? O_o" moment. Probably not a good time or place to fit it in, but nonetheless.
The entire language discrepancy bothered me, actually. Tiana could understand the dog after she became a frog, but the guys in the costumed jazz group could understand Louie...how?
...DISNEY MAGIC. *ducks and runs under the cover of sparkles*
- This entire movie was, in my opinion, much more referential of Disney than even Enchanted was, but somehow a bit more subtle about it. Lynx and I were the only ones who caught that the scene of Charlotte and "Naveen" dancing was a straight Cinderella reference, and the Aladdin and Little Mermaid references were just about everywhere, with Lion King not far behind. I was watching the costume party, trying to mark off how many people were dressed as other Disney characters.
Speaking of references, where were the Minnie ears, Carpet, and cameos that everyone keeps talking about? Totally missed them.
- I have to say it because it made me squee: I KNOW THE DANCE TIANA AND NAVEEN WERE DOING AT THE END. We did those steps in my Stage Dance class. I am such a gorram derp, but oh, I squeed.
- I do have a small list of nitpicks, though, beginning with our first few moments with adult!Tiana. Has anyone ever worked a shift as a waitress? You can not do that on no sleep, especially after working all night at another waitress job holy gad Tiana is nuts. Only other nitpick is that I didn't find the songs to be as lyrically complex and clever as previous Disney soundtracks. Catchy? Oh yes. Fun? Definitely. Will I listen to it again? OF COURSE! Will I still be picking out puns and clever turns of phrase the hundred-somethingith time I hear the songs? Probably not. Did either of these detract from my enjoyment of the movie? Hell no. This is why they're nitpicks. |Db
Judging from the reactions in the audience and on my flist, I'd call the movie a rollicking success. The sheer number of small children in the theater made it that much better, and they were a fantastic audience: gasping and laughing in all the right places and even applauding after a musical number or two, which made me grin like a moron because kids nowadays appreciate art! *A* Disney has succeeded in the age-old tradition of scaring the everloving hell out of the audience before making everything better - dead silence after "Friends on the Other Side." Kids were absolutely terrified of the crazy voodoo man. Who says the new generation is desensitized? And the small child chatter about how awesome the movie was and what their favorite part was and who their favorite character was and repeating all the funny lines...oh Disney, you've done it again. I haven't heard post-movie chatter like that since Atlantis, and goodness knows that was a good long while ago.
Let's top this off with the Wheel of Morality. What is the lesson that we should learn from The Princess and the Frog?
1. Be yourself.
2. If you want something, you have to work for it.
3. However, all work and no play is bad for you. Remember to live a little.
4. True love does exist! (In just about every Disney move ever? You betcha.)
5. Don't make deals with Satan.
Rules to live by, I think.
Definitely going to see this again. :Db