A Streetcar Named Disney

The Princess and the Frog

*** out of ****

Directed by: John Musker and Ron Clements

Featuring the voice talents of: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Jennifer Cody, Jim Cummings, Michael-Leon Wooley and Oprah Winfrey

Running Time: 97 minutes

The Princess and the Frog, Disney’s long-awaited return to animating the traditional way (re: drawing by hand), is not only notable for crowning the Mouse House’s first African-American princess, but worthy for its celebration of the vibrant French Quarter of New Orleans during the Jazz Age.

Like that city today, the film is bustling with energy and vibrant in colour and character, but also a reminder of better times past. It is a solid and often spectacular installment into the DIsney Vault, even if it doesn’t rank among the classics of their Renaissance Age (circa 1989-1999).

Young Tiana lives in The Big Easy with her parents, but life is anything but simple for these folk. Her mother, Eudora (Oprah Winfrey), is a busy seamstress. Her father, James (Terrence Howard), works an abundant number of jobs, but is still around to cook some of the finest gumbo that side of the Mississippi. He shares a dream with Tiana to open a restaurant someday.

Years later, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is an adored waitress, saving every tip to fulfill her late father’s dream (he is a casualty of the First World War). She’s on the brink of grasping the keys to an old riverside warehouse, which she plans on turning into a plush restaurant.

Meanwhile, Prince Naveen of Maldonia (Brunos Campos), a smooth-talking, ukulele-playing bachelor, arrives in town, alongside his butler Lawrence (Peter Bartlett). Cut off from his parents’ funds, the prince has his eye on marrying a young girl and gaining a lavish fortune to top off the royal jambalaya.

That lucky bachelorette happens to be Charlotte La Bouff (Jennifer Cody), a sweet and sublime rich girl, as well as Tiana’s darling friend (albeit no relation to Shia).

Still, a dark man waits with a dark purpose. He is a voodoo magician named Doctor Facilier (Keith David) who – besides looking like a fusion of The Mad Hatter and Jafar – intends on filling his plate with the La Bouff fortune. He transforms Naveen into a frog and uses a talisman to make Lawrence impersonate the rugged prince.

As Tiana, draped in an elegant blue dress, wishes upon a star for a grant to her restaurant, she spots Naveen - but as an amphibian. Believing she's a princess, he persuades her to kiss him to reverse Facilier’s spell. But (huge twist!), Tiana morphs into a frog as well.

It’s been almost six years since Disney’s last 2D offering (2004’s disappointing Home on the Range), but the Mouse House proves that they are light-years ahead of the curve in creating dazzling images through hand-drawn animation. Each scene sparkles with vivacious colour and the sights of 1920s New Orleans are lovingly executed. You can practically smell the gumbo.

While the musical sequences are eye-popping, the lyrics are second-rate, and alas the songs become quite forgettable. Randy Newman and lyricist Glenn Slater compose tunes that sadly lack the beat (think The Lion King) and charm (recall Beauty and the Beast) of past Disney show-stoppers.

What the film lacks lyrically, the screenplay makes up for by steering away from a few archetypes. Tiana does not want a Prince Charming and believes in working hard. Naveen is not just a gregarious suitor, but one who is charmed; that is, by the electrifying Jazz of the French Quarter, and later on, the kindness of strangers.

Furthermore, Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a trumpet-playing alligator, and Ray (Jim Cummings), a Cajun firefly who (literally) lights up the bayou, resist the derivative punchline factor of other animated sidekicks. They are lovely, supportive creatures with warm eyes and high spirits.

Nevertheless, certain elements of the film are rehashed from other Disney classics, including Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio and Cinderella. While some of the characters are refreshing, the film doesn’t reinvent too much story-wise.

Still, the animation is dazzling, the characters are warm-hearted and moralistic (as every Disney movie needs), and New Orleans proves to be a spectacular backdrop. It’s not an instant classic (thanks, Randy Newman) but it’s a serviceable feature that promises more to come from the factory of hand-drawn animation.

And for a company still under fire for stereotyping in their controversial Song of the South, Disney can now “kiss” some racist accusations goodbye.