Visitors Review

theclimbdestroyedmylife (2012-05-26 03:33)

It was about time, Disney, give us some more hand-drawn animation!

"The Princess and the Frog", Disney's highly anticipated animatedfeature, is something rare as a hand-drawn motion picture, which isunusual nowadays. If you've turned back time five or six years ago,this would have been a normal event, but after 2D animation wasdeclared dead in 2004 and Hollywood Companies began to milk CGI films,it has been rarely made hand-drawn movies (with the exception of theanimated sections of Disney's "Enchanted"). These five years of absenceof 2D has given the audience (included myself) the space to miss andyearn for a new 2D feature from Disney. During these years, I'verediscovered Disney and started to enjoy their animated features again.And it was about time they released a new hand-drawn one. The crew of this film, including John Lasseter, has claimed ininterviews that they've gone back to the roots of Disney (the Princessfairy tales) and made a hand-drawn Disney movie with heart and soulequal to the "classics". So the question is, does "The Princess and theFrog" live up to them? The answer is yes. "The Princess and the Frog"is, more or less, just like watching a Disney flick from the 90's andit's great. However, there have been comments about that some of theartwork and character designs are reminiscent of a Don Bluth flick,which is somehow true, especially in the sections on the Bayou (andremember, Don Bluth used to work for Disney once). But fortunately thisfilm feels more like Disney than Don Bluth.The animation, with the exception of some bad drawn townspeople, iswonderful. It's not up to Disney's very best, but it's still lush,colorful and detailed. When it comes to the characters, the lovebirds Tiana and (especially)Naveen are likable and witty, but Dr. Facilier is undoubtedly the onewho steals the show. It has become a clichè to declare the villain asthe best character of a Disney film, but Facilier really is the mostmemorable of the cast. Both charming and cruel at the same time, he'scertainly the best male Disney villain since Hades from "Hercules". After seeing some previews, I got the impression that the secondarycharacters (Charlotte, Louis, Ray and Mama Odie) were way over the top.Fortunately, they are less annoying in the movie (and I actually likedRay's firefly family). While they're still goofy and far from Disney'sbest characters, they have a good interaction throughout the movie,which is nice to see. Especially the love progression of Tiana andNaveen is well done. This film is directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, which has madegood Disney movies in the past. You know what you can expect from them,also script-wise, which does have resemblances to "The Little Mermaid".Fortunately, the script is tight and doesn't have many story-holes. Itis certainly a new and fresh take on "The Frog Prince" tale. And forthe music; There has been lot of whining about Randy Newman doing thesongs and score. I shall confess that I was concerned myself, but thesongs are absolutely catchy. Not as the same league as Alan Menken'swork, but still good. And his score is alright as well.If there's anything to complain in "The Princess and the Frog", fromsubjective standards, it must be that I personally felt there were someparts between the climax and the ending who could have been donedifferently or better. If so, this could have been a 8 or 9-stars moviein my point of view.Otherwise, "The Princess and the Frog" is a good Disney film. I don'tdare to call it a Disney classic, but it certainly one of Disney'sfinest work, actually and deserves to be at the same league as thefilms from the early 90's. This film will certainly make up forDisney's recent mistakes like "High School Musical", "Hannah MontanaThe Movie" (seriously, the creators could just left the show alone andnot milking the product for all it's worth) and their milking of theirteen stars. And one thing is for certain; I want more hand-drawnanimation from Disney! And soon, please!

(2012-05-25 05:56)

worth it :)

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) I was highly anticipating this movie, but I was disappointed to a degree. I felt this movie didn't have the same magic, for the lack of a better word, compared to the other Disney movies featuring princesses. Maybe because I'm a little older than I was when I saw the other movies or maybe because this particular fairy tale occured outside of "once upon a time," and somewhere in a far away land. However, that doesn't mean the movie was horrible, it was enjoyable, sweet, and did make me teary. It's refreshing seeing Tiana head out to try and make her dream come true. Her trials getting there are realistic. At first, I didn't know what to make of Prince Naveen, but he grew on me. Tiana and Prince Naveen are cute and funny together - brillant chemistry. I've got a soft spot for "aruging like a married couple," sort of thing and I enjoyed the fact that not only did Tiana speak her mind, but that these two learned a thing or two from one another. Tiana's friend Charlotte is hilarious, a bit of hopeless romantic (but then, so am I), and her antics when it comes to love just makes me laugh (she's adorable). This movie is worth the watch with beautiful animation and music. This is the Disney that I like, taking us all back to the good ole days of Little Mermaid right up to Snow White. I'm looking forward to the next installment of Disney's remakes on fairy tales.

(2012-05-25 17:30)

thanks

My twins love this movie but we only had it on blu ray. They were so excited to get this DVD so that we could travel with it. And I loved the price and the quality!! Thank you!!

cruztacean (2012-05-24 21:19)

Tiana was likable and real

I'm not giving this the highest rating, but I wanted to say I was verypleased with Tiana herself. Of all the Disney princesses, she is theone with whom I would most like to be friends, if she were a realperson.First of all, Anika Noni Rose is one TREMENDOUS singer! Her vocalperformance on "Almost There," if nothing else, makes the film worthwatching. Besides this, the work ethic instilled is a breath of freshair. Tiana isn't a mere decoration of a princess such as Aurora or SnowWhite, isolated from society while waiting for her prince to come andrescue her, nor is she a helpless victim like Cinderella. She has hermany adversities, but she keeps her attitude positive and works towardher own goal. Unlike others who only happen to have been born intofavorable circumstances, this Disney character actually *earned* herright to be called "princess." Not by defying authority (Ariel) orrunning away (Jasmine) but by good old fashioned hard work.Christians who are offended at the voodoo and the "Shadow Man"character are missing out on a few things: Naveen and Lawrence turnedto the dark side for help, found themselves in serious trouble, andcould only be rescued by guidance from a star called Evangeline, whichmeans "bringer of good news." The word "evangelist" comes from the sameroot, and it cannot be coincidence that this name was chosen for thestar. Wasn't Evangeline herself reminiscent of a cross? I think thereis an excellent opportunity here to use the story to teach childrenabout their Savior.As for racism, I didn't see any, but I'll admit that not being of thatrace, I am not qualified to speak with authority, which is why I'mglossing over the question of racism. However, sexism is another issue--and wonderfully, I see none except where it would be expected: thesnide remarks from the real estate agents, when talking to a woman inthe 1920's who is as independent and self-reliant as Tiana. If there isany racism there ("a woman of your station") then it would also beexpected in that context. More importantly, though, did Tiana let itstop her from achieving her dreams? No. And neither should anyone else.The film was criticized for killing off a character, but then so didThe Lion King. Ray's funeral was touching, and his family's joy atseeing him now joined with Evangeline was absolutely heart-warming.Again a potential Christian application here: when we die, it isn't theend.Another lesson, and an important one for young girls: Who got theprince? The one who wasn't looking for one, who was perfectly set tomake her own dreams come true. Who got left out? The spoiled rich girlwaiting passively for the prince.If I have a criticism, it's that even for someone who once lived inSouthern Louisiana myself, I found the Cajun accents a bit too thicksometimes to follow.

thesplash (2012-05-23 17:44)

Back to it's Roots? Disney should Keep Moving Forward

I was very excited to see this movie with my mom. I am 22 and havealways seen the Disney summer blockbusters with her, so when this cameout we could not wait.Overall, the animation was nice (bright colors, very New Orleans) butthe story line and the music did not compare to Aladdin, Beauty and theBeast or even Hercules. Leaving the theater I was not humming a tune orlooking to go get the soundtrack. I actually could not remember many ofthe songs and the only ones I could were very repetitive and not good.I was very surprised when I saw Toy Story composer Randy Newman alsodid this movie.Princess Tiana was adorable but you do not see much of her. I rememberreading an article when the movie was first released that some peopleof color were upset that Disney made a black princess but she's a frogthe entire movie. They were absolutely right. Princess Tiana was a frogfor at least 90% of this movie and honestly, watching a frog for almostan hour and a half was slow and not visually appealing. I would ratherhave seen her change back sooner because it was drawn out quite a bit.Most of the characters were likable. Tiana's friend Charolette was cuteand the villain was very very intriguing. He was probably my favoritecharacter. However, while listening to Prince Naveen speak, I couldonly think of Kevin Klein's accent in the movie French Kiss (you getthe picture). Charolette's father, voiced by John Goodman was asurprise and made me think of Sully; warm and caring. Their swampfriends had some potential as well; the alligator and the fireflycaptured New Orleans very well.Overall if you go in to this movie with low expectations you willprobably find it enjoyable. For Disney though, how can you go inthinking it would be bad? If Disney plans on going back to it's 2Danimation roots, they should go back to their amazing story lines andmemorable music as well. Otherwise, keep moving forward.

(2012-05-23 15:52)

Princess & the Frog DVD

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) My daughter and I absolutely loved watching "Princess and the Frog" in the movie theater and jumped at the chance to buy the DVD so we could watch it again and again. The price was great and it was delivered as advertised.

(2012-05-22 20:15)

For the kid in us all....

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) I really enjoyed this movie, not just my kids. Disney made this the good old fashioned way - all hand painted cells, not computer animated. Would highly recommend for any others who are kids at heart.

sampsoninc916 (2012-05-22 11:43)

Been waiting for this for years! Now it has arrived!

Every nerd out there in Internet land is basically a fan of animation.I am one of those nerds. Basically, the nerd kingdom has been expectingthis movie, now, it has arrived. To fully understand the premises,let's rewind back to 2001, Shrek arrived, pushed boundaries of computeranimation, and made fairy tales awesome again. It followed up with avery successful sequel, but other animation studios misunderstood thatthe Shrek formula was the only way to make animated movies. So theymade formulaic CGI movies, and Disney tried to jump on as well, butstill, with every hard stone, there is a soft part to it. Back in late2005/early 2006, I read that Disney acquired Pixar, John Lasseterbecame Chief Creative Executive, and that Disney was going to make ThePrincess and the Frog a 2-D animated musical. I nearly crapped in mypants, it was a dream come true. I wanted modern audiences to see theawesome force of actual animation on the big screen, and maybe thenpeople would take it more seriously. However, through all the delays,formulaic CGI, dumb teeny bopper shows on Disney Channel, and anunworthy minority flick called the Alvin and the Chipmunks remake, Ihad to wait for nearly 4 years for this movie to see the light of day,in 2009. In between all that, I managed to get my fix with Disney'sEnchanted, a good movie about a princess winding up in Manhattan, butthe highlight was the animated sequences and the musical numbers.Pretty well written. It was a great tribute, but not nearly as awesomeas the phenomenon that we were going to see next.July 30, 2008 - First teaser trailer premieres, watched it, not muchfrom a teaser, but enough to get me pumped up.May 7-10, 2009 - Second trailer premieres, well worth the wait,highlights Disney classics at the start, gives us a good taste, one ofthe best trailers ever made.July 2009 - Another trailer premieres, this time highlighting thesongs, thought the whole "Blue Skies and Sunshine" number was justgoing to be Percy's theme from Thomas the Tank Engine set to lyrics.Questioned some of the humor in there, too.November 2009 - Marketing campaign is well underway. More trailers, TVspots, a Youtube channel, a Facebook page, movie stand up posters, busstop posters, internet ads, featurettes on the Disney Channel, afeaturette called Dreams Come True: A Celebration of Disney Animation,a MSNBC spot, an ABC news spot, an Access Hollywood Spot, sneak peekson other channels, books, gummy snacks, dolls, games, toys, right downto the clothing. All that's missing is a Happy Meal promotion.December 11, 2009 - The movie finally premieres.Pretty much saw it today, and to my surprise, the theater was prettyfull. Not every seat was occupied, but still full. Trailers: Toy Story3, The Last Song from Touchstone Pictures, starring Miley Cyrus (hasshe annoyed me enough already!), Disney's Oceans, and Tooth Fairy (whycan't The Rock stick to wrestling?). I guess Disney was brainwashingthe audience with terrible trailers to make the movie look bad. Folks,I'm going to tell you something. No matter what the world assaults onus, and how it brings us down, there will always exist the force oflove. I think that is what The Princess and the Frog is, a labor oflove from the studio who made a mistake and came back doing good,Disney. Everything about the movie delighted me. The visuals, thescore, the songs, the voices, the color, and the scripting, it was allthere. I seemed to be worried that the humor would be crude. It wasn't.It was more of a Three Stooges type humor, and even so, in the trailer,Ray battling swamp dudes is hilarious and delightful, even if it doesinvolve mucus. Very touching, very colorful, very amazing, what a greatflick. My favorite number was Almost There, see the movie for yourselfto find out why. Well worth the popcorn and the money, since I went tosee this with my Mom, my sister, and a friend. It cost $33.90 for allof us, but the money was well paid. This is definitely one of the bestmovies of 2009.Also, Princess Tiana as a frog is one of the cutest things I've everseen. She looks very delightful when she smiles as a frog. Also, again,the humor wasn't very stupid, it was a tiny bit stupid, but it was goodand delightful enough to save Mr. Disney's grace. Also, I found outthat Walt Disney Animation Studios was founded in 1934 to beginproduction on Snow White, and since The Princess and the Frog wasreleased in 2009, 75 years after Snow White began production, it's fairto say that for the occasion, Disney decided to cut to bull-hooey. Eventhey're thinking about doing more films like this in the future, suchas Rapunzel, King of the Elves, and the coupe de gras, The Snow Queen.Walt Disney seems to be smiling up in heaven.

(2012-05-22 04:03)

Great Movie!

I know that there was a lot of controversy surrounding the making of the movie but at the end of the day it is the typical Disney movie that is intended to inspire and make our children dream. The movie has a great concept around it, one that focusing on what people need rather than want. The message is clear, love and family matter most. Little children obviously wouldn't understand the concepts but for them the music is lively and the characters are loveable. I have a three year old and she sings along with the music and tries to play her own toy instruments to go along. I would recommend this movie to anyone. I think it is a great movie!

(2012-05-21 20:06)

Disney Has Created The New American Classic

This review is from: The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray) I was a bit of a skeptic when it came to this story and this film. I have a 4 year old daughter and she LOVES Princesses. I was absolutely thrilled to see an African American girl as the main character of this ilm and that it was set in the burgeoning period of jazz in New Orleans. The GREAT things about this film are too numerous to mention; the songs are ALL fantastic (they get stuck in your head and my daughter's head); the animation is absolutely beautiful and, for someone who likes to spare his kid from nightmares, I found the evil Dr. Facilier to be one of the better bad guys Disney has ever created. The shadows are a bit scary for the young ones, but no more scary than Ursula from Little Mermaid or the old hag from Snow White. The thing about this film is that it is infectious through and through. The characters are hilarious and wonderfully rich, the music is full of New Orleans flavor, and the message is one that Disney has been lacking for years...wishing upon a star only gets you half way to your dreams, you have to work hard to get what you want. Tiana is a spectacular role model for young girls while Naveen, Louis and the Cajun firefly, Ray, are thoroughly entertaining. Your kids will LOVE it!

(2012-05-21 00:35)

Hate to say it....but it's not good.

I am 31 and I grew up LOVING Disney movies. My kids (4 1/2 and 2 1/2) love em as well. I own all of the major titles and have acquired a very large collection of Disney soundtrack music as well. I was pumped to take my 4 1/2 year old to see a 2D original style Disney film or at least a good excuse to pay theater prices to see it. Unfortunately it just was not good. The story was okay but the characters were forgettable and what's worse is that there weren't ANY good songs! Every good Disney film has a catchy, memorable, or fun song (or several of them in most of the films). This movie definitely did not. I will buy it just because I'm such a fan, but I'll leave it up to the kids to watch it because I was flat out bored with it. Bummer.

mzg611 (2012-05-20 18:09)

This movie is great

The Princess and the Frog is another great Disney classic that I willbe sure to share with my family. As a little girl growing up I did nothave a princess of my race to look up to, but at least now my littlesister will have one. Tiana is a hardworking girl and she has a lot ofmorals and dreams. I'm glad Disney did this because their princessmovies inspire so many people, especially little girls. I also love howPrince Naveen was so different from her and yet they went together verywell. The plot and characters are great. It has good humored comedy forthe whole family to enjoy, not just the children. The music was greatto sing-along too. Overall a great story and it's one I'll alwaysremember.

(2012-05-19 17:57)

great movie

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) I had a nice time watching this movie. I could not wait until I seen it. This movie I think all the kids will love to see. This is a movie you have to have around for all times.

(2012-05-19 04:56)

Took a while, but...

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) The DVD took a while to get here, but once it got here it was great! The regular DVD works great on our portable DVD player and in our vehicle. Thanks!

(2012-05-19 10:04)

Another Disney Classic that really captures American Values

I got this movie for my daughter, originally thinking it would be a cookie cutter film. It turned out to be a great movie with an interesting plot and characters you become emotional connected to. It also shows the importance of hard work and dedication in pursuing your goals while pointing out you should not loose site of what is importance or take unethical paths to quickly reach your dreams. It is nice to have a Disney movie that really captures American Values.

(2012-05-18 14:19)

Fantastic movie

This is a great movie for children and adults! Very entertaining. It is my one and a half year old daughter's favorite! She would watch it 10 times a day if I would allow it!!

(2012-05-17 05:53)

Amazing!

Great story, animation, music, characters! I went to see it and was wowed at how much I loved it. It has a lot of great messages, working towards your dream, but don't forget the important parts of life, things don't always turn out the way you see them, at least not on the timeline you expect, and yay Disney for creating a black princess and for bringing some American black culture from New Orleans. It was a rich movie all around!

(2012-05-16 14:14)

video

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) I have been waiting for Disney to make a fairy tale for me my whole life. This is a classic Disney movie, it is what you think of when you think of a Disney cartoon. It is great!

(2012-05-15 19:53)

Happy kid

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) Though i haven't seen the movie, I heard it through the mouth of my five year old niece, and she loved her b-day gift from her Uncle. She watched the movie over and over and over again, and just to know that my gift made her happy, I'm very happy of the product.

(2012-05-15 04:49)

Disney pays tribute to New Orleans Jazz

Music has always been a part of Walt Disney cartoons, going way back to Steamboat Mickey in 1928! But Disney never seemed to acknowledge jazz until now. The studio's newest feature film, The Princess and the Frog, has New Orleans jazz all over it! From the jazz based score by Randy Newman, and a jazz-talking alligator named Louis (who has the unmistakable voice of that cat named Satchmo) who plays "Dippermouth Blues" and a tribute to Sidney Bechet, this is one truly delightful film. The story takes place in the 1920s French Quarter and features the high quality hand drawn animation Disney is famous for. For the zydeco and cajun music fan there's a bit of that too, courtesy of Terrance Simien. Dr. John also gets a song and he's on the soundtrack CD too! Okay, there's the pop vocal love song by Ne-Yo to attract the teens, but there's plenty of other great music and a fun story line for adults. This may be my favorite Disney movie in years! Highly recommended for anyone from 8 to 80! Check out the companion Soundtrack on CD too!Steve RammAnything Phonographic