The Princess and The Frog

Rated: PG

Genre: Animation, Family, Musical

Release Date: 11 December 2009

Runtime: 97 min

Director: Ron Clements & John Musker

Cast: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jennifer Cody, Jim Cummings, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Goodman

Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical The Princess and The Frog, as an animated comedy set in the great city of Jazz: New Orleans. From the creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a frog prince (Bruno Campos) 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. (Source: Disney)

The Princess and The Frog brought back classic Disney animation. No modern and crazy techniques used and no 3D special effects. It appears as though the old fashioned static image below with moving characters drawn on a top layer were used. I consider myself a true lover of the animated classics by Disney and a person who appreciates animation as a whole. I can honestly say that I was not at all disappointed by this film, I knew little about what to expect since I had not really seen any trailers, all I knew was there would be Disney’s first black Princess, a frog and a magical kiss. It delivered what one would expect from a Disney cartoon, genuine laughter from the audience and that tingly feeling we all get at the end which makes a guy want to secretly play the role of a romantic hero and a girl or even a grown up woman secretly wish she was a Princess as well as that sudden urge to go out and buy a Tiara.

Last night I went to an early screening of the show and to my surprise the majority of the audience were adults. This goes to show that the magic of Disney manifests itself in those of us considered from Generation X & Y, as I am sure it will in the generations to come. We grew up with Snow White and her Prince, Belle and her Beast, Aurora & Prince Phillip, Cinderella & Prince Charming, Ariel & Prince Eric and Jasmine & Aladdin. The Princess and The Frog, without a doubt, met all the important criteria needed that would allow it to be considered an addition to the Classic Disney Princess collection, it gave us Tiana and Prince Naveen. It had pretty much everything the other films did;  poor girl, Prince, animal friends, catchy songs, magic, evil villains, adventure, an untimely death, new love and above all else when attempting to categorize a Disney Princess movie…she got her Happily Ever After.