The Princess and the FrogFollow

Disney's back to roots brainchild has the feel of a new take on old conventions. There are the classic musicals, classic villains, classic archetypes, and of course traditional animation, but it felt different than the movies of old. Comedy and romance seemed to play more heavily than adventure and excitement. The characters felt more real than in most older Disney movies, and the musicals less memorable.

I felt it was on par for a Disney film, and while not quite like the classics of yore, not a pitiful imitation either. Worth watching.

Will be seeing this next week. Glad to hear they didn't ***** it up.

Just do what I do if anyone asks why you're going to see it.

"I hate myself for missing the chance to see Mulan in theaters, so now I go to every Disney movie."

I gave up on Disney animated movies after I wasted my hard-earned money and irreplaceable time on Pocahontas, but this one just might bring me back. While likely not as enduring as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, it looks like it could be on par with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.

That movie is all about Gus Gus. The story really revolves around him :p

Edited, Dec 17th 2009 9:54pm by Sandinmygum

I was reading a few critical reviews from Black scholars over Disney's decision to give the prince European features rather than obviously African-American features like his princess.

Some theories:

- His European nation was invaded by Moors, and thus he has a darker coloration
- He is from the Caribbean, and is thus Afro-Caribbean and not European or American
- Disney doesn't know how to draw attractive black guys, or hell, how to draw them without them being a stereotype. Thus, Disney sucks.
- Disney intentionally gives a big FU to the anti-miscegenation crowd by having a mixed race couple. Thus, Disney wins.

Most of the comments were positive, although one scholar critiqued the "erasure" of the Black princess, by deleting her in the beginning of the film (turning her into a frog.) She was concerned that the message this sends to young girls is that their presence needs to be hidden. I can kind of see the point, but I don't think she was intentionally erased so much so that she was a victim of the plot.

There was also a complaint that the darker side of racial politics is completely glossed over; no mention of Jim Crow of lynchings or anything.

27 and I'll be dragging my wife and daughter to see it. Cuz, you know, a six month old needs to see Disney. Right? Right. We clear? Ain't for me, its for her.

Shut up, don't judge me.

But can anything outdo Enchanted?

For the record, Sleeping Beauty has always beeen my true favorite Disney movie... what with the epic castles and of course, Maleficent... who I have a statue of right next to the Buddy Christ on top of my TV.

Yeah. It could very easily have been really, really bad, but it was done so perfectly that it just worked somehow.

What movie were you guys watching? First of all, the movie was heavily promoted as a animation hybrid. No, it has 10 minutes of animation in the opening and 3 minutes later on. It was just another crap live action Disney movie. Second, it was pushed as Disney's answer to Shrek. It wasn't. It wasn't a movie lampooning various fairytale conventions. It was a romantic comedic dressed up so that moms would feel ok dragging their kids along to it. That's what the movie is. Not a family movie. Not a comedy. A romantic comedic like the kind that are made explicitly for women and targeted specifically towards women. Stick ten minutes of animation in front of "How to lose a Guy in Ten Days," and you have the same movie. It wasn't funny either.

Edited, Dec 18th 2009 11:08pm by Allegory

That's one opinion. I thought it was hysterical. My bf who has seen it, doesn't care for it other than the scene where James Marsden gets hit by all the bikes. My step-dad and my mom liked it though. It is very silly and over the top, but that's the point. I suppose if you don't like silly humor, I can see how you wouldn't like it. You do make a valid point about the animation hybrid thing though. It would have been nice if they had made it more like Mary Poppins or Bedknobs and Broomsticks in that sense.

I am excited to see Princess and the Frog though. It definitely made me sad when Disney stopped making musicals about 10 years ago, so it's good to see them return to their roots in that sense.

Saw the movie last night. It was really good! The animation was top-notch, the plot moved around quickly, the villain was pretty cool. The really disappointing part for me? The music was thoroughly enjoyable, but none of it was amazing. It was very forgettable; it fit the scenes perfectly, but after the scene was over you're like "Huh, ok, cool, next!"

I still highly recommend it!

I am a sitter for a 6yr old and a 5yr old, both girls, and took them to go see it. They both absolutely loved it and I enjoyed it too. They have also started listening to more Jazz because of it, which thrills me to no end. If it's between Jazz or Hannah Montana, I'll take Jazz any day.

All in all, a very good movie.