Review of The Princess and the Frog (2009) by Peter H — 08 Jul 2011

Moral: Only the poor work.

Moral it meant to Have: You need to work hard to make your dreams come true.

Standard Disney fair. Not as good as Mulan, Aladdin, The Lion King or Cinderella but better than Pocahontas, Wall-E, and Up. I don't remember Sleeping Beauty or Snow White well enough to compare them. Daughters used to fantasize about getting married and having kids. Now disney want them to fantasize about getting a job. Signs of a depression.

What I liked...

1) The villain's demise. His voodoo puts him in debt to Loa that take his soul when he fails them. We're used to hero's triumphing in a final battle due to some contrivance but this he-gets-his-comeuppance dealing-with-demons-will-bite-you-in-the-ass ending was much more satisfying and interesting. The "are you ready" song was funny and entertaining b/c the incompleted phrase is, "are you ready to die?" and the voodoo spirits sing it cheerfully while the shadow man panics and pleads for his life.

Moral: Don't get into debt.

2) Ray-ray. If there is a type of character I want to see in a New Orlans setting it's a bayou swamp-dwelling cajun like Boodro. One of the fireflies was even named Boodro. He was the most likeable character in the movie by far and more than made up for the blander or dislikable characters. Usually goofy sidekicks are annoying like the dragon from Mulan, donkey from Shrek, or Eddie Murphy in Cop Out and Rush Hour. But I found ray-ray's low-brow cajuness as endearing as Gambit's Savoir Faire or Paula's cooking.

3) The spoiled friend remains a friend. I kept expecting the lead's best friend to become an enemy. When the lead makes a mess of the food I was anticipating a chewing-out but instead the rich girl offers to lend her friend a dress and fusses over her. When the would-be princess learns of the curse's nature and the frog-couple's love I thought she'd demand the prince be hers anyway but instead she tries to break the spell. When someone bought the restaurant outright I thought it would turn out to be John Goodman but he remained a friendly but fairly unknown moneybags.

What I didn't like...

1) No good songs. The songs weren't all bad but even the best were only ok. Where are the memorable greats like, Cinderelly, A Whole New World, or A Girl Worth Fighting For?

2) The alligator. He was the annoying worthless sidekick in this movie. He didn't even advance the plot. He could've been cut out entirely and the movie'd be better for it. Rather than increase the number of sidekicks they could've given Goodman, his daughter, or even the lead's mother some more depth.

Sidenotes...

1) The Shadowman sounds like a cross between The Arbiter and Scar.

2) The scene where the British henchman starts reverting to his true form took blocking from The Nutty Professor.

3) This movie makes some reference to other Disney movies and mocks Disneys princess themes of yore.