Review of The Princess and the Frog (2009) by Jake M — 28 Jan 2017

The Princess and the Frog (2009) - Boasts a great amount of lovable characters, Impressive music and some of the most complex Hand Drawn animation that i've seen from Disney. The story takes the classic Fairytale that a lot of us know and gives it a unique spin.

It's kinda surprising how this movie is actually set in 1920's New Orleans. Most Disney princess movies usually take place in the 19th century or earlier so I thought it was actually kinda cool to see Disney do a different setting for the film.

The great thing about this movie taking place in New Orleans is the many references that Disney makes to honor the time period. Both the animation and music really help embrace the 1920's style and a lot of the of the musical sequences are just so artistically drawn and beautifully scored.

The characters are very lovable and even understandable, Tina is a Workaholic but also has dreams of her own. She's a great role model but also does have some issues. The Prince, Although Arrogant is pretty smooth and charming from time to time.

I really love how both learn from each other. While The prince learns about responsibility, Tina learns about having fun and being open minded. I think that's a great balance. The animal side characters are also very charming and one them actually has a death scene that I had to admit made me tear up a little bit.

Then there's the shadow man, He might not be as great as some of the past Disney Villains but he still is a sinister man who has a love for voodoo magic and he uses his power in a lot of creative ways and it can lead to some very eye popping imagery.

The animation is beautiful, From 1920's New Orleans, to the Swap to the Evil magic of the Shadow man. I like how they gave the villains shadow a living identity and the "Almost There" Music Sequence really embraces what I think was the art Style for New Orleans back in the day.

The Music score is done by Randy Newman which I think is a perfect choice. If he can make catchy jazz tunes in "Monsters Inc" then I know he can pull of New Orleans Jazz like it's nothing.

The Score is very mellow like and the songs in the movie might not be the most catchiest(With the Exception of "Almost There") but they still are bouncy, energetic and full of soul. It is sad that Disney hasn't been doing Hand Drawn films lately because this film still proves that they still got it and in fact I think they are even improving on what they did before.

I know it will be a while until we see another but I'm glad that Disney did attempt to go back to their roots cause it definitely paid off (A).