The Princess and the Frog

Disney's much-ballyhooed return to 2D animation is a real treat. The Princess and the Frog is very old-fashioned and riddled with cliche, but it's such a fun ride and beautiful spectacle that most viewers won't really care. It isn't a classic on a par with Fantasia or The Lion King, but it is a solid piece of work from an animation company whose last attempts at hand-drawn animation (Treasure Planet, Home on the Range) were dismal failures. Hopefully, this movie will be the start of a trend, and we'll have more of these films and less of the increasingly-sterile all-CGI efforts.

Set in Jazz-age New Orleans, the film follows Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a black girl whose father (Terrence Howard) dreams of opening a restaurant. After her father is killed in World War I, Tiana tries to live out his dream, working two jobs as a waitress to save money - only to be blocked by her unscrupulous, disbelieving land agents. This coincides with the visit of Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), a handsome but dissolute playboy who has spent all of his money on parties and girls - and takes an odd deal from voodoo master Dr. Facilier (Keith David), who transforms him into the titular amphibian and replaces him with his dumpy servant Lawrence (Philip Bartlet), in a conspiracy to marry Tiana's ditzy heirress friend Charlotte (Jennifer Cody) and steal her family fortune. Kissing Naveen turns Tiana into a frog as well, and our now-amphibian protagonists join two typically eccentric sidekicks - trumpet-playing gator Louie (Michael-Leon Wooley) and star-loving firefly Ray (Jim Cummings) to enlist the aid of voodoo mistress Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) and foil Facilier's plans.

There is very little plot or character-wise that The Princess and the Frog hasn't been taken from any number of Disney films, but that's exactly why it works. There's a pleasure in sitting down and watching a fun 2-D film that can't be equalled by even the best Pixar films, and certainly not bland, sterile knock-offs like Kung Fu Panda and Bolt. The story is told in the usual manner, with predictably-broad - but still funny - humor, gorgeous animation, warm and lovable characters (exempting our villains of course) and a slew of catchy songs. The racial issue - Tiana is, after all, the first black "Disney princess" - is mostly avoided, aside from one fairly oblique scene, so we thankfully miss out on an obnoxious mediation on tolerance a la Pocahontas. We do, however, get a lengthy lecture on the virtue of hard work, contrasting the hard-working but unsuccessful Tiana with the rich playboy Naveen - an odd message from a movie about talking frogs, and a surprisingly conservative one for a movie with such ballyhoo about its black protagonists. Still, this complacent cliche seems almost refreshing after film after animated film about believing in yourself and becoming a hero.

Of course, the story and messages aren't really important here - the animation and spectacle are. This film is in the sure hands of directors Ron Clements and John Musker (Aladdin and The Little Mermaid), and it looks positively gorgeous, from the meticulously-recreated, detailed New Orleans, to the creepy, nightmarish voodoo sequences, to the gorgeously-recreated bayou scenes. This movie's mis-en-scene really reminds a viewer of old-school Disney classics, even with the 3-D enhancement. The songs are mostly good, lively jazz-infused tunes, with gorgeous choreo-animation (to borrow a phrase from Sports Night), though none of the numbers particularly stands out.

The film wisely avoids the star-studded voice casts which have been a staple since Aladdin; the only big names are John Goodman, Terrence Howard and Oprah Winfrey, who are well-used in small but important parts. Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls) does an excellent job as Tiana, making her a strong, sympathetic heroine - and of course, her signing voice is astonishing. Bruno Campos is hilarious as Naveen, and Keith David (Platoon) predictably steals his scenes as the film's villain. It's nice to see (hear?) voice-over great Jim Cummings in a large supporting part. Michael-Leon Wooley and Jenifer Cody are rather obnoxious but they're rather hampered by their respective roles.

The Princess and the Frog is very old-fashioned Disney, but therein lies its appeal: we haven't seen a movie like this is in a long time. Hopefully, Disney will give us more of the same, and even if they don't reach the level of their hallowed classics, that will be fine with me.