(2012-04-30 00:33:15)

Fell asleep

Not appropriate for little kids with all that voodoo stuff. The prince annoyed me...no character at all. Music was good...what I remember of it...I ended up falling asleep.

dee.reid

(2012-04-29 12:09:32)

A classic fairy tale

Reflecting back on the new animated Disney film "The Princess and theFrog," I remember that much about it still remains fresh in my mind,which is rare for most movies nowadays, animated or live-action. (It'salso the first animated feature I've seen this year that I felt waswell worth the inflated $8.25 ticket price.) But with "The Princess andthe Frog," I remember that the characters, the story and the simple,hand-drawn animation are all something to really cherish, in thisgroundbreaking animated feature (I'll tell you why it's sogroundbreaking, if you don't know already) from co-directing team JohnMusker and Ron Clements and loosely based on the 21st-century novel"The Frog Princess" by E.D. Baker (which itself was loosely inspired by"The Frog Prince" by the Brothers Grimm).Remembering the animation again, in an age where computers are capableof the most complex animation of the theatrical kind, traditionalhand-drawn animation seems almost like a lost and/or dying art-form.That is not so with "The Princess and the Frog." Even though thehand-drawn drawing style will almost certainly date the film in 10 or20 years, there's just something truly remarkable about "The Princessand the Frog's" simplicity.And if you haven't figured out by now why this film is sogroundbreaking for Disney (or perhaps any animated film for thatmatter), "The Princess and the Frog" features the debut of the firstblack American princess. This princess is Tiana (Anika Noni Rose). Ofcourse, she wasn't born into royalty; that won't happen until the veryend. She lives in a poor, predominantly black section of 1920s NewOrleans, Louisiana, and works two jobs as a waitress, trying herhardest to earn enough money so she can open up her dream restaurant.She is a responsible, clear-headed young woman who knows that in orderto get what you want in this world, you have to be willing to work yourhardest. And even though this is a Disney and it's rated "G" for noobjectionable material, the racial hardships that most blacks living inthe American South, especially Louisiana, while somewhat muted in thisfilm, are still visible/audible for those eagle-eyed viewers who areaware of the racial turmoil in the pre-Civil Rights era South.The plot gets underway with the arrival of Prince Naveen (BrunoCampos), a quasi-French-speaking hunk who hails from the fictionalEuropean nation of Maldonia, in New Orleans on the eve of the annualMardi Gras celebrations. He provides an interesting contrast to Tiana:he's broke, because he was financially cut off from his parents, lazy,and has no valuable skills to help him out in the real world. So hefigures that his only ticket back into money is to get married, whichis why he is in New Orleans in the first place.Anyway, a chance encounter with the evil voodoo priest Dr. Facilier(Keith David) transforms Prince Naveen into a frog. A chance meetingwith Tiana one night also turns her into a frog after she kisses him,and the two set off on an adventure into the Lousiana bayou to try tofind a cure, and they both learn a few valuable things about life,love, and each other along the way. Meanwhile, Dr. Facilier plots toget his hands back on Prince Naveen in order to facilitate his plot totake over all of New Orleans, with a little help from his allies in thedemonic underworld.Let me just say that this is a much better film than I expected it tobe. While I cannot often use the words "intelligent" and "Disney film"in the same sentence, I feel that I can when describing "The Princessand the Frog": it is an intelligent, funny, and moving animated Disneyfilm. Although I am way outside this film's key demographic - I am a24-year-old black male - I nonetheless looked forward to this film withgreat enthusiasm, and I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed.Everything about the movie soars - the voice-acting performances, themusic (yes, the music, and I usually don't like musicals), the story,the characters, the animation and it's messages about hard work to getwhat you want in life, true love, and getting what you need vs. whatyou want. Lastly, while the movie is rated "G," I would also like tocomment that this film is actually pretty dark and kind of scary incertain places, which is something I felt should have earned the film ahigher "PG" rating. (Still, I doubt that it's anything that will evergive your kids nightmares.) It's also quite interesting to note howmuch it pays attention to New Orleans culture, everything from the foodto the music to the atmosphere, to the general way of life of peopleliving in the Big Easy. It's just another great little tidbit you couldpick up from watching one of the greatest animated features in Disneyhistory."The Princess and the Frog" is a groundbreaking animated feature fromthe last place I ever expected to put out something that could everpossibly be groundbreaking in the first place. I highly recommend it toanyone to watch and enjoy."The Princess and the Frog" is only one of the greatest animated Disneymovies of all time. If you don't see it, you'll only end up regrettingit for the rest of your life.10/10

damary200

(2012-04-28 21:48:44)

Disney's first American classic fairytale

Most of the reviews both by Disney fans and critics alike are allfocusing on the wrong viewpoint of this film. The point is not thatTiana is African American (my children don't notice because childrendon't see "colors"on skin) or that this is not exactly traditionalDisney fare. The point is that a modern character faced modern problemsand that love and the timeless story of The Princess and the Frogprevailed. Tiana is a frog for nearly the entirety of the film becausethat is who she was in life. In fact, she's a frog from the beginninguntil the last 15 minutes of the film and becomes human long before thesurprise ending of the Dr. Facilier's frog spell. True it was PrinceNaveen who "transformed" her but Tiana's refusal to see love orfriendship was caused by ambition. This ambition wasn't bad or forselfish reasons, but in pursuit of her fathers dream she ignoredeverything he had tried to teach her. If you look past the politicalcorrectness or the "coloring issues" within the movie you can see thisclear as day! My four year old got it and when Tiana goes in search ofNaveen to tell him that she's fallen for him, my son declared loudly inthe middle of the theater, "he love her mama!". When the Charlottetries to break the spell without "getting her prince" he was ecstaticand when he saw the impostor prince "marrying" Charlotte he washeartbroken. The magic is not Disney fare but it fits in perfectly with a culturalimmersion of New Orleans. It goes without saying that the animation isGORGEOUS and the music is good too. The gospel number with Mama Odie isby far my favorite! The secondary characters almost steal the show. Charlotte in all herspoiled glory is actually a big-hearted, cute and hilarious SouthernBelle. Mama Odie is lovable and zany and goes around nearly killing herbeloved pet snake and smacking "young 'uns" on the arm for their"stupidity". Big Louis is funny and gives the movie a faster pace. Rayis by far my VERY favorite "supporting actor" and will belong in thesame pantheon with Jimminy Cricket and Tinker Bell. I won't spoil itfor those who haven't seen it, but Disney's second star to the rightwill be immortalized forever thanks to Ray. All in all the modern retelling of the fairy tale is needed for thisgeneration. Times are hard, we have to work harder and our dreams maynot come true in the way we thought they would, but LOVE is still worthfighting for. Disney thinks that Love is worth the revival of handdrawn animation, actual orchestra's composing the soundtrack and YEARSworking on a modern story board. This is not the revival of hand drawnanimation, it is the revival of the Love story for a generation whoforgot how to fall in Love. It's a modern example of what poets,writers and legends have been in pursuit of for centuries. The idea ofLove without bounds that can defeat any obstacle.

(2012-04-28 12:51:58)

Wonderful Disney movie

This review is from: The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) My 5 and 3 year old LOVED it!! They got up and danced in the living room to the music and laughed like mad when the guys in the boat were beating each other up trying to get the frogs. My husband and I even laughed at parts. Yeah, the Voodoo theme is dark but they are actually being true to the tone of New Orleans, since Voodoo is nothing new down there and is actually a tourist attraction (you can Google this if you wish). And guess what...my kids did not even MENTION anything about Voodoo. Shadowman is just "the bad guy" according to my kids. I loved the fact that it was a great theme for a kids' movie..."work hard and you will accomplish your dreams." This movie is set in, what looks like, 20's era New Orleans. Tiana works as a waitress while saving up to open her own restaurant. She is at a party one night, dressed up, and happens upon Prince Naveen (the frog). He thinks she is a princess and asks her to kiss him in return for his financing her dream. Since she is not a true princess, they are both turned into frogs. This really was a cute movie and I miss hand drawn Disney movies!!! I would love to see more done in the future.

rickystickyman

(2012-04-27 16:02:48)

An animated movie that really captures a classic mood.

The princess and the frog has been either praised by some, or condemnedby others as not being a good Disney movie. I personally liked themovie and loved the fact that it was animated. I miss animated moviesgreatly, and this movie seemed really good because it was animated.The characters in this movie are fairly good, while some of them arefairly generic. Ray was considered annoying by some, but honestly Idon't think he was that bad. The main characters are both good, and youcan see how they evolve, but they aren't the most complex Disneycharacters out there. What really makes this movie stand out more thanmost Disney movies is its villain. I have to say you will never see acooler Disney villain out there. Dr. Facilier has style, he has a greatmusical number (it is a really good one), and he has evil spirits onhis side which are very cool since they move through shadows. His songis very catchy, but dark, and his demise in this movie is probably oneof the darkest deaths of any Disney villain.Dr. Facilier in my opinion basically made this movie good. The maincharacters were fine and all, but Dr. Facilier is a man who wantsspirits to eat everyone's souls. That is pretty dark, but as mentionedbefore it is really cool. Without him this movie would've been OK, butnothing too special.So while The Princess and The Frog is a good movie, it relies a littleto heavily on an interesting villain than on an interesting cast ofmain characters. There are some funny scenes in this movie, and onemoment almost felt like a Family Guy moment. Either way good movie.

allan-p3-896-87316

(2012-04-27 03:31:07)

WHY place Woodo, Witchery and Black Magic to children ?

First, its an impressive film. I understand why 'critic's 'raise it tothe sky. For being av animated film, it packs a great emotional punchfor good and bad. Good because it covers so many black emotions -mostly of superstition ! Its NOT a "Saga" ! The colors are fantasticand it captures the emotions of New Orleans and the Cajun-swamp. Themusic is great too and is complemented by the artistry and the movie.BUT, the bad part is that its easy to think its a children saga,because of the animations. Its not a 'Fritz the cat', but to me itsWORSE ! Because the emotions that flow from this film (totally) is verystrong ! It tells the children of all the negative attitudes of grownups. Why should we impose this on so young children ? Time enough theywill find out for themselves that its a "Djungel outside", and duringthat (slow) learning they also will find GOOD examples on the oppositeside (so to speak). But if you want to give them a "Crash Course" onhow to scare others, then this would seem to either give them amanipulative strike or awaken the opposite. Summary; For grownups itshould be a time trip to your childhood. For older children adiversified alternative and for the young ones, a frighteningexperience that they probably will remember the rest of their life's.On the other hand, there is so much NEW violence that enters their lifeeach day, so maybe this is only a short stop on that way -unfortunately.

(2012-04-25 19:29:28)

thanks

My twins love this movie but we only had it on blu ray. They were so excited to get this DVD so that we could travel with it. And I loved the price and the quality!! Thank you!!

adrews

(2012-04-25 00:37:51)

Not for 4-year-olds

I mostly agree with diaclaybo22's comments, except that I loved themusic and that's what warranted five stars from me. Aside from that,the story was all over the place, and much of the movie was too busy,perhaps trying to figure out where it was going. My four-year-olddaughter, who loves Disney "princess" movies like Little Mermaid, SnowWhite, Cinderella, and Aladdin, was frightened by the demon shadows andthe alligator scene (before Louis reveals his gentler side). Maybefour- year-old girls aren't the target audience, but the scary scenesfrom other "princess" movies have been much tamer and shorter livedthan what was in this movie, and none of them have ever been too scaryfor my daughter. Those scenes were very in-your-face and LOUD (but thatmight have been particular to the venue where I saw it, the Ziegfeldtheater in NYC).Anyway, just wanted to get that out there since there are so manycomments praising this film and awarding it 10 stars (really? 10 starsfor a mediocre cartoon? I can see giving an animated film like Wall-E a10, but Wall-E makes Princess/Frog look like hackery.)

(2012-04-16 22:54:51)

Very nice

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) Everything you'd expect from a Disney adaptation of a classic tale! Very Charming and well worth the watch!

(2012-04-16 17:24:58)

Disney Returns to its roots in this Excellent film

This review is from: The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray) The Princess and the Frog was one of the most anticipated films of 2009. After Disney new management (under Pixar's John Lasseter and Ed Catmull) decided to reverse that terrible decision of stop producing hand-drawn animated films in favor of the all common CGI ones. Chiken Little was awful, Meet the Robinsons and Bolt were fine but nothing compared to the Pixar films which all are excellent. I waited long to see this film and went to see it the day it opened in theaters. I wasn't dissapointed, the film felt like a return to the 90's Renaissance with beautiful animation, good characters, heart and excellent music. I just hope this trend of quality will continue in future Disney animated films. The Blu-Ray combo pack does not dissapoint. It offers top-notch picture and sound plus a bunch of bonus features that add to the film value. The DVD looks pretty good and perfect for SD. It also comes with a digital copy. (for me is just a waste of money).The Princess and the Frog returns to the tradition of great animated Disney films delivering an excellent story, good characters and oustanding music. I totally recommend it. 5 stars. Congratulations for Disney (at last).

cfromsd

(2012-04-12 13:45:48)

Worst Disney movie ever

We just endured the movie and thought it was truly terrible. Thewriting was lousy, the music was forgettable and NOT age-appropriateand the story was just plain boring. My husband and I kept looking atour watches, praying it was almost over. Our 10 year-old daughterenjoyed it, so I guess that's all that matters.I was hoping the first Disney cartoon with an African-American princesswould be good, but it was sooooo disappointing. The black stereotypeswere pretty insulting too. It was NOT enjoyable watching two frogs throughout the movie! This mademe miss really good Disney fare like Little Mermaid, Mulan and Alladin.Why couldn't they find some good song writers like those from theafore-mentioned movies? Disney can afford this!Two thumbs down.

(2012-04-12 05:41:43)

THIS MOVIE IS EVIL!!!! NOT FOR CHILDREN!! CROSSES THE LINE!!!

THIS MOVIE IS SCARY AND EVIL!!!! IT'S ABOUT VOODOO AND HAS VERY SCARY IMAGES AND SCARY CONTENT!!! NOT FOR CHILDREN!!! AWFUL!!! DISNEY HAS REALLY CROSSED THE LINE!!! WOLF IN ANIMATED CLOTHING!!! NO NO NO!!!! AWFUL!!!

(2012-03-27 21:11:59)

NOT appropriate for little children!!!

This movie was one of the worst children's movies I have seen in a long time! It is very scary and NOT appropriate for 6 year olds!!I had to skip all the "Shadow man" scenes, because I was sure it would give the kids nightmares! The only thing I did like about this movie was, that it wasn't just "wish upon a star and all your dreams will come true". The main character is a hardworking girl that knows, that in order to get anything you have to work for it!But I had a hard time focusing on the story, since every few minutes something creepy and scary happened!Very disappointed!

(2012-03-27 13:50:06)

Why the Princess and the Frog is great

In the World, its been 70 years in the making. In my world, its been 34.I have heard all of the criticism: prince Naveen is too light skinned (what a light skinned man can love a Black woman?), that it shouldn't have been set in New Orleans (that person is an idiot) and should not have had voodoo (uh hello, have you ever been there?!)As a Black (well, biracial) woman whose adored father died before he could see her transition to greatness, this film delivers.Disney has the grace to go old school with gorgeous hand drawn sets that made me smile huge. When they get on the street car, I got excited. When they drove past mansions, I thought, "hey, I've been there!" and when they showed a loving family sharing dinner with their neighbors, it gave me a warm glow.One of the messages of the movie is clear: sometimes what we want and what we need are different. Oh and sadly, sometimes hard work is not enough. The former is a lesson I know well. The latter, I'm still working on.The vivid, vibrant colors, the voice of Anika Noni Rose and the characters Tiana encounters are fun and just what you would expect from a Disney feature. The Shadow Man, played with style by Keith David, is a tip of the hat to that Voodoo Trickster god Papa Legba (and if I was you, I'd stop talking smack.)Personally, I loved it. The vibrancy and spirit of this film fits not only one of my favorite places on Earth, but works with 1920's vivid cultural panarama. One of the characters I truly loved is Lotte: say what you will, but I promise you, I know many a Southern girl just like her. Funny, vivicious and spoiled rotten! I thought Lotte was pure fun.At the very end, Tiana sings the final line of the movie "Dreams come true in New Orleans" and my heart simply welled up and overflowed: because dreams do come true in New Orleans and that is why the movie was set there.Focusing on it being the site of a terrible tragedy and overlooking its rich and magnificent history is a travesty.Don't focus on how long it took to get a Black princess or any of the silly, trivial little things that people jumped on (really? the prince is too light skinned? *rolls eyes*)Instead, celebrate a return to real classic animation, to a beautiful new young princess and her prince finding true love. To New Orleans being featured in all her glory, proving that Nola is alive and well. Celebrate the magical, musical, colorful, delight that is the Princess and the Frog.

(2012-03-19 20:03:49)

Great film

I loved it. I thought the music was wonderful, the characters were wonderfully illustrated and voiced, the film moved at a good pace. It was great ensemble cast. Even though the story was focused on Tiana, the film really did a good job of engaging and making me care about the supporting characters.But let's get to the controversies:1. Black prince: At first, I was a bit put off by the fact that Tiana didn't marry a black prince, but I quickly got over it. It would have been nice, but it took decades to get a Black Disney princess so I couldn't complain too much.2. Is it too dark for children/voodoo: I guess I look at it this way, Disney has always had questionable content in their films. As a child I never noticed it, but as an adult I see it more. For example: as a child Ursula was just an octopus, but as an adult I took more notice of the fact that she was an evil witch. Disney has always had witchcraft in their films, so if you don't want your kids seeing the Princess & the Frog because of voodoo references, then you probably should take issue with Sleeping Beauty, Snow White & the Seven Dwarves, The Little Mermaid, The Sword & the Stone, etc because it all deals heavily with witchcraft.Bottom line: I loved it. And I think that it is a child-friendly movie. But at the end of the day, parents need to know what their child can & cannot handle. In the end, parents need to decide what is acceptable and unacceptable for their child. But I feel like the movie was fine. All the children that I know who have seen it loved it; especially, the little girls.

(2012-03-19 05:43:23)

Sadly Disappointing

Talk about a disappointment. We have been dying to watch this movie since it came out. We finally got it for Christmas and stopped 30 min into it. The movie itself for quality was great, but there is a voodoo doctor in there that uses very dark and demonic magic to conjure up spirits and demons from the other side. In return for the power he promises to deliver lost souls to the ones he calls his 'friends on the other side'. It definitely is not for children and I really don't feel for adults either since he's blatantly using satanic dark magic. It never mentions this on the case and we sure wouldn't have bought it. I think Disney went way to far on this. Will not recommend this to anyone.

(2012-03-19 07:05:33)

Another great Disney Film

This review is from: The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray) We're big fans of animation for Disney and this was a very good hand-drawn animated feature. However the music was not as good as many of the "classics", and that was the only thing I'd say it really lacked. Besides that, we all really enjoyed it.

(2012-03-18 10:14:11)

Good, but not great

I'm very lucky to have been the perfect age to experience, firsthand, Disney's early 90's Renaissance. I remember finding out about Aladdin for the first time in the previews of the VHS copy of Beauty and the Beast. I remember hearing the song "Circle of Life" for the first time in the groundbreaking (at the time) trailer for "The Lion King," before anyone had ever seen a mandrill holding a lion cub on top of a rock over kneeling animals. I actually remember wondering what Sebastian was saying when he sang "Unda-da-sea," and whether King Triton was a good guy or a bad guy. These movies shaped the consciousness of my generation. Just go up to anyone between the ages of 22 and 28 who grew up in the Western World, any frat boy, any prissy girl, any former cheerleader, any computer nerd, and find me one who doesn't know the lyrics to Hakuna Matata. From 1989 to 1995, the question of next year's Disney movie was an exciting topic for everyone I knew. What would the next one be about? And, more importantly, would it be as good, both in my eyes and at the box office, as the one before? And (allowing for the less well-known Rescuers Down Under in 1990) the answer was always "yes," until 1995 when suddenly Pocahontas hit the screens, leaving everyone to think, for the first time, "Meh."Starting with Pocahontas, with the exception of Mulan, the films showed a slow and steady decline, trying too hard to be zany (Hercules), dark (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, possibly the worst subject choice ever for a Disney movie), action-packed (Tarzan), expensive (Dinosaur), or offbeat (Lilo and Stitch)... In short, trying too hard to be anything but the instant classics of the early 90's. Things went from bad to worse (in a curiously correlated decline of quality and box office performance), until finally, following the fiasco of "Home on the Range" (am I the only one who saw it?), Disney announced it would no longer make traditional animated films, in a move that, to me, still sounds like Ferrari announcing it's going to keep making everything except cars. Yes, there were still Pixar movies, but for all their wit and beauty, these always felt like high-tech consolation prizes for anyone who grew up with magic carpets and singing candelabras. With the end of 2-D animation came the end of a collective, global childhood, and for a few years it looked as if, much like the real one, the Disney childhood was gone for good.Until John Lasseter, the brilliant visionary behind Pixar, announced a new dawn of hope for Disney animation. The first project for the newly revived traditional feature animation department would be a real fairy tale, hand-drawn for the screen, with an old-school villain, a love interest, a fairy-godmother figure, talking animals, and, yes, even song-and-dance numbers in which the characters suddenly break into music. In short: a real Disney movie. And the result, ladies and gentlemen, titled "The Princess and the Frog," just came out in theaters yesterday, following a two-week limited release in NY and LA. Of course, as anyone who's read this post so far must have already guessed, I wasted no time in seeing it the day it came to my city.And here's what I thought:"The Princess and the Frog" is good. Yes, it's actually good, and anyone who's prayed for the return of traditional hand-drawn animation should see it without fear of disappointment. The movie looks beautiful, without even a hint of CGI (though I'm sure there must be some lurking here and there below the surface). The characters and backgrounds exist, seamlessly and breathlessly, in the wonderfully lawless physical universe where Ariel sang under water of her longing for the human world, where Mrs. Potts managed to look plump and made of porcelain at the same time. The movie is a visual journey through the glorious folklore of New Orleans, making ample use of the mythological arsenal at its disposal, from the dangers of the bayou to the double-edged dealings of voodoo, from Mardi Gras to gumbo. All the best Disney movies create self-contained universes where you simply want to immerse yourself, and "The Princess and the Frog" achieves this with class and charm. The stylized characters who walk down the street and into the restaurant where the heroine works wouldn't belong in any other movie, not even Aladdin or The Little Mermaid, and yet they're unmistakably Disney.The entire feel of the movie is as bouncy and buoyant as its visuals, thanks in great part to its hardworking and determined heroine, Tiana. Much has already been said about her historical role as Disney's first African-American leading woman, but few reviewers seem to mention another very important aspect of the character: she's an exceptionally admirable protagonist. Regardless of race, color, or background, few Disney leads of either gender show as much pluck, energy, and perseverance as Tiana. As the movie points out, she's been so busy working all her life that she can't even dance! Why does no one consider that to be innovative for a Disney princess? Yes, Tiana's black, but that's just one of several reasons for which she's such a great addition to the canon. The characters around her are all serviceable, at the very least, but the movie's most memorable character is undoubtedly Tiana.Now, I've mentioned my two favorite aspects of the movie, but I chose my words carefully when saying "The Princess and the Frog" is good. Sadly, it's not great. It's obviously head and shoulders above any hand-drawn feature the studio has released in the past 10 years, but it's little more than halfway to the brilliance of the early 90's pictures. One very noticeable difference lies in the music. The movie has numerous songs, and they all contribute to its overall stylistic cohesion, but they sadly justified my misgivings when I first heard they would be written by Randy Newman (of the "Toy Story" soundtrack) instead of Alan Menken (of everyone's favorite songs ever). What can you tell me about the song "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story? How does it compare, say, with "Part of that World," "Kiss the Girl," "Prince Ali," or "A Whole New World?" Fatally, the show-stopping production numbers in "The Princess and the Frog" invite comparisons the music just can't live up to. This isn't a statement about the quality of the composer's work, but there's something distinctly lyrical, memorable, and infectious about other Disney soundtracks that just doesn't happen in this movie.There are also some weaknesses in the story and character department. Most of the great Disney stories can be summarized in a very short sentence that every character's motivations can be deployed around. Though it's very clear what Tiana's conflict is (she wants to open a restaurant but doesn't have enough money), the balance of the plot is surprisingly complicated. Even the bad guy, Doctor Facilier, who's been given all the trappings of a great Disney villain (and score: even a song!), has too many agendas, too many tricks, and too many issues of his own, to seep under the viewers' skin. The love interest raises more questions than he answers (Where's he from? Why, if he's a Prince, does he have no money? Whom does he want to marry? Why?). For all the crap good old Prince Charming in Snow White received for having no personality, at least everyone knew exactly what he was about. The movie's comic relief is, though it pains me to say so, unfunny and forgettable, and it's instantly obvious why these characters are there. The genie, for example, had soul beneath all the jokes, and, from a purely pragmatic point of view, there'd be no Aladdin story without him.Characters' motivations are not the only issue in the story department. The plot involves many deals, many conditions, many detours, many distractions. For example, before anything has even happened to her, Tiana finds that she can afford the down payment on the building she wants for her restaurant by selling cakes to her friend Charlotte, who wants the cakes in order to win the Prince's affections - but then Tiana is outbid and she must match the other prospective buyer's offer before it's too late. What happened to straight up "Belle needs to break the spell!" or "Simba needs to reclaim the kingdom?" There are so many technicalities in this movie that I'm still not sure what exactly sealed the characters' fates at the end (for both the good guys and the villain). And the vast majority of the plot seems to rest on the shoulders of Charlotte, the ditzy rich childhood friend, who's unwittingly at the center of several convoluted schemes simply because her dad has a lot of money. Again, the simple universality of Ariel's dream, or Cinderella's, for that matter, is far more engaging, not to say intelligible (especially for children, while we're at it).Nonetheless, the Princess and the Frog is pure, well-intentioned, and fun. It's not grand, it's not spectacular, it's not haunting, and it's trying to resume the legacy of movies that were all of these things. But in spite of its shortcomings, its release is still the best news that's come out of Disney in a long time.

(2012-03-16 13:08:19)

I am Black, and from New Orleans. What is this crap?

Thank God I watched this on Netflix, because I wouldn't ever waste money on this. What a horrible way to advertise New Orleans with Voodoo. And why do most of the characters reference Creole food and how you should eat it? Who cares! I guess this was Disneys finger to their first African American Princess movie. The Art is half-assed and Sloppy. The Character design is not even creative the princess looks like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and the rest of the characters were drawn by an artist who had a hangover. I mean c'mon if you wanted to make a movie to piss off the African American community just make one about Hurricane Katrina.

(2012-03-16 02:37:50)

Was very happy with how fast the order came to me and the shape it was in

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) Was in great shape as said to be and came to me fast. I was very happy with what i ordered and would order from him again.