The Princess and the Frog

I was skeptical about Disney's latest attempt to recreate an animated classic. Not just because they usually fail to quite capture the original attraction of the earlier animated features when they attempt to recreate them, but for one because The Princess and the Frog takes place in a somewhat alternate-universe, fairly sugar-coated version of historical New Orleans. I'll also admit to some skepticism because of the politically correct nature of having the requisite black Disney Princess. They've covered Native American, Asian, and Middle Eastern, as well as a redhead, a brunette, a blonde and Snow White (who is not brunette because her hair is black). Darnit, missed a nationality, gonna have to do a movie now!

However, it was fairly true to the traditions of Disney Princess movies, which I appreciated, and the songs were well-done and catchy. At one point I thought they were going to go for a Shrek ending, which would have surprised me, but they played it pretty safe. They had one of the good characters die, which did surprise me. I couldn't think of another Princess movie in which someone dies partway through. Am I just missing something? Anyway, there's a reason The Princess and the Frog is a critic's darling, it just took the Disney Princess formula (prince + girl + adapted classic fairy tale and etc) and repeated it.

I was not a fan of the villain. This may be historically accurate as far as New Orleans goes, but he was a guy practicing voodoo with 'friends on the other side' and that was iffy, for young children especially. There were voodoo dolls dancing during some of his songs, and some fairly scary-looking talking masks. I would have been slightly more comfortable with it if the voodoo had been portrayed as entirely bad, but there's another character who seems to be a voodoo woman and is portrayed as being kind, if a little eccentric. If I'd had my two- or three- or four-year-old there, I would have been covering their eyes.

Morals-wise, I think the prevailing messages were well-chosen, that what you want is different from what you need, and that money can't buy everything. Tiana (the main character) works very hard, but misses out on some fun things and almost misses out on love. We focus so much on money, especially in first-world countries, that it needs to be said.

I'd probably be bored if I sat through it again, but The Princess and the Frog is a decent addition to the Disney Princess franchise. They could have done a lot worse.