The Princess and the Frog thoughts

[degrassifan]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 8:28pm

Oh My God!!!!!!

I just came from seeing it. This was my first time seeing a Disney animated movie in theaters, and it was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went with two friends and they also loved it! I'm definitely taking my little cousin to see it sometime during her Winter Break (and just an excuse for me to see it again).

The theater LOVED it. I liked it was a musical. I'm surprised at how many songs there were. I also liked how Tiana's childhood was shown. I saw this little girl dancing during "Dig a Little Deeper" and I heard this other girl say "I want one too" when:

*SPOILER*
Young Charlotte said she wanted another princess dress.
*END OF SPOILER*

When the movie ended, everyone in the theater clapped. It was awesome! I left the theater humming/singing "Almost There" all the way back to my place.

I was surprised it got a G rating though. If this got a G, then why did Enchanted get PG?

Disney is definitely back! I will be seeing Rapunzel next year for sure! Oh, one thing I didn't like was:

*SPOILER*
They didn't show Maledonia!!! I wanted to see it! My guess is Tiana and Naveen must have bought a mansion, where Eudora also lived with them. They ended up opening the restaurant and living in New Orleans. My question is: Once Naveen's father dies, who will rule? Naveen could pass his rights to his little brother, but still, what do you guys think?

Oh, one more funny thing:

My friends and I were looking for stars in the sky to wish on, and when we found one lone shinning star, we were all saying "Please, please, please". Once you see the movie, you'll get why we were doing that.
*END OF SPOILER*

It was amazing!

Updated On: 12/11/09 at 08:28 PM

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 9:15pm

I really, really liked it! I kept laughing throughout the whole movie... it was much funnier than I expected. I also cried during... well, if you've seen the movie, you know what scene I'm talking about. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of songs there were-- most of them extremely catchy. My favorite was the firefly one, even though I expected to hate the fireflies before I saw the movie.

Prince Naveen was dreamy. The eeeeeend. Anika Noni Rose's voice is delightful-- I have to admit, I was rather blown away. And the villain's downfall... well, that was pretty darn cool. I also liked that blind lady's snake.

I do think that the relationship between Tiana and Naveen could have been built up a little bit better, but what Disney relationship developes gradually and over time? Even Beauty and the Beast's romance feels a little rushed.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/11/09 at 9:18pm

I am working at a movie theatre that is showing this on Sunday. I demand theatre check just to get a glimpse of this.

I don't know why this has happened but it seems many MOVIE critics feel entitled to attack the songs of the musicals- live or animated- with the standard of 'hit'. This has been noticeable with the critics of Dreamgirls and Nine but even in reviews I have seen for TPATF. How were the songs altogether?

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 4:03am

As a long time/die hard fan of Disney animation, I think Roger Ebert said it best, "It's like a cool shower after a long and sweaty day." It really is a gift to fans of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, who have patiently been waiting for another Disneyfied faerie tale since 1992. (though "Enchanted" did wet our appetites a tad)

I was afraid they would use too many formulas trying to win over nostalgic audience members, but the film, whether or not you think it's equal to the films of the early 90's, still feels fresh and will stand on it's own in the Disney library.

The music is catchy enough and really compliments those moments in the film. Are there are any "hit singles"? Not exactly, but that doesn't take away from the film at all. Sweeney Todd doesn't have as many hit singles as Phantom of the Opera, but most won't deny it's a better musical.

[jasonf]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 12:17pm

I liked the music but didn't love it. I'm not a huge Randy Newman fan to begin with - the songs were serviceable and entertaining, but there was no "Beauty and the Beast," "A Whole New World" or "Under the Sea" there.

The animation was fantastic -- I LOVED seeing a 2D animation again.

That said - I did have a MAJOR problem with the movie..

MILD SPOILER AHEAD - IT WON'T RUIN ANYTHING UNLESS YOU WANT TO GO IN COMPLETELY FRESH

The villains are usually my favorite part of Disney movies (beside the great music, of course). Ursula, Jafar, Maleficent, Cruella De Vil (best pun ever), Scar, Captain Hook, Gaston, Frollo, the queen from Snow White...a virtual gallery of villainy. What makes these villains so great? Easy question -- each villain has two things that make them stand out from each other: a very specific personality and a motivation for their evil machinations - none of the characters listed are evil just to be evil. Ursula wants what she believes is her rightful place ruling the ocean, Jafar wants money and to rule, Cruella wants those puppies, Scar wants revenge on his brother, Captain Hook is fueled by jealousy, Gaston by hubris, Frollo by unwanted feelings and paranoia, and the queen from vanity.

The problem with Dr. Facilier isn't a lack of personality - he has that in spades. The problem is he has no motivation for his evil machinations. The stakes are never REALLY laid out for us - what does he have to gain and what does he have to lose by doing the things he does? There's a vague reference to wanting to rule New Orleans, but if the "deal" he made went through, there'd be nothing left to rule anyway. There's nothing really pushing him, nothing that has him being any more than just someone striving to cause problems. And that's where the movie falls short for me.

Disney stories hang on their villains, and Facilier just isn't given enough back-story to REALLY make him work for me.

That said, his song was one of my favorite moments in the whole movie...

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 2:43pm

Yeah, I felt like Facilier didn't have much motivation, either, but when I thought about it later, I kind of felt like he's in it for the money-- he apparently owes a lot to these spirits and he's trying to pay them back the same way that Tiana's trying to save up enough for the sugar mill. I figure he wants to take over New Orleans so he can pay back the spirits. At least, I think that's what they meant. But I'd love it if they made it more clear. He didn't stand out all that much as a villain to me-- the ones you cited were fabulous-- but I thought he certainly did look cool!

His song sounds a LOT like "Friend Like Me," but I kind of liked that about it.

[jasonf]

Posted: 12/12/09 at 3:07pm

Schmerg, that's about what I got out of it - that he was in debt to them -- for something -- but just what it was wasn't very clear. What did he get out of it? Magic? That did what?
I think there WAS a story hidden in there somewhere, and I wish they had taken the time to fill it out a little more.

[BroadwayBenny]

Posted: 12/13/09 at 12:43am

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David Kewana Deviant Art

[StageManager2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:24am

I agree with jasonf's review 100%!

Notwithstanding the animation (which I found gorgeous), the music was second-rate (no memorable songs in the bunch), the screenplay uninspired (all over the place), and Facilier was a dud of a villain (forgettable). Someone who'd seen the film last month posted on another thread that Facilier has one of the best Disney deaths ever, but the climax was... well, anticlimactic. It's a mediocre film. I took my 9-year-old niece to see it and she dozed off a couple times and only laughed thrice. Afterward, I asked her what she thought and she said, "It was okay." My sentiments exactly.

I did guffaw at one part, when Naveen and Tiana are in the bayou and he's explaining why he was disowned by his parents. He said, "They kicked me out 'cause I was a... (discovers something on his arm) LEECH! LEECH!" I was the only one who laughed. I don't think many people got the joke.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 9:31am

I, too, agree with jasonf 100%. Nothing else to be said.

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 9:47am

I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, because of the characters and the story.

But I thought the music was sorely lacking. It was toe-tapping nothingness. Not a memorable melody or lyric in the score. Instantly forgettable, overly repetitive and solidly generic.

SPOILER ***********




To answer your question about the villain, he would gain control over the city of New Orleans via that bumbling sidekick posing as the prince. Through him, he would have power and wealth (ala Jafar). I thought that was pretty clear. His motivation was greed (also ala Jafar). And he would pay his debt to "the other side" by giving them the souls of the townspeople.

Was all of that crystal clear in the song and story? No. I glazed over during his song, too.

Incredibly weak score. Had the music been first-rate, I would have given this movie an A- or even an A.

But with the music as written by Randy Repetitive Newman, I give this movie a B- at best. Such a shame, when all of the other elements worked so nicely.

Posted: 12/14/09 at 11:40am

I'm with Best here though I think I loved seeing an older style Disney film on the big screen so much I'd bump it to at least a B. But I knew I'd not like randy Newman's score--and I didn't. Yes Alan Menken is overused by Disney but I woulda much prefered his work (he already did a cute Dixieland New orlenas score for his 80s musical Dream on Royal Street)

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 11:53am

I wonder what was so wrong with Menken's score? Could it have been worse than Newman's repetitive drivel? He's been writing the same song since 1974.

I would have tried two other sources for this: Ahrens & Flaherty or Tom Waits (although that's like sky-diving without a net).

[jasonf]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 11:56am

Tom Waits would have been interesting so long as he didn't get to sing in it. The growl might frighten the kids!

Best - my problem was that yes, he'd get control of the city -- but what would be left for him to control once the other side got all the souls? Doesn't that just contradict itself?

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 12:20pm

Oh, I didn't get the idea that everyone in New Orleans would suddenly die all at once. I just (probably) assumed that as they naturally died off, the Other Side would get their souls.

So the Shadow Man would control the "living" New Orleans, and the Other Side would control their afterlife.

Updated On: 12/14/09 at 12:20 PM

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 12:45pm

I do agree some of the songs sounded more Randy Newman than NOLA. My favorite was the song with the old blind woman.

**SPOILERS**

I think Doctor just wanted to play God and control everything at his disposal. He promised Tiana all her dreams, could've been a trick, but it also was probably possible.

One issue was Lottie went from being so freaked out by frog Naveen to rather quickly agreeing to go on with the kiss because she was not flustered by two humans turned into frogs in love and she gets nothing out of it, not even royalty which was what she was in for in the first place. To me that was the most rushed part of the story. It would have been much better if she still waffled and the clock struck midnight.

**SPOILERS**

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 2:13pm

*ALL SPOILERS, ALL THE TIME*

I thought the spirits would gather those souls while the folks were still living. I thought it all made sense. I was hoping for a more developed villain as well. I didn't think he was cool, just scary as hell. lol They did a good job in creating a character that gave me the creeps. That could come from all the time I have spent in New Orleans and the frightening characters that I have seen first hand.

I felt like the music was the weak link, but that said, I loved it. Ray was my favorite character. The better half and I have been quoting him since leaving the theatre. "I think I done gone and chipped my favorite tooth!" I cried when he died! Besides Bambi's mother and Mufasa, has there been another character that has died in an animated Disney movie?

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 2:23pm

JG2, aside from plenty of villains (Ratigan in TGMD was the most disturbing imo) I can think of the Beast for a brief moment. There is a hilarious link of how Disney likes to toy with our heartstrings.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DisneyDeath

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 3:30pm

Yeah, but the Beast comes back. I kept expecting little Ray to wake up! Not cool at all.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 4:17pm

Wait - Menken scored the film and Disney rejected it for Newman to take a whirl? Is that what you're saying happened, Besty?

[best12bars]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 4:50pm

Menken was "taken off" the project, yes. Not sure how far he'd gotten with songs (or who his lyricist was), but Disney wasn't happy with what he'd shown them. It just wasn't the right feel for the film.

But apparently, this toe-tapping nothingness was.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 5:03pm

Well, I did say for only a brief moment. And yes I thought Ray was going to wake up but then I just realized that it was just perfect how he could finally be with his Evangeline.

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 5:27pm

But I thought the music was sorely lacking. It was toe-tapping nothingness. Not a memorable melody or lyric in the score. Instantly forgettable, overly repetitive and solidly generic.

I sort of have to agree here, at times I felt there were too many songs. Sometimes they fit the action, and sometimes I felt they were just "there". For example, when Tiana sings "Almost There" (or whatever the name of that song is) - it makes sense. She's invisioning how her restaurant will turn out and is excited about it. I can understand Lewis having a song, or Mama Oti. But a song wasn't needed for every single character. The fireflies didn't really need one (except perhaps for Ray's moment with Evangeline).

Anyway, on to the pros - what I did like was the classic Disney animation (it was absolutely beautiful), the characters (with the slight exception of Facilier) and the plot (to a degree). I do wish Facilier was a bit stronger, but I felt his actions were motivated by the evil shadows. It seemed that he had a trick up his sleeve, but his shadow was the one probing him on to actually carry out anything. I could be wrong, but that's what it felt like to me.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:13pm

I thought it was wonderful. Not perfect, but wonderful.

I don't see a whole lot of movies, but for my money, the two best movies I've seen this year were both animated- this and Up.

I hope at least one of them finds itself nominated as one of the ten best pictures of the year.

At the very least, one of these two films is a shoo-in for Animated Feature (if I had to pick, I'd choose Up, though I loved both).

[Spider Woman]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:58pm

So, no one else was pondering why Lotte sounded familiar and then found out that it was Jen Cody? I feel bad now, but loved the movie. We did have a few crying kids along with a few that were taken out because the voodoo was a bit much for them. Evangeline!