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The biggest reason that Frog has drawn attention to itself is because its heroine, Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), is the studio’s first African-American heroine. I would like to think that it’s only coincidence then that Tiana isn’t actually a born-and-bred princess, but rather a down-on-her-luck waitress who dreams of opening her own New Orleans restaurant someday. Worse yet, she’s not even a black heroine for long, as royalty-turned-amphibian Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) mistakes her for a born-and-bred princess and ends up transforming her into a frog as well once their lips lock.

It is the Roaring ‘20s, though, so class conflicts are to be expected, and it is a Disney musical, so lessons are to be learned, and both come as gently as can be. In fact, directors Ron Clements and Jon Musker (The Little Mermaid) slyly subvert expectations a bit by suggesting that any young princess can achieve her dreams with diligence and discipline instead of wishing on a star. Of course there’s still some magic at hand – after all, they’re not about to transform themselves back into humans, but it’s nice to see them changing things up a little bit.

It’s also nice to see certain things kept the same, namely those lavishly animated, rip-roaring musical sequences. Frog’s time period and Big Easy setting make for a welcome blend of jazz and gospel influences from composer Randy Newman, and the numbers themselves take on some era-appropriate flavor as well (an art deco number early on ranks as a personal fave). The sidekicks are charming enough, even if the horn-tooting alligator boasts significantly more charm than the buck-toothed lightning bug, and the voodoo-flaunting villain is voiced to seductive and sinister perfection by Keith David.

In what might be a first, I’d saved the story for last, because that’s primarily what holds The Princess and the Frog from greatness. There’s your typical A-plot, with Tiana and Naveen on a journey home and a quest to discover what they really need in life; a B-plot involving Naveen’s fed-up butler, Tiana’s Southern belle of a pal, and some transformational hoodoo; duel deadlines between the frogs turning human again and Tiana being able to afford the perfect property for her dream restaurant; and a regrettable detour into hillbilly territory, where we meet that Cajun bug and some bumbling hunters more worthy of Looney Tunes. Weren’t the classics simpler than this? Girl, guy, baddie in between – Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, so on and so forth.

Still, I suppose it’s not all that convoluted if it means getting something this lively and inspired out of a recently defunct department of the Mouse House. At a time when animation is resetting standards left and right, 'The Princess and the Frog' may not raise the bar, but it’s a worthy reminder of who put it there first, with a lot of hard work and just a little magic.

link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=19077&reviewer=409
originally posted: 12/12/09 15:07:37
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