A Nice Stable Amphibian

It turns out kissing a frog isn't always an instant path to fortune, as evidenced by 2009's The Princess and the Frog. The last traditionally animated film from The Walt Disney Studios, they temporarily revived the medium to make amends for the lack of a black princess in the canon. With such overtly political motives, I expected the film to be a lifeless slog, but it wasn't. Surprisingly, it's one of the few Disney films I've seen from the past fifty years that doesn't feel like it was written by a committee. It certainly has its flaws, and in some crucial places--the songs by Randy Newman are utterly forgettable (I watched the movie last night and I've forgotten all of them) and the animation on the female lead is nearly lifeless. The two leads spend too much of the film as poorly conceived, surprisingly generic looking cartoon frogs, and the plot is a bit shallow. But Tiana, the female lead, has clearer motives than Belle and the writing, if not masterful, is at least consistent. The art design is lovely, combining a Lady and the Tramp influence with fantasy New Orleans. And the villain, a voodoo warlock voiced by Keith David, is pretty good.

The film begins with Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) and her best friend, Lottie (Jennifer Cody), listening to The Frog Prince being read by Tiana's mother (Oprah Winfrey).

I was immediately surprised by how lifeless Tiana's animation was. Usually animating children is where Disney particularly excels. The animators evidently felt less restricted in making Lottie a more broadly expressive caricature. I suppose they may have been apprehensive of protests of cultural insensitivity which, of course, came anyway.

I suppose the film's depiction of New Orleans is a bastardisation, too, but I found it really pretty. The 19th century style buildings blended with swamp foliage had almost a Sleeping Beauty-ish splendour. Keith David's witch doctor character may be an offensive stereotype but the animation of his magic, along with Keith David's performance, is very cool. I really liked his independently functioning shadow, which works better in animated form than in the live action Dracula movie that likely inspired it (as much as I do love Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula).

Tiana as an adult is at least attractive. Alas, around thirty minutes in, she gets turned into a frog when she kisses Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos). So begins their adventure on the bayou, seeking the aid of a voodoo priestess (Jenifer Lewis). Prince Naveen is an easygoing partyboy, a contrast to the hard working Tiana, and their rapport has some of the same charm as It Happened One Night. If only they didn't look like Battle Toads.

Their animations isn't even that interesting. Nothing about it gives you the impression the animators spent any time studying the movements of real frogs. It's almost on par with '90s after school, TV Disney, like Darkwing Duck or Rescue Rangers. Which is fine for a TV series but really doesn't cut it in a theatrical release.

But I was happy to see a Disney film promote the importance of hard work. By the end, I was genuinely rooting for Tiana though her lesson gets muddled. The animation is good enough that it seems a real tragedy Disney never followed up with another 2D animated film. I suppose they have time yet.

The Princess and the Frog is available on Disney+.

...

This is part of a series of posts I'm writing on the Disney animated canon.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia
Dumbo
Bambi
Saludos Amigos
The Three Caballeros
Make Mine Music
Fun and Fancy Free
Melody Time
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Lady and the Tramp
Sleeping Beauty
101 Dalmatians
The Sword in the Stone
The Jungle Book
The Aristocats
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Rescuers
The Fox and the Hound
The Black Cauldron
The Great Mouse Detective
Oliver & Company
The Little Mermaid
The Rescuers Down Under
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
The Lion King
Pocahontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan
Fantasia 2000
Dinosaur
The Emperor's New Groove
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Lilo and Stitch
Treasure Planet
Brother Bear
Home on the Range
Chicken Little
Meet the Robinsons
Bolt