Live Life Team
After taking a break from animated features for the past ten years, Disney brings us “The Princess and the Frog”. The story is more like Pixar than the classic Disney films of the past. While Disney takes fairy tales and expands them, Pixar prefers to satirize them. And “Princess” is more the latter.
We learn early in the film that the lead character, Tiana, is no princess. Rather she’s a poor waitress working double and triple shifts to buy her own restaurant. Her frog is Prince Naveen, a spoiled brat who’s been cut off by his parents. The Shadow Man casts a spell on the prince and turns him into a frog. The prince then inadvertently turns Tiana into a frog. The two set out through the swamps of the bayous of Louisiana on a journey to find Mama Odie, a witch doctor they hope can reverse the spell. Along the way, they meet several colorful characters like Louis, the trumpet-playing Alligator, and Ray, a Cajun firefly.
It’s a classic Odd Couple-story told against the backdrop of New Orleans with a score filled with great Zydeco music. The many references to etouffees and gumbo help set the mood as well. Parents should beware of the film’s G-rating, considering some of the voodoo spells and evil spirits that turn up several times.
Like Pixar, the filmmakers use animation as a means to telling a good story with memorable characters to make a funny and somewhat family-friendly film.
