The Princess and the Frog

[mariness]

So I finally got around to watching last year's The Princess and the Frog last night. I liked it

Comments

[selfavowedgeek]

I liked the movie as a better-than-mediocre Disney flick. We have it along with a host of others on DVD. Thing 2 has most of the scenes memorized.

Although I liked the working class sensibilities at first, I can't help but agree it's just another primer for being a princess.

[mariness]

I felt a distinct touch of Disney Marketing here and there, reaching their dirty little fingers into the story and tweaking it.

Not surprising, really - Disney Princesses is one of their most profitable and popular lines, almost certainly generating far more revenue overall than the movie could ever hope to make on its own. And it seems to be working - I see little Tianas wandering around Disney all the time, most clearly having taken advantage of a Disney Princess Makeover earlier in the day.

[selfavowedgeek]

Funny that Thing 2 had said she'd like to be a frog after watching the movie for the first time. I rather liked that. She's all girly-girl here lately--still with a little rough-houser side, though--but she'd much prefer to be a pixie like Tinkerbell on any given day.

RE: princess marketing--I think Disney is realizing that there's a goodly bit of alienating the boys, hence, loss of revenue on that end. I'd read something a while back about the Rapunzel movie coming out and how they were playing up the prince's character in an effort to pull in--they hope!--more boy viewers.

[mariness]

The boys seem to be really into Buzz Lightyear, though, and to a lesser extent the other Toy Story toys. And at the parks they are matching Disney Princesses with Disney Pirates, which I find slightly unfair since I would have wanted to be both. Pirate Princesses for the win! (However, um, historically inaccurate.)

I can see Disney not wanting to keep boys out of Rapunzel, but the corollary to that is that Disney Princess make a lot of money - between special things at the theme park and Disney Princesses days, to costumes and products and Disney princess dolls. The trick is balancing that with something to attract the boys. Thus, pirates! Pirates attacking the fairies during the Magic Kingdom fireworks show!

[hawkward]

It really fell flat for me. The music was great, the alligator and the firefly were my favorites, and I liked the voodoo guy (and, more importantly, the vévé symbolism), but I had all sorts of problems with the main two characters: she was obsessed about that restaurant to the point of being a buzzkill, and he was just unlikeable.

But I'll give it another chance. Maybe there's something there that turned me off the first time, that I need to see again to uncover.

[mariness]

Yeah...part of my thing was, you've been turned into a FROG, a voodoo guy is taking over New Orleans, and you're worried about the restaurant? It wasn't a buzzkill for me, but it was certainly enough to reduce the general tension.

I thought Naveen started out unlikeable, but grew more likeable as the film went along, and I did like their dialogue and banter.

I missed most of the symbolism, I admit.

[hawkward]

Two semesters of African-American Art History in college come in handy from time to time. :) We covered Vodun and Santería in great length.

[palusbuteo]

I got to watch this on a flight cross-country earlier this year

[mariness]

One of the main Disney formulas is to start with an unlikeable or irresponsible or both male lead who must learn to become likeable or responsible or both. The only one I can think of off hand that breaks this pattern is Snow White, and that because if a dim memory serves correctly (I own it, but it's in storage) the Prince is barely in that movie at all. Oh, and possibly Cinderella - again, if I recall correctly, the Prince is barely in that film; the main heroes are those adorable little mice who have to get that key up the stairs. (I'm sure there was more to the film, but about all I recall is, gorgeous Cinderella dress, mice.)

Otherwise:

Pinocchio - the entire point/plot of the film.
Sleeping Beauty - Prince Philip plans to ignore his father's plans and a peace treaty for some girl he meets in the woods.
Lady and the Tramp - Tramp must learn responsibility over pasta!
Aladdin - Aladdin thinks he can earn every
Beauty and the Beast - Well.
Lion King The whiny little brat of a lion runs away from his responsibilities and nearly

[trillian4210]

The prince in Mulan wasn't a bumbler.
Phoebus in Hunchback of Notre Dame wasn't either, but I'm not sure you could call him the prince.
Eric in the Little Mermaid was okay until he got put under Ursula's spell.

But I see your point. Also, I think it's more of a movie trend, and not just limited to Disney, that the male characters need to learn a lesson and are generally the bumblers of any given comedic scenario, whereas the women just shake their head at the zany antics of their menfolk.

[mariness]

Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mulan also weren't terribly good movies, although the animation in Mulan was gorgeous.

And certainly, Disney's not the only one to play with this formula - but it appears that they rely on it more heavily than other studios.

[starfire68]

We debated letting the kids watch this on Netflix...David thought it was a little gimicky, and didn't think the boys would like it. The girl-child never showed an interest in it, so we gave it a pass (all three watched the new Tinkerbell movie and enjoyed it greatly. I can't pass comment because I didn't watch more than a few bits. It was cute)

[mariness]

I haven't gotten around to watching the new Tinkerbell movie, but that's partly because I was never really in Peter Pan. (Not just the Disney version; the play and the book as well.)

[starfire68]

David loves Tinkerbell, and passed that love on to Lily. Amazingly, both boys like it as well.

[trillian4210]

I really liked this movie. Or maybe I've been indoctrinated. We've seen it about a zillion times since my 3 year old loves it.

I ADORE Ray, the firefly, and Mama Odie was truly inspired, I think.

The wanting the restaurant didn't bother me since they were trying to show that she's a hard-worker, but who also needs to take time for family. Yes, she becomes a princess, but she and Naveen also roll up their sleeves at the end and turn the dump into a palace. Tiana isn't just going to live happily ever after, she's going to have to work to keep her place going (and a Depression is looming, if you want to get all historical.)

I thought that the bad guy's sidekick WAS Lawrence; the bumbling servant wasn't really his own bad guy as he relied on Dr. Facilier for all his machinations. Facilier was using Lawrence. They weren't separate villians, imho.

But as far as having some of that ole Disney magic? Mm, maybe not so much.

[mariness]

I guess what I meant more about the sidekick was that the sidekick wasn't funny. Most of the great Disney villains have featured either an almost as terrifying sidekick (or sidekicks), or, more frequently, especially in more recent films, a funny sidekick. (Lefou in Beauty and the Beast, Whoopi Goldberg's hyena in Lion King, the parrot in Aladdin (I would never have cast Gilbert Gottfried in any voice role, but there it really worked), Pain and Panic in Hercules (not that Hercules counts as a great Disney film but it was amusing) and so on.

I did like Ray.

And, er, I know the indoctrination with some films all too well, both good and bad.

[trillian4210]

True, Lawrence wasn't very funny. Except for that one line where he agrees to get married. "Yes, I'm for it." That was funny. I guess his "humor" was spontaneously growing a big butt when he ran out of blood. :/

And I agree Gilbert Gottfried was inspired in Aladdin. Perfect choice.