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The opening scenes of Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" are like a cool shower after a long and sweaty day. This is what classic animation once was like! No 3-D! No glasses! No extra ticket charge! No frantic frenzies of meaningless action! And . . . good gravy! A story! Characters! A plot! It's set in a particular time and place! And it uses (calm me down here) lovingly hand-drawn animation that proceeds at a human pace, instead of racing with odd smoothness. I'm just gonna stand here and let it pour over me.

The movie, which is sweet and entertaining, doesn't quite live up to those opening scenes. But it's a demonstration that the Walt Disney Studio still shelters animators who know how to make a movie like that, in an age when too many animated films are like fast food after memories of mom's pot roast. My guess is that afterward the poor kids won't feel quite so battered by input overload. The film dances on the screen and doesn't come into the audience and shake you to make you like it.

The story is set mostly in an African-American community in New Orleans, America's most piquant city, before and after World War I. We meet a young girl named Tiana, who is cherished by her mother Eudora (voice of Oprah Winfrey ) and father James ( Terrence Howard ). Her mom is a seamstress, her dad a hard-working restaurant owner who stirs up a mighty gumbo. He goes off to the Army and doesn't return. For Tiana as an adult ( Anika Noni Rose ) life is a struggle, but she holds fast to her dream of opening a restaurant and serving up her dad's gumbo (with just a soupcon more red sauce).

This is all shown in flowing, atmospheric animation and acted with fetching voices, but the songs by Randy Newman are -- I dunno, do you think he's getting sort of Randy Newmaned out? And the absence of a couple of terrific musical numbers is noticeable, I think, although younger viewers will probably be drawn into the story.

You've heard it before. A princess kisses a frog, and it turns into a handsome Prince Charming. But what if instead she turns into a frog? (Spoiler: That's what happens. ) So now Tiana and the visiting Prince Naveen of Malvonia ( Bruno Campos ) are both amphibians, although, of course, they retain all of their moral principles and do not perform that act of which frogs are more fond than anything apart from croaking and eating flies.

They're captives of a spell cast by the evil voodoo villain Dr. Facilier ( Keith David ). But life in the swamp is enlivened by two friends, Louis ( Michael-Leon Wooley ), an alligator who plays jazz saxophone, and Ray ( Jim Cummings ), a firefly who fills the Jiminy Cricket slot. They seek the occult Mama Odie ( Jenifer Lewis ), who may have the power to offset Facilier, and whether Tiana and Prince Naveen are restored and settle down to happy lives of slurping gumbo, I will leave for you to discover.

It is notable that this is Disney's first animated feature since "Song of the South" (1946) to feature African-American characters, and if the studio really never is going to release that film on DVD, which seems more innocent by the day, perhaps they could have lifted "Zip-a-dee Doo-Dah" from it and plugged that song in here. Though the principal characters are all black (other than the rich man Big Daddy and the Prince, who is of undetermined ethnicity), race is not an issue because Disney adroitly sidesteps all the realities of being a poor girl in New Orleans in the early 1920s. Just as well, I suppose.

"The Princess and the Frog" inspires memories of Disney's Golden Age it doesn't quite live up to, as I've said, but it's spritely and high-spirited, and will allow kids to enjoy it without visually assaulting them.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Anika Noni Rose as Tiana

Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen

Keith David as Dr. Facilier

Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis

Oprah Winfrey as Eudora

Terrence Howard as James

John Goodman as Big Daddy

Directed by

• John Musker
• Ron Clements
• Rob Edwards

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The princess and the frog — film review.

"Princess and the Frog" marks Disney's rediscovery of a strong narrative loaded with vibrant characters and mind-bending, hilarious situations.

By Kirk Honeycutt , The Associated Press November 24, 2009 11:33am

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The narrative behind “The Princess and the Frog” is that Walt Disney Animation has rediscovered its traditional hand-drawn animation, which has been supplanted by computer-generated cartoons. But this misses the point about what allowed Pixar — which Disney now owns — DreamWorks and other CG-animation companies to upstage the one-time king of the animation world. It’s a thing called story.

So “Princess and the Frog” really marks Disney’s rediscovery of a strong narrative loaded with vibrant characters and mind-bending, hilarious situations. Under the direction of veterans Ron Clements and John Musker (the team behind “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin”) and the watchful eye of Pixar guru John Lasseter, now chief creative officer of Disney Animation, “Princess and the Frog” celebrates old and new: It’s a musical fairy tale that dates back to the days when Walt Disney was a person, not a brand. Yet it deftly mingles with the new sensibilities in animation where fairy tales must get fractured, settings must be fresh and humor pitched to many age levels.

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Check, check and double check.

This is the best Disney animated film in years. Audiences — who don’t care whether it’s cel animation, CGI, stop motion, claymation or motion capture as long as it’s a good story — will respond in large numbers. A joyous holiday season is about to begin for Disney.

The title performs a sly bit of misdirection. In the old fairy tale, of course, a princess kisses a frog, the unlovely amphibian turns into a handsome prince and … everyone yawns. In this new fractured version, something quite different happens.

The scene is New Orleans during the Roaring ’20s, and Clements and Musker go crazy with period details drawn from decorative arts, architecture and design styles. This is not just hand-painted animation; it’s characters and backgrounds lovingly drawn by animators in love with that city, the bayous of Louisiana, the black magic of its underworlds and the 1920s themselves.

Meanwhile, Randy Newman has composed foot-tappin’ songs and a melodious score that weaves together jazz, blues and gospel.

One other thing marks this as the new Disney: Most of the story’s characters are black. They might turn into green frogs or appear as Cajun fireflies or a trumpet-playing ‘gator, but these characters act and talk exactly the way you would expect in an American city whose influences are French, Spanish, African and Creole.

There is no princess here, but there is a prince, Prince Naveen (voiced by Bruno Campos), a n’er-do-well who is penniless because his parents cut him off. The heroine is Tiana (Tony winner Anika Noni Rose), a hardworking servants’ daughter who dreams of owning her own waterfront restaurant. There also is a menacing magician, the cunning Dr. Facilier (Keith David), who lives to thwart happy endings.

So when that big kiss of a slimy creature comes — “It’s not slime, it’s mucous!” the frog insists, as if this will make all the difference — oh boy, do things go wrong from there.

The story transports Tiana and the prince from the French Quarter’s jazz-drenched streets and Garden District’s lavish mansions to a mystical, alligator-ridden bayou where good and bad magic battles for their souls. They are aided by the romantic firefly Ray (Jim Cummings), the jazz-loving ‘gator named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and the bayou’s own queen, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis).

Voicing memorable smaller roles are John Goodman as Southern aristocrat Big Daddy (a name borrowed, perhaps knowingly, from Tennessee Williams), Oprah Winfrey and Terrence Howard as Tiana’s loving parents and Jennifer Cody as Big Daddy’s spoiled Southern debutante daughter.

So “Princess and the Frog” is one big jambalaya. Disney traditions do get more than lip service. Animals talk — and given that at least some are really humans, this makes perfect sense — and the directors along with co-writer Rob Edwards are unafraid to let several characters actually wish upon a star. Also, the rambunctious spirit of today’s computer geeks and their CG cartoons brightly flavor the recipe.

Then there’s this: Computer animation has yet to lick the warmth factor. Hand-drawn and painted animation has a richness to its textures, brilliance in its colors and humanity in its characters that digital 0s and 1s can’t quite hack. “Princess and the Frog” reawakens your appreciation of the timeless beauty of the classic style while evoking a fantastic world with such warmth, vigor and confidence that you surrender to its happy lunacy.

Opens: Wednesday, Nov. 25 (Walt Disney Studios) Production: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios Rated G, 97 minutes

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The princess and the frog, common sense media reviewers.

First African American Disney princess is a good role model.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie has a heartfelt message about love being

Much has been made of heroine Tiana, who’s blazing

A scary villain (who commands very creepy shadow m

Characters kiss when they live happily ever after.

Tiana is a Disney Princess, whose brand reaches fa

Some adult characters hold and/or sip from wine gl

Parents need to know that The Princess and the Frog is Disney's first movie to feature an African American heroine, Tiana. The New Orleans-set story is a spin on the classic fairy tale about the princess who finds true love when she kisses an enchanted amphibian, but there's more to this tale than just romance:…

Positive Messages

The movie has a heartfelt message about love being the most important thing of all, trumping both financial and professional success. And Tiana is one of the only Disney princesses who doesn't have to be rescued by a man. The movie's secondary voodoo theme, while tongue-in-cheek, plays to assumptions of what New Orleans is like.

Positive Role Models

Much has been made of heroine Tiana, who’s blazing a new trail by being the first African-American Disney princess. She’s a strong role model for girls -- hardworking, loyal, and resourceful -- albeit a relatably imperfect one. She sacrifices some aspects of her personal life in favor of work. Her princely counterpart starts off on shakier ground, seeking to capitalize on his good looks. But in the end he changes into someone more soulful. On the downside, many of the supporting characters aren't very well developed, and some make derisive comments that could be interpreted as being racially motivated (i.e. suggesting that someone of Tiana's background couldn't understand business).

Violence & Scariness

A scary villain (who commands very creepy shadow minions and casts voodoo spells involving the "other side") and some cartoonish battling: For example, a man clubs another with a piece of wood, and inept hunters brandish guns and clubs at each other. One throws knives at Frog Tiana. Also, the villain hurts a major character badly. The injury leads to death, which is gracefully handled -- though still pretty intense for a kid-targeted movie.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Characters kiss when they live happily ever after. The plot turns on a princess kissing a frog. Naveen is quite the ladies' man, but it's mostly shown through very mild flirting.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Tiana is a Disney Princess, whose brand reaches far and wide. Expect to see Princess branding on consumer merchandise, food products, etc. as well as in books, websites, and other media.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Some adult characters hold and/or sip from wine glasses and champagne flutes at restaurants and parties.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Princess and the Frog is Disney's first movie to feature an African American heroine, Tiana. The New Orleans-set story is a spin on the classic fairy tale about the princess who finds true love when she kisses an enchanted amphibian, but there's more to this tale than just romance: Tiana is a resourceful, hardworking heroine who's a strong role model and is one of the first Disney heroines who doesn't have to be rescued by a man. While some have been concerned that the movie might reinforce stereotypes -- and it's true that many of the supporting characters feel shallow (and the movie's voodoo subplot is far from subtle) -- overall the film does a good job of adding diversity to Disney's hit parade. But while the movie is kid-friendly on the whole, the villain and his shadowy spirit henchmen can be quite scary, and one important character does die, which makes it a little too intense for the youngest viewers. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Based on 168 parent reviews

More Joyful than Scary, great music & art

Scary scenes, what's the story.

In THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose ) grew up loving fairy tales but not believing that good things happen when you wish upon a star. Hard work, her father told her, was the way to go. For years, she's dreamed of making her doting dad's dreams come true: to own their own New Orleans restaurant and cook good food for everyone. But when greedy real estate agents threaten to nix a deal for the space she's been saving up for, Tiana has to come up with a plan. Meanwhile, Prince Naveen ( Bruno Campos ), the penniless crown prince of Maldonia, has descended upon the Louisiana bayous in search of a monied debutante to marry -- but a run-in with voodoo master Dr. Facilier ( Keith David ) turns him into a frog. As in the fairy tale, only a kiss from a princess will set him free. But transformations don't come easily. Perhaps having a firefly ( Jim Cummings ) and an alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley) on your side helps.

Is It Any Good?

This Disney film has an old-fashioned look, in a good way. Gone are overblown CG effects; what's left is good, old-fashioned hand-drawn animation and storytelling that thrums to the beat of a big, old-fashioned heart. What's not traditional is the heroine, Tiana, who -- very refreshingly -- fends for herself and doesn't need to be rescued as much as learn. Plus, a Disney staple -- the love song -- takes a surprising turn here, telling the story of one couple while illustrating the sweetness of another.

Yet, entertaining as it is, The Princess and the Frog lacks verve. Some songs -- "Evangeline," for instance, as well as the jazz interludes --- are memorable, but many others don't make an impression. And while the film doesn't completely shy away from referencing the chasm between rich and poor -- the streetcar goes from the mansion section to a neighborhood lined with neat but tiny houses -- it treads very lightly. Those concerned about stereotypes might find a bit of justification in the voodoo storyline, which doesn't veer far from preconceived notions -- couldn't New Orleans have been portrayed without a tooth-necklace-clad letch? Villains can be much more interesting than this.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about whether there are any stereotypes in The Princess and the Frog . Which characters or storylines might be seen as stereotypical? Why?

What do you think of Tiana as a heroine? How does she stack up against other Disney princesses? Does she send girls any new/different messages than previous Disney heroines?

How do the characters in The Princess and the Frog demonstrate integrity and perseverance ? What about gratitude and teamwork ? Why are these important character strengths ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 11, 2009
• On DVD or streaming : March 16, 2010
• Cast : Anika Noni Rose , Bruno Campos , Keith David
• Directors : John Musker , Ron Clements
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Pictures
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Magic and Fantasy , Princesses, Fairies, Mermaids, and More , Great Girl Role Models , Music and Sing-Along
• Character Strengths : Gratitude , Integrity , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 97 minutes
• MPAA rating : G
• Last updated : August 30, 2023

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Movie Review | 'The Princess and the Frog'

That Old Bayou Magic: Kiss and Ribbit (and Sing)

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By Manohla Dargis

• Nov. 24, 2009

It’s not easy being green, the heroine of “The Princess and the Frog” discovers. But to judge from how this polished, hand-drawn movie addresses, or rather strenuously avoids, race, it is a lot more difficult to be black, particularly in a Disney animated feature. If you haven’t heard: Disney, the company that immortalized pale pretties like Snow White and the zip-a-dee-doo-dah of plantation living in “Song of the South,” has made a fairy tale about a black heroine, a character whose shoulders and story prove far too slight for all the hopes already weighing her down. It’s no wonder she’s soon jumping into the bayou, green legs and all.

But before she leaps, Tiana is just another child of New Orleans. When we first meet her, sometime before World War I, Tiana (initially voiced by Elizabeth Dampier) is keeping company with her mother, a seamstress, Eudora (Oprah Winfrey), who sews princess dresses for Charlotte (initially Breanna Brooks), the pint-size daughter of the richest white man in the Crescent City, Big Daddy LaBouff (John Goodman). Life is more humble back at Tiana’s home, where her own father, James (Terrence Howard, silky as always), an aspiring restaurateur, makes a gumbo that draws neighbors from their homes and, later, he helps tuck her into bed. Wearing work boots and suspenders, his sleeves rolled up, James cautions Tiana that it’s fine to wish upon a star, but that hard work gets the job done.

Hard work is a recurrent theme in “Princess,” which the directors John Musker and Ron Clements, who wrote the script with Rob Edwards, further underscore when the adult Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) swans into the Jazz Age. Though the theme certainly serves the story — like her father, Tiana yearns to open a restaurant — it also displaces race, which the film, given the commercial stakes, cannot engage. Hard work separates her from Charlotte (voiced as an adult by Jennifer Cody), not race (or segregation). It drives Tiana, feeding her savings and dreams. “I don’t have time for dancing,” she sings. “This old town can slow me down/people taking the easy way./But I know exactly where I’m going,/I’m getting closer and closer every day.”

Hard work, though, also makes the adult Tiana something of a drudge and a bore. Like a lot of classic Disney heroines, Tiana is good and sweet and pretty as a meticulously animated picture, from the top of her sleek chignon down to her high-stepping shoes. Although she can be a whirlwind of activity, as when she balances multiple plates at the cafe where she works double shifts, Tiana doesn’t have the verve of the spunky little girl who bounces through the first few minutes of the movie. What she does have, like most Disney heroines, is a prince charming, Naveen (Bruno Campos), a well-chiseled slab from the fictional kingdom of Maldonia, who rolls into town with a jazzy flourish and a devious manservant, Lawrence (Peter Bartlett).

The prince, disappointingly if not surprisingly, becomes not only Tiana’s salvation but also that of the movie, largely by bringing some slapstick comedy and a touch of suspense into the proceedings, along with the expected romance. Though he catches Tiana’s eye (and she his), Naveen is soon set upon by both Charlotte, who’s angling for a match, and Dr. Facilier (a terrific Keith David), a villain who, as is true of many movies, easily steals the show. As thin as an exclamation mark and just as excited, Dr. Facilier wears spats and a top hat emblazoned with a skull and bones. Long, inky shadows follow his every step, sprouting around him like dark thoughts, as in the bravura musical number “Friends on the Other Side.”

Gorgeously animated with bursts of bright purple and acid green — the realistic lines of the characters explosively give way to increasingly jagged, graphic and surreal shapes — this number erupts early in the story, setting false expectations for the rest of the movie and its songs and animation. Despite some ensuing comic relief, largely in the hefty form of a musical alligator, Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), and a snaggletoothed Cajun firefly, Ray (Jim Cummings), the film sags without Dr. Facilier and his menace. That’s even the case after Tiana, in a sparkling fairy tale moment, kisses a frog and becomes one herself, a transformation that carries her on an extended journey through the bayou and, yes, into her own heart.

There are some lovely and odd interludes on that voyage, notably in the strange, swampy residence of an ancient conjurer, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), who, gumming her lines and charming her pet snake, urges Tiana to “Dig a Little Deeper” (written, like most of the forgettable songs, by Randy Newman). Big girls and little know what happens next, but, my, the movie takes an awfully long time getting there. That finale, like the story itself, represents progress of a kind, I suppose, even if this princess spends an uncommonly long time splashing around as a frog. A frog whose green hue suggests that, if nothing else, Disney finally recognizes that every little girl, no matter her color, represents a new marketing opportunity.

“The Princess and the Frog” is rated G (General Audiences). The shadowy monsters might be a little intense for very young viewers.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

Opens on Wednesday in New York and Los Angeles.

Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements; written by Mr. Musker, Mr. Clements and Rob Edwards, based on a story by Mr. Clements, Mr. Musker, Greg Erb and Jason Oremland; music by Randy Newman; produced by Peter Del Vecho; released by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

WITH THE VOICES OF: Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Terrence Howard (James), John Goodman (Big Daddy), Keith David (Dr. Facilier), Jim Cummings (Ray), Jenifer Lewis (Mama Odie), Oprah Winfrey (Eudora), Bruno Campos (Prince Naveen), Jennifer Cody (Charlotte LaBouff), Peter Bartlett (Lawrence), Michael-Leon Wooley (Louis), Elizabeth Dampier (Young Tiana) and Breanna Brooks (Young Charlotte).

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The Princess and the Frog (2009)

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The Princess And The Frog Review

05 Feb 2010

Princess And The Frog, The

Much has been said about the historic milestones this represents — the return of hand-drawn animation; the first African-American Disney princess — and that’s all worth remarking upon. But it doesn’t really sum this film up, because this is a thoroughly old-fashioned fairy tale, the epitome of a Disney movie that distils the essence of Walt for a new generation weaned on the cynicism of Shrek. In fact, this is the anti-Shrek, a sincere fairy tale with a good heart, but one that is never naive or boring.

Certainly, all the familiar fairy-tale elements are here. So, welcome a beautiful heroine, a handsome prince, overweight comic relief, a magic-wielding ne’er-do-well and a fairy godmother, of a sort. In 1920s New Orleans, our hero is turned into a frog; the heroine, kissing him in order to turn him back, finds herself trapped in the curse, and the pair hop off to the swamp in search of an old voodoo witch to turn them back. Hedging their bets, legendary animation directors Ron Clements and John Musker have made a film bookended by princesses in pretty dresses but with a middle section filled with comedy talking animals, following the sharp Disney practice of leavening the gooiest love stories with plenty of non-human slapstick (see also: Cinderella, Beauty And The Beast).

But there are differences, and a more recognisably modern feeling that prevents this feeling like a simple rehash of what’s gone before. For a start, the female roles belie the sometimes patronising attitude of Disney towards its past heroines. Tiana (Dreamgirls’ Anika Noni Rose) is a hard-headed heroine who works hard and displays a focus and drive — aimed at opening her own restaurant — hitherto entirely lacking from Disney princesses. Never mind her skin colour: her character is the biggest sign that things have moved on since Walt’s day, and the scenes with her mother, Eudora (Oprah Winfrey), ring true as a bell.

Our prince, too, has moved on. Naveen (Bruno Campos) is a feckless playboy without a lick of sense. And in this movie, that’s acknowledged as a character flaw rather than celebrated as a lifestyle choice. So while Tiana has to learn to lighten up a bit, Naveen has some growing up of his own to do. Throw in Tiana’s delightfully airheaded (but never avaricious) best friend (Jennifer Cody), a comedy alligator called Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a lovestruck firefly (Jim Cummings) and a truly frightening villain in the lizard-like Dr. Facilier (Keith David) and his demonic shadow, and you’ve got yourself a fairy tale. Add hand-drawn animation of unsurpassed beauty and some insanely catchy tunes from Pixar stalwart Randy Newman and it becomes a Disney fairy tale. It’s no spoiler to say that the ending is happy, but this will throw enough curveballs en route to make you doubt it. And it’s no use complaining to us that the ending’s implausible — don’t you know that true love conquers all?

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Review: ‘The Princess and the Frog’

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Go ahead and pucker up. Because long before “The Princess and the Frog” is over you’ll want to smooch the charming couple, air kiss a romantic firefly and hug a voodoo queen in this foot-stomping, smile-inducing, heart-warming animated twist on the old Brothers Grimm frog-prince fairy tale.

FOR THE RECORD: “The Princess and the Frog”: The review of the animated film “The Princess and the Frog” in Wednesday’s Calendar said the lead character Tiana was a maid. She is a waitress. —

The filmmakers have brewed up a delicious roots story in every sense of the word. “The Princess and the Frog” is set in the 1920s jazz age in the New Orleans heart of it all.It’s the studio’s return to the lush, fluid beauty of hand-drawn animation. It’s an old-fashioned fairy tale, even though they’ve had some fun with the story. And it’s set to music in the grand tradition of “Beauty and the Beast,” which is to say the neoclassic ‘90s brand of Disney animation.

FOR THE RECORD This review incorrectly stated that the character Tiana was a maid. She was a waitress.

That might make “The Princess and the Frog” seem like a creature of ancient times, particularly since kids these days are raised on 3-D flash. The effect, though, is the opposite. After being bombarded by so much computer-generated, motion-captured high-and-higher jinks, the film feels fresh -- a discovery, or a rediscovery, depending on your age.

At the keyboards, we have the always flavorful Mr. Randy Newman creating a spicy gumbo of blues, gospel, jazz, Dixieland and, because we are in the Big Easy, a dash or two of zydeco along with the Tobasco (nothing says “now” like product placement).

There’s plenty of razzle-dazzle, starting with Anika Noni Rose, the perky third of the “Dreamgirls,” who’s lending her fabulous pipes to Tiana, the hardworking lovely with big plans at the center of this story. Yes, a prince on the side might be nice, but this career girl from humble beginnings has her eye on an empty warehouse that will make a fine restaurant where the flappers will be hot, the jazz will be cool and the food oh so divine.

Though there are all sorts of barriers to be broken and despite a day job as a maid that has her forever pinching pennies, Tiana is not one to give up. That shouldn’t come as a complete surprise since she has the ultimate overachiever in Oprah as her mama, though for some reason directors John Musker and Ron Clements, who wrote the script with Rob Edwards, call her Eudora. No matter.

This being New Orleans, the dark arts are a major factor in the story with Keith David’s Dr. Facilier making so many deals with so many devils it will make your head spin and possibly frighten some little ones when those voodoo masks start multiplying and moving.

In keeping with the ethnic blend, the song and dance man with the Hugh Jackman good looks, only darker, is Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), from the mythical kingdom of Maldonia. Whether it’s a worry about offending African Americans with “cartoonish” exaggeration, or a desire to make the film palatable for white audiences, or both, the animators have been very careful with their pens when it comes to drawing black characters on the page. Just about everyone here has “good hair,” and Tiana could be Halle Berry’s kissing cousin. So while it’s not Disney’s first time at dipping a toe in multicultural waters -- “Aladdin,” “Mulan” and “ Pocahontas” were there first -- “The Princess and the Frog” still feels like baby steps.

With all of Dr. Facilier’s scheming, Naveen is about to be green anyway, which makes him very jumpy, especially since there are gun-toting moonshiners who fancy frying up his legs. He was supposed to be kissed by Charlotte (Jennifer Cody), a rich Southern belle, but in a mistake of monumental proportions, he smooches Tiana instead and we have two frogs, not one, and no happily ever after in sight.

The rest of the film trots out many of the swampy tropes of childhood -- always be good, be careful who you trust, follow your dreams, it’s what’s inside that counts. But what could be tried as well as true is not, because the filmmakers have done to the bayou what Mardi Gras does to the French Quarter -- put music, magic, light and laughter everywhere.

There are the big Broadway-style numbers we’ve come to expect from Disney musicals of that only slightly bygone era, the kind that let the animation team go wild. One of “The Princess and the Frog’s” best comes when a swarm of fireflies seeks a blind voodoo queen named Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), who might be the only one powerful enough to break Dr. Facilier’s curse. Led by a hopeless romantic named Ray (Jim Cummings), a bit of a dim bulb, the bayou turns into a high-kicking extravaganza with singing and dancing swamp critters pulling off complicated choreography while Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a gator with a jazz obsession, blows a really mean trumpet.

Clements and Musker are pretty much Disney born and raised with two of the studio’s best musical showstoppers, “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” heading their résumés. With “The Princess and the Frog” they’ve gotten just about everything right. The dialogue is fresh-prince clever, the themes are ageless, the rhythms are riotous and the return to a primal animation style is beautifully executed.

So shake a stick at those Grimm Brothers, when it comes to princesses and frogs we now have a beautiful, boisterous sister in charge.

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The Princess And The Frog review

Disney makes a solid return to the world of hand-drawn animation, reminding the world what computer graphics can't do...

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It’s been too long coming. As a paid-up fan of classic Disney animated films, settling back and watching The Princess And The Frog on the big screen was something I and many others never thought would happen. Coming less than a decade after Disney announced it was canning its hand-drawn animation features in favour of CG (and it still baffles me how that happened, given the legacy of the studio), it’s taken the arrival of John Lasseter, ironically, at Disney to turn that decision round. The Princess And The Frog is the first fruit of that, and it’s paved the way for many more to come.

Disney very wisely put the film into the safe hands of two of its finest directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, and The Princess And The Frog frequently shows flashes of some of their finest work. The animation is beautifully stylised, reflecting 1920s New Orleans, and there are some genuinely stunning sequences, not least a screen full of fireflies that looks downright majestic. I saw the film on a huge screen, and the impact of some of the scenes was hugely impressive. I certainly did react like that to a Shrek movie. And I quite like the first two Shrek movies.

Furthermore, Musker and Clements know how to make memorable characters, and they do so again here. Louis, the jazz-loving alligator, is a tremendous and very funny creation, responsible for many of the film’s laughs. He’s the highlight for me, but the human characters come off well too, including the film’s heroine, Princess Tiana, and the likes of Mama Odie too.

The best character work, though, is saved for villain Facilier, a character that demonstrates a level of imagination fused with a sinister edge that’s lacking from computer animated movies. Musker and Clements go to town on him, eeking out the vivid qualities that hand-drawn animation affords them, and take him to some surprisingly dark places. They play very much to the strength of traditional animation techniques, and chalk up another quality villain to add to the many they’ve already brought to the screen (Ursula, Jafar, Hades and even Professor Rattigan from the underrated Great Mouse Detective ).

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As much as I enjoyed the film, though, I can’t honestly call it vintage Musker and Clements, nor is it vintage Disney. At its best, it’s genuinely brilliant, and a real joy to see even when the novelty factor dies down. But it does have elements that hold it back a little. Key among them, sadly, is the music. In attempting to go back to the fairy tale roots of their second Disney movie, The Little Mermaid , Clements and Musker are sorely lacking the magical musical combination of Alan Menken, and particularly lyricist, the late Howard Ashman. Randy Newman is pretty much onto a loser from the start, and his songs are uninspired and simply not memorable at all. Considering that the late 80s/early 90s Disney boom was fuelled by fairy tales being put to superb music, the songs leave a real gap. The jazz-fused score, to be fair, is far more successful.

The story, too, even though the tale has been turned on its head a little, isn’t as strong as the source material that Clements and Musker have played with in the past. It’s an interesting take they’ve opted for, as Princess Tiania kisses the frog who’s supposed to turn into a prince, only for her to find herself turned into a frog instead. But the Disney archives hold some tough competition, and  The Princess And The Frog settles somewhere around the middle of the studio’s classic back catalogue.

That’s not to say that the film coasts on the novelty of having hand-drawn back, and even towards the end of the film, Musker and Clements make one or two unusual choices that again left me thinking they were heading into territory I wasn’t expecting. The pay off to it, as well, turned out to be a handsome one (without wishing to spoilt the plot!).

The bottom line here is that The Princess And The Frog is an entertaining, charming fairy tale that, from top to bottom, was very clearly a labour of love. Even accepting the little niggles with the film, it’s mighty good to have Disney hand-drawn features back in the world.

And you know what? It’s even better to have Musker and Clements hard at work on them. To think Disney was months away from losing the pair to CG animated features. John Lasseter really did turn up in the nick of time…

Simon Brew | @SimonBrew

Editor, author, writer, broadcaster, Costner fanatic. Now runs Film Stories Magazine.

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• DVD & Streaming

The Princess and the Frog

• Animation , Comedy , Kids , Musical , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

• November 25, 2009
• Voices of Anika Noni Rose as Tiana; Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen; Keith David as Dr. Facilier; Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis; Jim Cummings as Ray; Jennifer Cody as Charlotte; Peter Bartlett as Lawrence; Jenifer Lewis as Mama Odie; Oprah Winfrey as Eudora; Terrence Howard as James; John Goodman as ’Big Daddy’ La Bouff

Home Release Date

• March 16, 2010
• John Musker, Rob Clements

Distributor

• Walt Disney

Movie Review

Kermit was right. It’s not easy being green. Tiana can vouch for that. And it’s not like she had it easy before she turned that lovely shade of olive.

Born into poverty in New Orleans, Tiana works two jobs and saves every penny, hoping one day to open her own restaurant—a dream she shared with her late father. She even has a place all picked out: a dilapidated sugar mill with all the structural integrity of a Jenga tower.

Still, she thinks of it as her Jenga tower, and when a lucrative job hops in her lap, Tiana realizes she’s got the cash to finally buy it. So she croaks up the money to a pair of sniveling real estate agents and allows her dreams to leap a little—until the agents inform her that someone else has just offered more money.

Not that she had a chance at success anyway, one of the agents notes. “You’re better off where you’re at,” he says.

Well, Tiana gets positively ribbid—I mean, livid—but she has no recourse, no money and no real options, other than to wish upon a star for something insanely wonderful to happen. So she does just that, sending her wish into the black beyond. And, lo and behold, a beautiful, shimmering fairy, drawn in classic 1940s style, floats down from the sky and—

No, no, wait. Wrong story. There is no fairy here, no shimmering lights, no crafty cricket. Just a frog who sounds a bit like Pepe Le Pew.

He tells Tiana that he is, in reality, the fabulously handsome and charming Prince Naveen, cursed by an evil Voodoo witch doctor—an unfortunate beginning to his New Orleans vacation, but he’s sure he’ll be back to normal if Tiana would just grace him with a kiss.

“All women enjoy the kiss of Prince Naveen,” the frog reassures Tiana.

The whole kiss-me-and-I’ll-turn-into-a-prince line never worked for me in college, but sure enough, it works here. Tiana reaches down, puckers up and locks lips with the amphibian, and the magic starts to percolate. Sparks fly. Violins are heard in the background.. And … Tiana turns into a frog.

It’s a setback to Tiana’s plans. Becoming a successful restaurateur is an almost impossible career goal for the average frog. Most croakers would be happy if their legs just escaped the appetizer menu.

Positive Elements

Back in the day, Disney’s princesses were nice but vapid things: They lounged about the cottage or castle, singing the occasional song, taking the occasional enchanted nap, waiting for a handsome prince to wander by.

Not Tiana. This princess is a self-made woman who eschews frivolity for a hardnosed Protestant work ethic. She’s not sighing, “I wonder if my heart keeps singing/Will my song go winging/To someone who’ll find me/And bring back a love song to me.” Instead she’s singing, “If you do your best every day, good things are going to come your way.” She teaches the lazy Prince Naveen how to dice vegetables and convinces him that hard work is not all bad. Indeed, the prince eventually expresses his desire to work two or three jobs to help Tiana get her restaurant—assuming the two of them somehow become human again.

Prince Naveen naturally falls in love with Tiana, but he shows a willingness to sacrifice his own happiness to help his new squeeze realize her dreams—offering to marry a fabulously wealthy socialite if the socialite promises to give Tiana the money she needs for her establishment. Agreeing to a loveless marriage for money? No, that’s not positive. But the fact that this heretofore selfish prince is willing to commit a painfully selfless act … well, that’s good stuff.

Tiana sacrifices for her toad beau, too, passing up a devil’s bargain with the nefarious Voodoo priest Dr. Facilier, aka the Shadow Man. The evildoer promises Tiana both her humanity and her restaurant if she’ll give up a magical talisman, but she rejects both to save her prince—a rejection that would seem to consign her to eternal frogdom.

The film offers positive messages about the importance of family, friends and food (how it can bring people together), preaches self-reliance and suggests, ever so gently, that what we want isn’t always what we need.

Spiritual Elements

Set in New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog relies on a real religious construct—Voodoo—as a loose excuse to unleash its magic.

Louisiana Voodoo is a mash-up of Catholicism and animistic African practices brought over during the slave trade. Adherents believe that much of their everyday lives is controlled by so-called lesser spirits, and magical rites are used to appease said spirits (or encourage them to help or curse others).

Disney’s onscreen Voodoo involves the Shadow Man, who is a necromancer of sorts, achieving his evil ends through help from his “friends from the other side.” He uses these dark powers to turn Naveen into a frog and Naveen’s butler into a prince. And, when the spell begins to wear thin, he pleads with his shadowy cohorts to help him retrieve Prince Naveen from the swamp for another dose of blood—an important ingredient in the Shadow Man’s magical concoction. In return, he promises his mostly dead benefactors (shown in the form of frightening masks hanging on his wall) that when he’s in charge of New Orleans, they’ll have free range to capture wayward souls in the city—an ominous promise if ever there was one.

The Shadow Man brandishes a Voodoo doll, preparing to stab it with a huge needle. He gives the prince’s butler a talisman—infused with Naveen’s blood—that transforms the butler into the spitting image of Naveen. He tells fortunes through Tarot cards.

As frogs, Tiana and Naveen go on a quest to find Mama Odie, a Voodoo priestess whom they hope can turn them back to normal. But Odie, shown with a snake familiar (snakes play a big part in real Voodoo) doesn’t really help them much—choosing instead to sing them a song about how they must reach deep inside themselves to learn what they really need and what they must become. (She does zap some shadow creatures.)

Most of the scenes she’s in carry with them a subtle Christian subtext. Her song, for example, holds the hallmarks of a rollicking gospel spiritual. And when she dances on the roof of her house, the surrounding environs look very much like a soaring, natural cathedral. The church motif crops up again during Naveen and Tiana’s swamp wedding.

Characters continually wish on a prominent star with all the fervency of prayer. And when Ray, a lightning bug, dies, a new star appears in the heavens—perhaps an echo of how Greek and Roman heroes were given places of honor among the stars by the gods.

Elsewhere, someone says they’re “sweating like a sinner in church.”

Sexual Content

Smooches involve humans, frogs and humans with frogs. As frogs, Tiana’s and the prince’s tongues get knotted up together.

Some of the women—including the princess—wear shapely, occasionally cleavage-revealing gowns, and one adjusts her bosom through a dress. Naveen makes several allusions to his love of women. Ray mentions that one of his lightning bug relatives got in trouble for “flashing the neighbors.”

Violent Content

Naveen is smashed by books several times. Frogs are attacked by all manner of swampland creatures, including a trio of hunters. Those hunters ultimately shoot at each other’s feet with guns, hammer each other with clubs and wind up knocking each other senseless.

Someone’s finger is snipped to get it to bleed. A friendly alligator falls into a sticker-filled bush. Ray gets squashed. Characters are attacked and, occasionally, dragged by frightening shadow creatures. The Shadow Man himself is eventually pulled into the gaping maw of one of the masks he’d been petitioning—dragged down, it’s suggested, to the film’s version of hell.

Crude or Profane Language

Two uses of “heck” and one of “dang.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Wine and champagne are served at a large costume gala. We see a man dressed as an octopus dump eight glasses of booze to the ground after seeing what he assumes is a drunken hallucination.

Other Negative Elements

Several characters lie or make misleading statements.

I grew up on animated Disney movies. The first one I remember seeing in the theater was Snow White . (And, no, I didn’t see it during its first run.) After that, every time the Mouse House trotted out one of its classic films, we’d thrill to the glorious artwork and mesmerizing storytelling. Then, when I was in college, Disney released a tiny film called The Little Mermaid , which ultimately ushered in another golden age of animation—and never mind that I was 20, I went to see the thing again and again.

Now, here we are in 2009, and Disney’s in an odd place: Animated films, in many ways, have never been better. But for the first time in its history, Disney’s own animation has taken a backseat to others’, Pixar’s and DreamWorks’ in particular. Disney finds itself more tied to trite, live-action television fare than rich, animated storytelling.

Snow White ? Sleeping Beauty ? Try Hannah Montana and Zack & Cody .

The Princess and the Frog seems, then, to be Mickey’s attempt to show the world that he can still make a movie like no one else. Has he succeeded? Exactly what kind of movie have his 21st century animators made?

There are actually four ways to answer that:

1) They’ve made a commercial movie. Lovingly hand animated in old-school 2-D, the film is, at times, visually beautiful, even breathtaking. But it sometimes feels more like a product than a work of art. Watching it, I couldn’t help wonder if, as they were crafting the story, the film’s makers were already thinking about Tiana dolls and Ray night-lights and all the cool ways they could incorporate their new visuals into Disneyland’s New Orleans Square.

2) They’ve made a wishful movie. When you tuck your children into bed each night, have you ever urged them to wish upon a … star? Or do you structure their bedtime prayers a little differently? The whole “wishing upon a star” idea has certainly become a Disney staple, but it’s not exactly the most healthy of diets from a spiritual perspective. Taken symbolically, Tiana’s petitions to a gaseous orb might be seen as a nod to faith—the star being a literary stand-in for God. But might more moviegoers (especially the 6-year-olds who are this film’s primary audience) reach a different conclusion? One that toys around with the notion that if praying to God doesn’t get you that shiny new bike or Bratz doll, maybe offering a prayer to … something else … might?

3) They’ve made a numinous movie. All the classic Disney movies had magic in them. Fairies. Sorcerers. Spell-casters. Ariel’s god-like father. The Princess and the Frog exercises that magical muscle—and then it goes a step or three further, injecting it with Voodoo. Captain Hook becomes the big bad Voodoo priest with his blood rituals and stick-pin dolls. What ends up on the screen may be no more than incrementally grimmer and darker than Sleeping Beauty , but it evokes real-world superstition in ways the oldies don’t.

4) They’ve made an inspirational movie. I’ll end with this one not because the point should necessarily be given more weight, but out of deference to my childhood full of fond Disney memories: The Princess and the Frog is a G-rated morality play full of self-sacrifice, heroism, devotion to hard work … and true love.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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Cinematic Flashback: The Princess and the Frog (2009) Review

In the South land, there’s a city, way down on the river. Where the women are very pretty, and all the men deliver. They got music. It’s always playin’. Start the daytime, go all through the night. When you hear that music playin’, hear what I’m saying, it make you feel all right….as Jason’s Movie Blog’s celebrates the “cinematic flashback” review Disney’s 2009 The Princess and the Frog .

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

“A new twist on the fairy tale classic”

Director: Ron Clements and John Musker

Writer: Ron Clements, John Musker, and Rob Edwards

Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, and John Goodman

Run Time: 97 Minutes

Release Date: December 11 th , 2009

With a spark for determination, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) fills her hardworking days as a waitress struggling to get by in 1920s New Orleans; dreaming of one day owning her own restaurant. All that changes, however, when she meets Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos, a dashing yet headstrong prince who gets transformed into a common swamp frog by an evil voodoo magician named Dr. Facilier (Keith David), approaches Tiana, mistaking her for a princess. Begging her for a kiss, and promising her whatever she wants in return, Naveen is startled when the girl kisses him and turns into a frog herself. Now, as the pair race to undo the curse, they find help in the unluckiest of creatures, including a trumpet-playing alligator named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a friendly gumbo-mouthed firefly named Ray (Jim Cummings, and the kindly advice from backwatered voodoo queen called Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis). But can Tiana and Naveen survive the dangers of the bayou? Can they escape the swamps bumbling frog hunters, defeat Dr. Faciler’s relentless shadow beasts, and discover a way to become human again? Moreover, can they both learn to cope with each other and learn what they are missing in their lives?

MY THOUGHTS

As many of you know…. I’ve always been a big fan of Disney’s animated features. Like many of my generations, I grew up watching throughout my childhood, so I certainly have a special affinity towards Disney cartoon movies. The Princess and the Frog was one of an interesting feature to me. First off, the movie is presented in a way that tries to capture the “sprit” of the company’s signature look that was found in the “Renaissance era”; something that was quite lost in much of the 2000s era Disney movies. Then, of course, there was the film’s animation, which shifted back in traditional 2D animation. So, just from that alone, I was curious to see the movie (I love watching the trailer for the movie…still do). However, I remember I didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters when it was originally released as I waited for it to come out on Blu-ray / DVD a few months later. Flash forward to the present date and I just received my 4k copy of The Princess and the Frog and decided to revisit the movie to do a review for it as I haven’t watched it in quite some time. So….let’s begin.

The Princess and the Frog is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, the creative duo minds behind some of Disney’s memorable animated features such as The Little Mermaid , Aladdin , and Moana later on. Given their background with creating winning hits for the “house of mouse”, Clements / Musker were fine choices in trying to revive Disney’s signature, especially since the studio was trying to reach back to its 2D “princess” animation of storytelling. In this regard, the duo directors do a great job; displaying the right amount of colorful whim and splendid iterations of its story that feels very much so close to Disney’s signature since 1999’s Tarzan . It just seems like the film’s presentation and overall execution was far better handled than almost all of its 2000s movies. In addition, rather than presenting the film’s story in straight forward adaptation, Clements and Musker take the iconic fairy tale iteration of the Princess and the Frog and gives a story that styled and flavored in a new way. What do I mean? Well, the big change (and a step forward) was making the film feature many of the various characters (large or small) to be of African-American; something that was a first for Disney and making Tiana the first African-American princess of their collection. Plus, the film’s backdrop of New Orleans was steeped in flavor of African-American roots by ways and means of music, setting, and characters (circa 1920s era) feels genuine and quite uniquely different than other Disney fairy tale stories and topography.

As mentioned above, the movie’s animation was another big highlight (probably the biggest of the film) as it was presented in traditional 2D animation rather than 3D. The result is something quite wonderful and vividly fun to see Disney return to their roots (sort of speak) and enriching the feature’s story with such colorful animation that definitely speaks to the feature’s liking. I do have to admit that 2D animation has certainly become a “lost art”, so I’m overjoyed that Disney seem to embrace that idea of making one of their animated movies return to traditional cartoon style and the result is terrific. So, even if a viewer doesn’t particular care for the movie, one must certainly appreciate the animation in the film….no question asked.

The main problem with the movie is that it isn’t quite as memorable as some of the other big Disney classic. Sure, the movie harkens back to the company’s signature identity, but just simply comes up short in reaching that lofty goal of animated expectations. What do I mean? Well, the story is good, but not spectacular, the characters are fun, but not endearing, the song are catchy, but not memorable. You get what I’m saying. As stated, I do like the movie, but The Princess and the Frog just simply doesn’t measure up the same way as some of its 90s era releases were able to achieve. I definitely think its better than many of the 2000s era releases, but…. when compared to Little Mermaid , Beauty and the Beast , Aladdin , and Lion King , the movie comes up short. If I had to do a minor nitpick about the film, I kind of wished that it was a little bit longer by possibly adding one or two major side adventures / scenarios for Tiana and Naveen to encounter.

What certainly makes for these criticisms is the overall voice talents utilized for the various characters in the movie, Anika Noni Rose leading the charge as Tiana. Her voice was perfect in the role as she imbues all the signature stances of a Disney princess character (strong, fun, charismatic, determine) as she changes throughout the movie. Likewise, Bruno Campos does a good job as the suave and debonair Prince Naveen. Who perhaps steal the show in the film is Dr. Facilier, with Keith David providing the voice. It surely nails the character down perfectly and the animation team seems to even borrow a few of David’s looks and mannerisms in a few scenes. Tiana / Naveen’s companions also feel fun to watch, with Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, and Jenifer Lewis as their respective characters of Louis, Ray, and Mama Odie. Other voice talents such as John Goodman, Jennifer Cody, Peter Barlett, Terrance Howard, and Orpah Winfrey play several of the other supporting players in the movie; all of which given fine performances in their capacity.

In the end, while it doesn’t have the same memorable impact as some of Disney’s past animated endeavors (either from its golden years or renaissance era of releases), The Princess and the Frog is charming and colorfully entertaining from start to finish; miles above its 2000s era releases. It’s 2D animation is spectacular beautiful (wish more movie revives this medium design), its characters were lively and endearing, and its themes are universally strong. Of course, this movie certainly paved the way for the “House of Mouse” to produce other memorable hits in the coming years (i.e. Tangled and Frozen ). So, before Rapunzel sang “When Will My Life Begin” or Eliza belting out “Let It Go”, just remember that it was Tiana who stole the spotlight and sang “dreams do come true in New Orleans”; proving that dreams and determinations go hand in hand and celebrations of Disney’s signature style of princess and music with a new twist.

Cinematic Flashback Score: 4.1 out of 5

Fun Fact: The Prince of Maldonia is called Naveen. Naveen is an Indian name (meaning “new”), which suggest that Maldonia is a Eurasian country (the name of Maldonia is a mix between Malta and Macedonia). During the “Down in New Orleans” montage, the newspaper mentions in print that Maldonia cannot be found on the map (i.e. it’s made up for the movie).

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• Cinematic Flashback Review

Fair review. But this is low-key my favorite Disney Princess movie. Fireflies who fall in love with stars, alligators that just want to play trumpet in a band, shadow villains… So good.

This is one of my top 10 fav Disney movies. I’m a little biased, though, since New Orleans is just an hour down the road

Love Keith David as Dr. Facilier! Underrated villain in the grand scheme of things, imo.

Hope you’re staying safe, man!

I watched this a couple times as a kid. Scared the hell out of me. Haven’t watched it since. LOL!

I would definitely recommend you revisiting this movie. It’s worth another look.

I might, one day.

Pingback: Cinematic Flashback: The Princess and the Frog (2009) Review — Jason’s Movie Blog | FEEDBACK Animation Film & Screenplay Festival

I love Disney, and I remember watching this film in the cinema with my little sister. It’s a fun but complex tale and I really liked the animation. Great post 🙂

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The Princess and the Frog

Review by brian eggert december 13, 2009.

In 1937, Walt Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarves , an animated musical fairy tale that ushered in a groundbreaking style of filmmaking. For the next 60 years, the studio would remain the prototype for full-length animated features. But the House of Mouse’s grandeur started to diminish in recent years, making way for Pixar and Studio Ghibli to take over as top animation studios. And while Disney’s latest effort, The Princess and the Frog , doesn’t reclaim the authority of the studio in the realm of animation, it demonstrates exactly how they used to do it, and how they can easily salvage their good name if they keep making movies like this one.

The movie is a victory for directors and co-writers John Musker and Ron Clements, the talents behind The Little Mermaid —the film that ushered in Disney’s early 1990s Renaissance—followed by Aladdin , Hercules , and Treasure Planet . They’ve been holding out for the last seven years, and who would’ve thought they’d jump back into the fray after so much time, risking all with a couple of Disney firsts: This is the first hand-drawn, 2-D animated picture by the studio in years, proving the method compelling, despite the advances of now-standard computer-animated and 3-D pictures. It’s also the first Disney movie since the maligned Song of the South to contain African American characters, though it’s a pleasure to say that the Mouse won’t have to hide in his hole when it comes to releasing this movie on home video.

The setting is the early twentieth century in New Orleans, where the filmmakers easily avoid being either racially numb or overly touchy through the use of their lively backdrop. Jazz and ragtime music fills the score, and the wonderful songs are written by Randy Newman and performed by the Tony Award-winning voice-cast—notably not the celebrity John Travoltas and Miley Ciruses of recent Disney fare. Our heroine is Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose), the daughter of a seamstress mother and hard-working father. As a child, she dreamed of opening a restaurant with dad, except now that she’s grown and dad is gone, she finds herself working two jobs and saving all she can for a down payment for her ideal gumbo eatery—wishing upon a star isn’t how her father taught her to accomplish her goals.

Regardless, on a whim, she kisses a talking frog, the cursed Prince Naveen of Maldonia (voice of Bruno Campos), because, mistaking her for a princess, which he needs to kiss to become human, he offers to pay for her restaurant if she plants one on his slimy lips. Well, she’s not a princess, so she becomes a frog too. Both amphibians now, they set out on an adventure in the bayou where talking animals and catchy musical numbers are the norms. They meet an array of colorful characters, including a jazz-obsessed croc named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a backwoods firefly named Ray (Jim Cummings). To become human once more, they must stop the evil voodoo master, Dr. Facilier (aka The Shadow Man, voice of Keith David, expertly played), and, of course, ultimately fall in love.

The way Musker and Clements use all those Disney tropes and make them sparkling again is marvelous. The plot follows the path of a dozen other Disney movies, but somehow it feels fresh. Much of the credit belongs to the setting. But the animators do a great deed by employing varying visual styles depending on the scene, such as the sequence when Tiana dreams of her restaurant and the picture escapes into a profile piece, something like the title sequence in Catch Me if You Can . There’s straight fairy tale animation that looks beautiful, and also a skeletal, rather frightening style used when The Shadow Man is onscreen, filling the frame with low, intimidating angles.

However, Newman’s songs are the deal-maker. There’s maybe only one dud in the bunch, which is “Almost There,” an obligatory tune where the heroine sings about her aspirations. But consider the toe-tappingness of The Shadow Man’s dark thumping hit “Friends on the Other Side,” a song set to vivid neon animation and spiraling spirit imagery. Or the bookended “Down in New Orleans,” which will have you checking Wikipedia to find out if Newman wrote it, or if he just uncovered a lost track from yesteryear. These are memorable songs recalling the glory days of Disney, and they deserve comparisons to the best from Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King .

Stories filled with magic and romance are exactly what Disney should stick to. Enough of this jittery, pop-culture-laden dribble. Let 3-D die out. Leave the computer animation to Pixar. Save everyone the trouble of being disappointed. There’s no need for them to wear their creativity out by releasing a 2-D picture every year. And though their next hand-drawn movie, Rapunzel , is on its way in 2010, waiting a few years for another movie like this one to come along is easy (if we don’t have to endure rubbish like Chicken Little or Home on the Range in the interim). The Princess and the Frog represents a welcome return for Disney and a beacon of cartoon light that the company should aspire to with every new effort.

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Princess and the Frog, The (United States, 2009)

When Disney mothballed traditional animation in 2004 following a series of disappointing box office underperformers, the blame was placed upon changing tastes - that viewers preferred the more eye-popping style of computer-generated images to the "old fashioned" approach that had dominated for nearly 70 years. Little or no consideration was given to the decline in quality of the animated productions, especially where the story was concerned. Disney had strayed from the tried-and-true formulas that marked its greatest animated successes and the company was harvesting crops from neglected fields. So hand-drawn animation was dumped, but what at the time seemed to be a permanent measure became temporary once the Disney/Pixar merger was finalized. With Pixar in charge of all animated projects, the decision was made to revive traditional animation but, in doing so, to return to its "roots." The result is The Princess and the Frog and, if you didn't know better, you'd swear this had been made in the late 1980s or early 1990s, alongside The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast .

The elements are all in place. The movie has a loose connection to a fairy tale ( The Frog Prince ), seven Broadway-style animated numbers (penned by longtime Disney collaborator Randy Newman), a plucky heroine, likeable animal sidekicks (a jazz-loving crocodile and a firefly besotted with a star), a fairy godmother type, a villain who uses black magic, and a stew of romance and comedy. The Princess and the Frog is so in synch with the early entries into Disney's so-called "second golden age" that one wonders how the company could have gotten away from these movies in the first place.

Much has been made about Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose) being Disney's first African American "princess," but Disney has never been afraid of branching out. Lead females have included an Arab (Jasmine, Aladdin ), a lioness (Nala, The Lion King ), a Native American ( Pocahontas ), and a Chinese girl ( Mulan ). Tiana has just as much spirit as any other Disney standout (and she spends most of the film as a frog anyway). It's certainly time (or past time) for the Magic Kingdom to embrace a black character, but I suspect this has more meaning to those who write about such things that it will to the movie's target audience - children of all ages, genders, and races.

Tiana is a hard-working waitress who holds down two jobs at the eateries of New Orleans. She dreams of amassing enough money to one day open her own restaurant - a dream engendered in her at an early age and encouraged by her father (voice of Terrence Howard) and mother (Oprah Winfrey). Her best friend, Charlotte (Jennifer Cody), has an equally ambitious goal: to marry a prince. This looks feasible when Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), a foreign dignitary, visits New Orleans. Unfortunately, he falls afoul of the voodoo of Dr. Facilier (Keith David), who turns him into a frog. The first woman he meets is Tiana, at a costume ball where she's dressed in a princess costume. He convinces her to kiss him, but the results aren't what either expects. Instead of Naveen regaining human form, Tiana is turned into a frog. Now, with the help of a jovial crocodile named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and the firefly Ray (Jim Cummings), the two must avoid the shadow-creatures of Dr. Facilier while attempting to locate the voodoo priestess Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), who may know how they can become human again.

From a visual standpoint, there's little to differentiate The Princess and the Frog from the likes of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast , and Aladdin , all of which shared a similar style. The strongest link lies with co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker, who also helmed two of those three: The Little Mermaid and Aladdin . Backed by an army of animators, Clements and Musker imbue the streets of New Orleans and the bayous of Louisiana with the same subtle magic that gave life to an undersea kingdom and ancient Baghdad. The film's comedy finds the right mix of jokes that will appeal to children and adults. The sidekicks are cute but not too cute. And the romance is of the sort that humanizes the characters. The best animated Disney films have often been romantic comedies, and this is no exception.

For the most part, the characters are voiced by low-profile actors, all of whom are well-chosen. There are some big names in the cast - Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Goodman - but all have supporting parts. If one elects to trace the beginning of the decline of '90s animated films to Pocahontas , it's worth noting that this was the first time (but not the last) that Disney employed an A-list actor (Mel Gibson) for voice work. If there's something to be said for relative anonymity, the statement was made by The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin , and The Lion King .

Randy Newman's songs are catchy and are effective within the movie's context, but I can't see any of them having "legs" beyond the screen the way tunes from the earlier animated musicals did. Newman, who has frequently worked with Pixar on computer animated films, was a safe choice as the composer and his score combines elements of jazz and gospel that amplify the locale and themes. One could liken Newman's work on The Princess and the Frog with that of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens on Anastasia : songs that are enjoyable and advance the story but are generally not remembered afterward (at least until the fourth or fifth viewing).

If there's little that's new or challenging in The Princess and the Frog , therein lies the core of its charm. The movie is delightfully "old school," if that term can be applied to how the genre looked a mere 20 years ago when The Little Mermaid reinvigorated it. The structure and composition is the result of careful planning, but it comes across as inspired. Tiana is the next great Disney princess and The Princess and the Frog is a worthy entry into a genre whose resurrection is welcome.

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Movie Review | ‘Princess and the Frog’ is a hearty hop

The last time we heard from the hand-drawn animators at Disney, they offered up the barnyard tale “Home on the Range.” The 2004 ’toon was so forgettable it seemed as though it really might be the last time we ever heard from the hand-drawn animators at the studio where the art form was pioneered.

Thankfully, the spirit of animation maestro Walt Disney lives on. The studio has gone back to its roots with a fresh, funny retelling of a classic fairy tale in “The Princess and the Frog,” Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation after a five-year hiatus.

Like everyone else, Disney and subsidiary Pixar Animation mostly are fixated on computer animation. But Pixar masterminds John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, who now supervise all Disney animation, love cartoons of every kind and have renewed the studio’s commitment to the pen-and-ink variety along with the pixelated.

“Princess and the Frog” isn’t the second coming of “Beauty and the Beast” or “The Lion King.” It’s just plain pleasant, an old-fashioned little charmer that’s not straining to be the next glib animated compendium of pop-culture flotsam.

Updating the Brothers Grimm tale “The Frog Prince” into a toe-tapping musical set on the Louisiana bayou in the 1920s, directors Ron Clements and John Musker deliver a satisfying gumbo of snappy dialogue, lovable characters and bright-hued images, spiced up with just the right touch of voodoo peril.

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Starting off in New Orleans, the film centers on hardworking waitress Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), who saves every dime in hopes of opening the restaurant that was the dream of her late father (Terrence Howard). In a small role, Oprah Winfrey provides the voice of Tiana’s mom.

Tiana is sidetracked by some dark magic after Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), a jazz-loving dreamboat from a land far, far away, comes to sample the vibrant New Orleans music.

Naveen falls under the spell of voodoo practitioner Dr. Facilier (voiced with oozing menace by Keith David), who turns the prince into a talking frog as part of a plan to unleash his evil “friends on the other side” in New Orleans.

The frog prince encounters Tiana dressed as royalty at a costume ball in the mansion of her childhood pal Charlotte (Jennifer Cody) and her genteel dad (John Goodman).

The inevitable kiss Naveen talks Tiana into doesn’t restore his human form, though. Rather, Tiana is transformed into a frog herself, and the two wind up pursued by Facilier’s evil allies through swamp country.

In fine Disney inter-species tradition, Tiana and Naveen find comic sidekicks in Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a goofy alligator who dreams of playing trumpet with a jazz band, and Ray (Jim Cummings), a gap-toothed Cajun firefly with a heart as big as the heavens.

The songs and score by Disney stalwart Randy Newman, including a tune sung by Dr. John, are brisk and catchy, while there’s plenty of action and slapstick humor for boys and dads in what is largely a love story for girls and moms.

Sure, the romance is a little sticky and cloying. But even the hardest of hard cases might sniffle a bit over how the unobtainable love of firefly Ray plays out.

Clements and Musker, whose credits include such hits as “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” but also the mega-bomb “Treasure Planet,” present rich worlds both in the city and on the bayou. Some of the animated sequences are downright trippy — Disney influenced by the wild imagination of such masters as Hayao Miyazaki, whose U.S. releases the studio handles.

Like the jerky stop-motion animation of “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” the silky canvas of “Princess and the Frog” stands as a nice counterpoint to the sharp virtual worlds of computer imagery that dominate today’s cartoons. The hand-drawn style is where Disney feature animation started seven decades ago with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” but eventually, in Hollywood at least, everything old is new again.

“Princess and the Frog” mostly ignores the racial divides of the times. Tiana’s a poor black girl, her best friend’s a rich, spoiled white girl. How often did that happen in 1920s New Orleans?

But this isn’t “Roots,” it’s a Disney family affair. In her favor, Tiana joins a list of ethnically diverse Disney heroines — Pocahantas, Mulan, Lilo — that show how far things have come from the days when a pasty-faced princess hung out with seven little white dudes.

“The Princess and the Frog,” a Walt Disney Pictures release, is rated G. Running time: 95 minutes. Three stars out of four.

California Literary Review

Movie review: the princess and the frog.

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Directed by John Musker, Ron Clements Screenplay by Ron Clements, John Musker, Rob Edwards

Tiana – Anika Noni Rose Prince Naveen – Bruno Campos Dr. Facilier – Keith David Louis – Michael-Leon Wooley Charlotte – Jennifer Cody Ray – Jim Cummings Lawrence – Peter Bartlett Mama Odie – Jenifer Lewis Eudora – Oprah Winfrey James – Terrence Howard “Big Daddy” La Bouff – John Goodman

Disney Brings New Orleans to Vibrant Life With a New Princess Fable

No one knows better than Disney that, come time to adorn the Christmas tree, light the Menorah, or decorate for whatever holiday you may celebrate, audiences pine for light-hearted entertainment. This year’s The Princess and the Frog has already earned a lot of press due to its protagonist, Tiana, the very first African American Disney princess in the history of the company—which was founded over 85 years ago. The movie is also the first hand-drawn Disney film since the 2004 flop Home on the Range . Those of us who grew up on Sleeping Beauty, The Rescuers, The Lion King , and Snow White appreciate CGI’s perfection, but have also been longing for a return to the classic style. The Princess and the Frog is a gracious reward for the wait.

The movie opens on a beautifully rendered mansion. Two little girls, Tiana, with gorgeous cocoa-hued skin and plain clothes, and Charlotte, a vivacious little white girl in princess pink and ruffles, listen intently as Tiana’s mother Eudora recounts the fairy tale The Princess and the Frog. All three have lovely, soft Southern accents: instead of being played for laughs, their speech patterns are genuinely pretty. Charlotte swoons over the idea of marrying a prince while the independent Tiana remains skeptical. After all, who needs a man? Tiana and Eudora board a trolley home to the row of shacks where they live: this is a more realistic portrayal of race relations in the Southern U.S. than Disney has ever done before.

Cut to years later: an older Tiana is working herself to the bone as a waitress to buy an old sugar mill so she can open a restaurant. She drops a few coins into one of many coffee tins labeled RESTAURANT before she plops, exhausted, onto her bed. As she rushes back to work, a brass band dances down the street as Randy Newman croons, “Dreams do come true in New Orleans!” The city, which since Katrina has been imbued with a sense of tragedy, comes alive in Disney’s hands. The animation is strikingly beautiful—colors pop, architecture sings, and the music pays loving tribute to the original home of jazz. In Tiana’s vivid imaginings, Art Deco lives and breathes as flappers dance the Charleston and sip champagne in a decadent restaurant in the heart of the south.

On a visit to the city, Prince Naveen of Maldonia, over whom Charlotte swoons—she’s finally going to snag herself a prince!—proves to be a smarmy, self-centered joke (with a heart of gold). When a greedy voodoo shadow man, Facilier, turns him into a frog, Naveen appears to Tiana, begging for a kiss. When he offers her money for the restaurant, she can’t help obliging, and as a result she transforms into a slimy (mucus-secreting, actually) green amphibian herself. The two frogs head into the swamps, meeting a gator who longs to play jazz with the humans, a Cajun firefly in love with the Evening Star, and Mama Odie, a nutty voodoo priestess who lives in a wrecked ship in the bayou. Naveen falls in love with Tiana, and she realizes that her restaurant dream means nothing if she has no love in her life. The plot is fluffy Disney at its best—but the execution makes it a worthwhile watch.

Tiana is a major (and welcome) departure from most Disney princesses, the majority of whom are lily-white and have straight, shiny locks. Her dark skin and curly hair make her an ideal role model for the girls who have long yearned for an idol who looked the least bit like them. Cinderella and Snow White are famously hardworking Disney princesses, but they were enslaved as a punishment for their beauty (notably by jealous older women), and their stories culminate in finding Prince Charming. Tiana’s work ethic comes from her desire to be independent and build her own destiny—wonderful traits to offer today’s little girls. At one point her landlord chastises her, “A little woman of your…background…would have her hands full trying to run a business like that.” Well, she shows him. She’s a fantastically feminist character who, through her integrity and hard work, achieves her dreams. No silver spoons, angsty machinations, or evil stepmothers for this princess. Her motto is “watch out boys, I’m coming through!” Though her story includes a few tiaras, a flawed Prince Charming, and a number of hurdles, she’s not your everyday Disney muse—and that’s the best thing about the movie.

Adults and children alike will find themselves enchanted with Disney’s original retelling of a very American story, and with the animation that renews the vibrancy and brilliancy of a singular American city. Disney fans and those looking for a fun movie on a winter’s eve will not be disappointed. Parts of the movie draw on other Disney films: there are hints of The Rescuers ’ fat, lively alligators, the spooky shadow spirits of Fantasia ’s Night on Bald Mountain, and Cinderella ’s beautiful ball gown, but these are comforting touches for those who grew up on classic Disney. The Princess and the Frog isn’t a really standout addition to the Disney stable, but it’s certainly worth watching—especially if you have a little girl who longs to be a princess, or if somewhere in your heart of hearts, a part of you longs for the fairy tale to come to life.

The Princess and the Frog Trailer

Julia Rhodes graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Communication and Culture. She’s always been passionate about movies and media, and is particularly fond of horror and feminist film theory, but has a soft spot for teen romances and black comedies. She also loves animals and vegetarian cooking; who says horror geeks aren’t compassionate and gentle? Bank Routing Numbers

Julia Rhodes graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Communication and Culture. She's always been passionate about movies and media, and is particularly fond of horror and feminist film theory, but has a soft spot for teen romances and black comedies. She also loves animals and vegetarian cooking; who says horror geeks aren't compassionate and gentle? Bank Routing Numbers

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The Princess and the Frog

December 11, 2009

Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Musical

With a modern twist on a classic tale, this animated comedy is set in the great city of New Orleans. Featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana, a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana.

Rated: G Runtime: 1h 35min Release Date: December 11, 2009

Directed By

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Princess and the Frog

Wishing on the Evening Star

Tiana Becomes a Frog

The Princess and the Frog: One of the Inspirations Behind the Film | Untold by Disney

Princess Tips

Princely Advice

Ne-Yo - Never Knew I Needed

Music of New Orleans

Movie Surfers: Princess and the Frog Soundtrack

Froggy Kiss

Dr. Facilier Sings!

The characters.

Tiana is a bright and resourceful nineteen-year-old who dreams of opening her own New Orleans restaurant. Inspired by her father, she knows everything about cooking and running a business. She has taken his advice by dreaming big and working incredibly hard to achieve her goal even in the face of sizable obstacles. Along the way, she loses sight of what was really important. As fate should have it, and adventure involving a frog, a firefly and an alligator reveal to her that what she wants isn't necessarily what she needs.

Prince Naveen is a handsome, exotic prince from the far-off country of Maldonia. A Jazz fanatic, Naveen is visiting New Orleans to experience first hand the birthplace of this musical phenomenon. Naveen is a charming, gregarious man who has a problem with responsibility. Recently cut off by his parents because of his gallivanting ways, he is looking to somehow maintain his lavish lifestyle while avoiding having to actually work for a living. Through his relationship with Tiana, Naveen discovers inner nobility he never knew he had.

Doctor Facilier is a sinister, charismatic practitioner who works the French Quarter luring unsuspecting "marks" into deals where he technically gives them whatever they want but always leaves them much worse off than they were before. Facilier is accompanied by his sidekick shadow that actually has a life and personality of its own. Facilier and the shadow yearn to expand their small time operation, spread darkness and corruption, and become fantastically wealthy in the process.

Louis is a huge, fun-loving alligator with a heart of gold and love for Jazz. After a lifetime of listening to great Jazz musicians performing on the riverboats, Louis taught himself to play the trumpet and has become a Jazz virtuoso. He desparately yearns to play for an audience of appreciative humans while trying not scaring them half to death.

Ray is a lovesick Cajun firefly who's constantly pining for his beloved paramour, Evangeline. Amusingly obtuse, warm and easy-going, Ray beams positive energy, spreading light and always looking on the bright side of life.

Mama Odie, a two-hundred-year-old blind Bayou Fairy Godmother who lives deep in the Louisiana bayou with her "seeing-eye snake" Juju. She's comically eccentric, yet wise and all knowing, and loves making big batches of her magical gumbo that she concocts in an old bathtub.

Tiana's nurturing mother, who worries that her only daughter is working so hard to realize her dream, she is missing out on some of the most important things life has to offer. She is the best seamstress in all of New Orleans whose top client happens to be "Big Daddy" La Bouff. Eudora has created a wardrobe of Princess dresses for his beloved daughter, Charlotte.

Tiana's father, an upstanding, exemplar father who hoped to open his own restaurant one day. James instilled in his daughter his beliefs that good food brings people together and that if you work hard enough, anything is possible.

Charlotte's father and wealthy sugar baron. He's affable, imposing and powerful, but melts to the whims of his head-strong daughter.

Tiana's childhood friend and debutante daughter of "Big Daddy" La Bouff, Charlotte dreams of one day marrying a real life prince.

"When you find out who you are, you'll find out what you need. Blue skies and sunchine guaranteed!"

Tiana gets stuck in a bad situation.

Ray and his family are the bright spots in the night sky.

With a personality much bigger than his body, Ray lights up the sky.

Tiana discovers she's just become a frog.

Tiana wished upon a star, and it had an unexpected result.

Tiana isn't sure about Naveen's kiss idea.

Charlotte dreams of a prince to whisk her off her feet.

Dr. Facilier entices Naveen and Lawrence with his voodoo magic.

"I've got friends on the other side!"

A tale of happily ever after.

Prince Naveen and Lawrence dance up a storm.

With a song a ukulele, this prince knows how to charm the locals.

Tiana's mother Eudora is her biggest supporter

Tiana is ready to buy her restaurant

Louis wants to follow his dream of being a famous trumpet player.

Few things are as pure as childhood wonder

Tiana learns about the value of hard work from her father

Tiana rides the trolley to another day of working hard to achieve her dreams.

While they're out on the river, Naveen prefers seranading to rowing.

Tiana and Naveen dance by the light of the fireflies.

Naveen asks Tiana to kiss him and break the spell.

Tiana dreams of opening her own restaurant.Tiana dreams of opening her own restaurant.

This little princess is well dressed for a dream come true celebration.

Knowing that someone believes in you can be just what you need to believe in yourself.

Tiana believes in hard work, but wishing upon a star can only help.

Tiana’s father believed in his dreams, and Tiana wants to see them through.

Falling in love ended up being exactly what Tiana and Naveen needed most.

When she starts to doubt, Tiana remembers that sometimes it takes a little extra believing for a dream to come true.

Naveen shows Tiana that perhaps their love is actually written in a storybook.

Sometimes the unlikely is what’s meant to be.

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Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World

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The Princess and the Frog Reviews

No All Critics reviews for The Princess and the Frog.

10 Movies That Prove 2009 Was the Best Year for Animation, Ranked

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Animation has been one of the most widely celebrated and beloved mediums when it comes to feature filmmaking, with many different eras and styles coming to mind. While the majority of the highest quality titles find themselves spread apart from one another due to their time-consuming creation process, on rare occasions, many exceptional titles are released around the same time. In terms of individual years for the quality and history of animated films, no singular year comes close to the quality and variety of 2009 .

From big-budget films from the largest animation studios to smaller indie projects that made massive waves across the world, 2009 had just about everything an animation fan would want . The medium was showing off the best of the best in nearly every style and type of film, from the now commonplace computer 3D to the last hurrah of 2D animation to even beautiful stop-motion films and animated films from other countries. It's unlikely that there will ever be another year that has had as much of a lasting impact on animation as 2009, and these movies prove it.

10 'Summer Wars' (2009)

Directed by mamoru hosoda.

From Mamoru Hosoda , the legendary anime director of Wolf Children and Digimon: The Movie , Summer Wars follows teenage misfit Kenji, who spends most of his time on the massively popular online hub known as OZ. However, Kenji is suddenly taken away from the game when the girl of his dreams gets him wrapped up in a strange plot where he must pretend to be her fiancé at a family reunion. Simultaneously, a dangerous rogue AI is enacting its plan of using the virtual world of OZ as a catalyst for an apocalyptic armageddon in the real world.

While its two different plots and worlds feel like they would detract from one another, Summer Wars does an exceptional job of blending high-octane virtual action with soap opera-style family drama for magnificent results. Hosoda also excels at what he's best at, with a variety of creative and unique virtual avatar designs in the world of OZ and some top-notch action sequences that make the most of the possibilities of animation.

Buy on Amazon

9 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' (2009)

Directed by phil lord and christopher miller.

The first feature film by popular duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller , Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs follows amateur inventor Flint Lockwood as he attempts to make life better for his small island town of Swallow Falls. He finally gets his big break with the success of an invention that makes it rain different food items, slowly but surely transforming the island into the perfect tourist attraction. However, as Flint pushes the machine's limits, he slowly begins to lose control, resulting in dangerous consequences.

Even in one of their earliest projects, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is still filled with the same charm and wit present in most of Lord and Miller's other ventures. Especially for 2009, the film has a highly creative and unique take on 3D animation , making it feel at times like a 2D-animated film with its exaggerated character movement and facial expressions. In fact, Cloudy can easily be seen as a precursor to the eventual wave of stylized animated films that would dominate animation in recent years.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

*Availability in US

Not available

8 'Redline' (2009)

Directed by takeshi koike.

An over-the-top and in-your-face-action anime rollercoaster that never lets up from the gas pedal, Redline follows daredevil driver JP as he competes in Redline, the most dangerous and exciting car race in the universe. Each competitor has decked-out vehicles that are as fast as they are dangerous, with Redline's illegal status forcing them to speed past authorities and each other in a mad dash for the finish line.

Redline is the perfect example of the endless possibilities and flashiness that animation provides for action films , featuring numerous striking setpieces and beautiful action moments. Especially in an era that was slowly but assuredly moving further and further away from 2D animation, Redline is a striking and dominating argument for its continued support. It's a cinematic shot of adrenaline that is largely overlooked compared to other anime films and deserves its time in the spotlight as the action masterpiece that it is.

Rent on Vudu

7 'A Town Called Panic' (2009)

Directed by stéphane aubier and vincent patar.

A delightfully absurd stop-motion animated film from France and Belgium, A Town Called Panic celebrates its chaotic world and characters to create a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience. The film follows the friendly duo Cowboy and Indian as they attempt to get a last-minute birthday gift for their friend, Mr. Horse, unintentionally putting into motion a series of events that sends the trio across the world. Soon, the entire town gets involved as the trio faces dangerous scientists, mysterious underwater creatures, and their hubris.

Animation invites chaos and unpredictability, and A Town Called Panic makes perfect use of the medium to tell its wild and nonsensical story . From talking animals doing human activities to ordering millions of bricks online, the film's stop-motion animation style only further amplifies and compounds its tone. Wildly imaginative and unbelievably rewarding, A Town Called Panis is an effective and hilarious experience.

Watch on Kanopy

6 'The Secret of Kells' (2009)

Directed by tomm moore and nora twomey.

The first feature film by legendary Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, The Secret of Kells takes after Keltic folklore and follows young Brendan on his quest of fighting Vikings and gods to complete the legendary Book of Kells. While on his journey, Brendan makes numerous discoveries about himself as he overcomes his greatest fears and travels across the world and through numerous mysterious and magical locations, encountering countless mythical creatures.

Much like Cartoon Saloon's other works, The Secret of Kells features a beautifully stylistic 2D animation style that finds deep inspiration and legacy from the deep mythos and culture of Ireland. The studio would continue to expand and improve its capabilities in films like The Breadwinner and Wolfwalkers , with The Secret of Kells acting as the first installment in its acclaimed filmography. The signature style and DNA of its later films are a core aspect of what made The Secret of Kells such an emphatic and memorable film during its release.

The Secret of Kells

5 'mary and max' (2009), directed by adam elliot.

A beautiful and heartwrenching story of an unlikely bond, Mary and Max follows the friendship of pen pals Mary, a lonely eight-year-old living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a severely obese forty-year-old living in New York. As the duo miraculously make contact when Mary scours the Manhattan phone book in search of friends, she unintentionally starts a 20-year friendship between the two, as they continue to write and speak.

Mary and Max weaves an emotionally gripping tearjerker of a story through its poignant, deeply relatable, and likable characters . It's a story that one wouldn't expect to be as emotionally moving as it is, yet the quaint stop-motion animation style further hammers down its story and undeniable impact on the audience. Despite its status as an animated film, Mary and Max is still widely regarded as one of the best movie tearjerkers of all time .

Mary and Max

4 'the princess and the frog' (2009), directed by ron clements and john musker.

Walt Disney Animation Studio's glorious return to 2D animation and princess stories, The Princess and the Frog enchanted and delighted audiences worldwide. The film follows hard-working waitress Tiana as she dreams of having a restaurant of her own. Her plans suddenly come to a halt due to financial hardship before meeting a prince who has been transformed into a frog. Attempting to transform him back into a human by kissing him, Tiana instead accidentally turns into a frog herself, forcing the duo to travel searching for a way to restore their bodies.

Disney's princess movies have continuously been some of its most iconic and beloved outings across the studio's 100-year history. The Princess and the Frog feels like a brilliant culmination of all the princess films before it. Especially after nearly a decade of following the trend and releasing 3D animated films, The Princess and the Frog showed that Disney could still create masterfully crafted 2D works of art in the modern era of filmmaking.

The Princess and the Frog

3 'coraline' (2009), directed by henry selick.

An instantly iconic tale of gothic proportions and dark underlying themes, Coraline is a beautifully crafted stop-motion work of art from a master of the medium, Henry Selick . The film follows a rebellious and neglected young girl, Coraline, who, after moving into a new house with her family, discovers a strange hidden door that leads to a parallel world where everything is seemingly perfect. However, as she spends more time in this vibrant world, its more sinister side shows itself, and Coraline realizes the truth of this dangerous realm.

Coraline left behind a massive impact and legacy well after its release , still widely being praised as one of the greatest examples of a children's animated film with a darker side . Its gothic aesthetic and colorful stop-motion animation were widely beloved by critics and audiences alike, who fell in love with not just the mesmerizing stop-motion animation but the film's deeply impacting characters and story.

2 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (2009)

Directed by wes anderson.

The first animated film from quirky director Wes Anderson , Fantastic Mr. Fox follows the titular Mr. Fox as he deals with a mid-life crisis and reminiscing on his glory days of stealing and thievery. Mr. Fox puts his simple family life at risk when he plans a heist against a trio of local farmers who have attained infamous reputations for their ruthlessness. While the heists are successful at first, it doesn't take long before the trio of farmers come looking for revenge against Mr. Fox.

Anderson's quaint and diorama-esque style of filmmaking is well known, and the world of stop-motion animation allows him to adapt this Roald Dahl classic in his signature style. Even aside from its beautiful and distinct visual style, nearly every aspect of filmmaking, from the performances and music to the story and themes, come together to create a wholly distinct and heartwarming animated experience. Fantastic Mr. Fox is still largely lauded and considered a fan favorite among animation fans , not to mention one of the all-time greatest animated films.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

1 'up' (2009), directed by pete docter.

While nearly all of Pixar's movies were critical and commercial success stories throughout the 2000s and beyond, Up stands out as arguably their greatest achievement. The film follows elderly Carl Fredricksen, who has given up on life following his beloved wife's passing. With not much time left, he decides to put a plan into action to reach Paradise Falls, a place his wife dreamt of visiting, using a large collection of balloons to transport his home.

Up is still one of the most widely beloved and critically successful Pixar efforts and one of the few animated movies to earn a nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The way the film tackles themes of age and living life to the fullest easily struck a chord with audiences around the world, further compounded by its masterful opening sequence, widely considered by many to be the greatest opening minutes in film history, animation or otherwise. Heartbreaking but simultaneously life-affirming, Up is one of animation's greatest triumphs .

NEXT: The 10 Best Animated Movies of the 2000s, According to Letterboxd

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Disney spoils its own ride and pays the price.

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Splash Mountain was a fan favorite but has now been rethemed to 'The Princess and the Frog' (Joe ... [+] Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Disney's theme park design division is famous for its secrecy. So when it recently posted a full video of its newest attraction on YouTube a month before it launched it seemed to be the dawn of a whole new world. It may not last for long.

Called Imagineers for their imaginative use of engineering, the wizards who design Disney's theme parks are fiercely protective of their creations and there is good reason for this. Disney's Imagineering division spends tens of millions of Dollars developing new attractions which are often packed with pioneering technology so it doesn't want its competitors to get wind of them before they debut.

Likewise, Disney doesn't usually want to spoil the surprise for guests because if they know what a new attraction is like before it opens they might not need to ride it. Given how much money the Mouse has got on the line with each attraction it explains why secrecy has become a watchword for Imagineering.

No sooner has ground been cleared for a new attraction than tall construction walls go up to prevent pesky prying eyes. Meanwhile, the real magic happens inside Imagineering's headquarters at 1401 Flower Street in Glendale, California. On stepping through its doors it soon becomes clear how prized its privacy is there.

As you enter Imagineering's Blaine Gibson Sculpting Studio there's a sign saying “This is a closed set” accompanied by a drawing of Mickey in a police uniform holding up his hand in a stop position. Close by, another sign shows the scowling face of Pete, Mickey’s arch-rival, alongside the words, “Absolutely No Photography!”

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New technology for Disney's rides is patented in Imagineering's hallowed halls and the first the public usually finds out about it is when they have handed over their hard-earned cash in return for an entrance ticket to the parks. However, at the start of this month Disney's public relations team tore up that script when it released a full point of view ride-through of one of its most eagerly-awaited attractions, Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

A preview video of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has not been warmly received by Walt Disney World fans ... [+] (Bennett Stoops, Photographer)

Due to debut later this month at the Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom park in Orlando, the ride isn't a showcase of new technology and is instead a re-themed version of classic Disney log flume Splash Mountain. This is why it has been the subject of so much feverish attention from fans and it has also made it highly controversial.

Splash Mountain debuted at Disneyland in California in 1989 and set a new record for having the park's highest and steepest drop. This isn't the only reason why it broke new ground. Up to then, log flumes typically looked like scaffolding as they were formed from a weaving water channel which climbed to a height on bare steel supports before plummeting down at a steep angle.

Splash Mountain changed the game as it water channel was set inside a soaring cartoony tree stump. The logs climbed up inside an old barn and then passed through indoor segments set in a faux forest. Based on the story of Br'er Rabbit, Splash Mountain immersed riders in vibrant scenes giving them the impression that they were traveling through a cartoon world. It was one of Disney's first rides to combine this kind of immersion with high thrills which came at the crescendo when two vultures wearing top hats ominously overlook a 52.5 feet fall into a cartoony version of a briar patch.

The ride became a fan-favorite thanks to its iconic shape, catchy tunes, panoramic view of the Magic Kingdom before the final drop and its cast of colorful animatronic animals which also included Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear.

The ride was inspired by Disney's 1946 movie Song of the South and this ultimately led to its downfall. Song Of The South tells the story of a young boy visiting his grandmother’s plantation after the Civil War and has been criticized for its racist depictions of Black people and for romanticizing the era. In 2020 Disney's chief executive Bob Iger said that the film would not be available to purchase or stream on the Disney+ platform and added that " Song of the South – even with a disclaimer – was just not appropriate in today’s world." Removing the ride based on it was not so easy but push came to shove in 2020 at the peak of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

After weeks of civil rights protests and petitions calling on Disney to change the ride it announced the end of Splash Mountain and claimed it had actually been planning this since 2019. To make it clear that a line had been drawn under the original ethos of the ride, Disney revealed that the new version would be based on 2009 animated hit The Princess and the Frog , which featured its first Black princess.

Set in New Orleans during the 1920s, The Princess and the Frog tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing prince Naveen, who has been turned into a frog by the evil voodoo witch Doctor Facilier, Tiana becomes a frog as well and must find a way to turn them both back into humans.

The announcement was accompanied by lush concept art showing that the old tree stump atop the attraction would be replaced with a huge weeping willow sitting on a mossy outcrop. Cracks soon started to appear.

The concept art looked very different to the finished ride (Disney)

Ironically, although Disney announced that Splash Mountain would be rethemed in Orlando and California, it soon came to light that the ride would remain the same at Tokyo Disneyland.

The logic behind this is that the offensive origin of the underlying story has less relevance to the local audience in Japan. However, Tokyo Disney also happens to be the only Disney-branded resort which isn't owned or operated by the media giant. Instead, Disney simply provides the license to specialist leisure operator Oriental Land Co. (OLC) which runs the resort. Presumably, if OLC believed that the retheme of Splash Mountain would bring a significant benefit it would have given it the green light regardless of whether or not the subject matter was offensive to the local audience.

After the construction walls went up around Splash Mountain in Orlando and California it became clear that the spectacular centerpiece tree on top of the attraction had been scrapped. This left it without a landmark, or 'weenie' as they are known in the trade, which could be seen from afar. Instead, the attraction looks like a mound of moss and stands in stark contrast to the initial concept art. The content of the ride is even more confusing.

So the story goes, Tiana has transformed a local salt mine into a garden growing vegetables for her kitchen. To thank her friends and family for their support Tiana throws a party during Mardi Gras season but finds that she is missing the ingredient of music. Riders step into the logs on a journey through the bayou to find it. Even by theme park ride standards, its premise is unclear and this hasn't been lost on the audience.

Theme park fans were confused by the story and theming of the revamped ride (Olga Thompson, ... [+] Photographer)

At the time of writing, the ride-through video has has 336,000 views but has only been liked 7,600 times. Worse still, it has been deluged with negative feedback.

"This video is so boring, I can't even imagine why they thought it would be a good idea. And the animatronics with the awkward arm motions...This retheme is going to go down as one of the greatest theme park blunders," wrote one viewer. Another said that "Disney once made a Haunted Mansion with 999 souls. They've now created an entire mountain without one."

Not only did one viewer say "I'm so glad I'm not alone in thinking how utterly boring and visually uninteresting this is" but the comment yielded five replies from others who all agreed with it.

Indeed, there has been so much negative feedback about Disney's video that WDWMagic, one of the leading authorities on Disney World developments, has produced a summary showing how the criticism picks each aspect of the attraction apart.

The new version remains colorful and adds expressive animatronics as well as video screens which are set into the scenery. This has gone down well with some fans but as WDWMagic points out, "the overall sentiment has skewed negatively, with many YouTube viewers expressing disappointment in the new attraction's storytelling and overall experience.

One of the most frequent criticisms centers around the ride's storyline. Viewers find the plot – centering on Tiana searching for party musicians – lacking depth and coherence. Many feel the story does not capture the magic of The Princess and the Frog and misses an opportunity to include more iconic elements from the film."

Despite overloading the ride with storylines, WDWMagic points out that many fans have been angered by the absence from the ride of the movie's main antagonist, Doctor Facilier.

One viewer said, "I’m sorry but there is no coherent story, no suspense or sense of danger, no sense of danger or thrill. I wish that they had added Dr Facilier to the ride, especially for the big drop, it would’ve been so much better. Tiana deserves so much better than this snooze fest!" Others agree with one even saying that it warrants a trip to Tokyo Disneyland to revisit the original version of the attraction. "Splash Mountain had a story with an ANTAGONIST. This one… did not, instead you are looking for some kind of spice… Off to Japan I go."

WDWMagic adds that fans have criticized the new ride for having too much empty space making parts of it feel dull and lifeless. "Some portions are awkwardly quiet…" concludes one viewer whilst another says that "except for the finale it just seems so empty. There seems to just be a lot of dead space that they really had no idea what to do with." Worryingly, these don't appear to be mindless comments driven by bots as the comments show thoughtful analysis of the video.

Even some fans who had been looking forward to the ride after the initial concept art were ... [+] disappointed (Artist Concept)

WDWMagic concludes that the overall reaction is one of disappointment, with many expressing that the ride does not meet their expectations. Despite some praise for the animatronics and visual effects, the lack of a compelling story and the numerous missed opportunities seem to have left many fans yearning for Splash Mountain. Many of the positive comments even have a negative tone, especially when comparing the attraction to its predecessor.

It was the same on X with one account saying that "if you're going to replace an attraction, you should make it better. While still good #TianasBayouAdventure is not as great as splash mountain was." Others were harsher with one describing it as "a wasted 4 years of effort".

The hashtag #BringBackSplash has even begun to get traction and although it is common for there to be backlash when beloved attractions are changed, the difference this time is that it could put people off before any positive word of mouth can spread as the ride isn't officially open yet. Reflecting this, one user even said that they were previously optimistic about the ride "from the little bits they would show us, until they gave us the full POV this morning."

Splash Mountain's grand finale was a favourite with theme park fans (Photo by Jeff ... [+] Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Presumably the Disney parks publicity team had authority from the highest level to release the video so it remains to be seen who actually came up with this idea. The publicity team are professionals so it is hard to imagine them dropping the ball like this.

It has enabled Disney to be the first to market with the video but it also has eerie similarities with Disney's promotional strategy for last year's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny movie which premiered at Cannes nearly two weeks before its general release.

The feedback to the film was largely negative and this dominated the news agenda until it was released because fans had no way of making up their own minds. So even though audiences ended up awarding it a respectable 88% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, by the time the movie was released a lot of viewers had been put off by the negative publicity. As a result, it only ended up grossing $384 million leaving it with a $146 million loss as we revealed .

Tiana's Bayou Adventure is the latest in a string of Disney attractions to be on the receiving end of stinging criticism. In April last year scathing reviews led to the Magic Kingdom's Disney Enchantment fireworks display being replaced with its popular predecessor Happily Ever After just 18 months after it was introduced. Likewise, in the same year, Disney's neighboring Epcot park dropped its new son et lumière show Harmonious after excoriating feedback from fans.

Then, just last month, Disneyland was beset by criticism when it resumed its flagship nighttime show Fantasmic after a one-year hiatus. Fantasmic was put on hold following a fire inside the 45-feet animatronic dragon at the heart of the show but instead of repairing it, Disney has replaced it with an actor who stands atop a tall pillar.

The unveiling of Tiana's Bayou Adventure casts a dark spell on the resumé of Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Famous for his sparkling toothy grin, D’Amaro is a regular visitor to the parks and often stops for selfies with guests and staff, who are known as Cast Members due to the role they play in a themed environment. D’Amaro himself has 151,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts pictures of himself inside the parks riding roller coasters, brandishing lightsabers and eating soft-serve. Time will tell whether he will still be smiling when Tiana's Bayou Adventure has been open for a few months.

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Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Canceled: Disney Releases Urgent Notice

in Disney Parks , Walt Disney World

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is officially done running for the day, and all previews for the attraction have been canceled.

This summer, on June 28, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is set to debut at Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom. Currently, the ride is undergoing cast member previews, with Annual Passholder previews beginning June 13.

When fans of Splash Mountain first learned that Br’er Rabbit would no longer be part of the attraction, many were heartbroken due to the ride’s nostalgic value since its inception in 1989. However, with Princess and the Frog replacing the racially insensitive Song of the South I P, fans eagerly anticipate significant upgrades, including advanced animatronics, new music, and an enhanced experience.

In the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, guests will explore the next chapter of Tiana’s story, which follows her success with Tiana’s Palace restaurant. Walt Disney Imagineering presents a captivating narrative of Tiana’s continued entrepreneurial journey, highlighting her latest venture, Tiana’s Foods.

This employee-owned cooperative combines Tiana’s culinary skills with the talents of her community, set within an old salt mine. With assistance from her mother, Eudora, along with Naveen, Louis, and other cooperative members, the previously dormant mine now flourishes as a garden providing fresh ingredients for Tiana’s recipes.

The site also features a working kitchen where Tiana and her team develop new products, including a variety of original hot sauces (hopefully leading to new food options in the area!).

During the Mardi Gras season, guests are invited to join the festive preparations. However, a mishap during the party setup leads to an interactive adventure as guests help Tiana find the missing ingredient for her celebration.

The ride will introduce new music and characters, continuing the story beyond the original Princess and the Frog movie.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is the first major addition to Magic Kingdom, preceding the Beyond Big Thunder plans and the $60 billion expansion announced by Bob Iger. At the 2022 D23 event, during the Parks and Experiences panel, it was mentioned that Disney World would see new additions, including a “Blue Sky” concept for a “Dark Kingdom” at Magic Kingdom, dedicated to Disney villains.

Following the Country Bear Jamboree press release and hints from Disney Imagineering about a life Beyond Big Thunder, fans are speculating that significant changes are on the horizon. Iger aims to increase park capacity, and a Magic Kingdom expansion would greatly help alleviate crowding in the park.

Disney has already unleashed a full POV video of the attraction , showcasing Tiana, Naveen, Louis the alligator, Mama Odie, Charlotte, Prince Ralphie, Big Daddy, The King and Queen of Maldonia and while it does have some positive reviews, as I nside the Magic has shared, there are a lot more negative reviews as well.

For example, reviews we shared include , “This ride showcases all the issues of modern Imagineering. Expensive animatronics take the place of well populated scenes, lots of dead space with nothing to look at. Overly sanitized story with no conflict drama or tension,” and “This is the best way to describe it, I couldn’t figure out what it was bothering me but it’s that there’s a lot of dead space where as Splash felt rich throughout the whole thing. There’s this whole build-up of looking out for Brer Fox, there’s songs throughout it saying beware, and then at the end you realize you guys got away. Idk I feel underwhelmed with this ride.”

Sharp-eyed fans of The Princess and the Frog have also noticed one key character absent from Tiana’s Bayou Adventure: Dr. Facilier, the film’s villainous Shadowman. While nearly all the other main characters make an appearance in some form, Dr. Facilier seems to be conspicuously missing from the final ride experience, which does make sense due to the fact that the storyline takes place after his death.

However, with voodoo and magic, bringing back Facilier would always be a possibility, he does own the Marvel Cinematic Universe and has proven that coming back from the dead is always on the table.

Fan account Splash Mountain Archives shared a video that showed there are currently fire alarms going off on the attraction. It is not clear as to what went wrong and if there is a real fire on the attraction at this time, however, the ride has shut down and was evacuated. The ride has been evacuated quite a bit during previews, according to posts online.

“Fire alarm currently going off at Bayou Adventure. Previews halted”

Fire alarm currently going off at Bayou Adventure. Previews halted. #TianasBayouAdventure pic.twitter.com/Lyo8xK2mjy — Splash Mountain Archives (@splasharchive) June 2, 2024

Splash Mountain Archives then stated that the previews had been officially canceled for the night.

“Bayou Adventure is now down for the rest of night. All previews have been cancelled.”

Bayou Adventure is now down for the rest of night. All previews have been cancelled. #TianasBayouAdventure pic.twitter.com/Tz4xmIsktD — Splash Mountain Archives (@splasharchive) June 2, 2024

It has not been stated if the rides shut down will carry through to tomorrow’s previews.

Below, Jonas J. Campbell, shared an example of one of many “in-show exits” from today: “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has done several “in show exits” today. The ride keeps breaking down and guests must be escorted off by cast members (with work lights on). Credit to a channel called Farmeritaville for this footage that confirms what I was hearing”.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has done several “in show exits” today. The ride keeps breaking down and guests must be escorted off by cast members (with worklights on). Credit to a channel called Farmeritaville for this footage that confirms what I was hearing. pic.twitter.com/8MSC8JWw4r — Jonas J. Campbell (@JonasJCampbell) June 2, 2024

While these issues may seem alarming, the ride is not officially opened yet, so kinks are surely expected. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is scheduled to open in Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World Resort on June 28, 2024.

If you want to watch the full POV from Disney Parks, you can below!

Are you excited to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? 

Disney Needs ‘Course Correction’ Away From Political Messaging, Says ‘Little Mermaid’ and ‘Aladdin’ Director

By Michaela Zee

Michaela Zee

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Animated filmmaker John Musker — who directed such Disney films as “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin” and “Hercules” — called out the Walt Disney Company for prioritizing political messaging over story in its recent films.

“I think they need to do a course correction a bit in terms of putting the message secondary, behind entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters,” Musker told  Spanish outlet El País at this year’s Animayo International Summit in Gran Canaria, Spain.

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Musker has collaborated with fellow director Ron Clements on several Disney animated features, including “The Great Mouse Detective” (1986), “The Little Mermaid” (1989), “Aladdin” (1992), “Hercules” (1997), “Treasure Planet” (2002) and “Moana” (2016). Musker and Clements also helmed 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog,” which was met with mixed reception over the depiction of Disney’s first Black princess.

“We weren’t trying to be woke, although I understand the criticism,” Musker said of “The Princess and the Frog.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the animated filmmaker shared his thoughts on Disney’s live-action remakes. “Companies are always like, ‘How do we reduce our risk? They like this, right? We’ll just do it again and sell it to them in a different form,'” he said. “Or they think, ‘Well, we could make it better.’”

He specifically criticized the 2023 live-action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid,” saying, “They didn’t play up the father-daughter story, and that was the heart of the movie, in a way. And the crab — you could look at live animals in a zoo and they have more expression, like with ‘The Lion King.'”

“That’s one of the basic things about Disney, is the appeal,” he continued. “That’s what animation does best.”

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