The Gown – student newspaper at Queen's University Belfast.

REVIEW: The Princess and the Frog

Disney’s latest animation sees the welcomed return to original hand drawn animation that defines the extremely recognisable, and much loved, Disney Studio style. Fans will revel in the indulgent colours of the New Orleans, jazz infused setting. With its array of marvellous characters, from every walk of life and, traditionally unique in true Disney fashion. Disney has managed to capture that level of awe in which children view the everyday through wonder, curiosity and enthusiasm. 

BY LAURA SHEARER

Protagonist Tiana is the embodiment of the childish Disney spirit with her wide-eyed joy, a heart full of hope and her belief in fairytale stories. The essence of New Orleans’ culture has been magically brought to life on the silver screen.  All aspects of New Orleans are addressed, from the famous jazz scene to mardi gras carnival celebrations, to the dark underlying superstitions of voodoo and magic practise and a natural gravitation towards the typical Disney narrative influence of self-belief and love.  The sense of community within its inhabitants is strongly emphasised through a wide variety of characters that are quickly and effectively introduced, without overcrowding the plot. Each character is the brain child of typical and pure Disney genius, keeping the film fast paced but simple to follow and perfect for holding the attention of younger viewers. Music, as with every Disney Classic is at the heart of this film. The songs are as catchy as expected, but with a heavy soul vibe and relatively relatable topics. The most exciting element is the stereotypical villain, so the slimy and scheming Voodoo practitioner, Dr, Facilier, ticks all the boxes. Unbeknownst to the innocent and open hearted prince, his magic is misinterpreted for good doings, but to the understanding audience the ‘Shadow Man’ is deviant and is the threat of the film.  The artistic team that created Disney’s Aladdin are the geniuses behind this new release, that much is evident from the watching of the film alone, with ‘The Shadow Man’ stylistically and characteristically mirroring the much loved and loathed Jafa of Aladdin fame.  As a contrast the magnificent Madame Odi, the fairy Godmother figure, offers us a different perspective on voodoo and magic, allowing Disney to remain non-bias on the superstitions issue.  This is something Disney does well, delivering interesting ideology but not taking a deliberate stance. This postmodern take on a well-known fairytale integrates good morals, with Tiana the hard working dreamer and the rich leisurely living Prince Naveen displaying polar opposites. The typical evil which, always pays and the happy ending tradition of Disney is accompanied by the always resourceful Disney love plot. The magic and sparkle of Disney is evident throughout and is the main reason why The Princess and the Frog is so watchable. As far as the typical Disney animation stretches, this just simply demonstrates how impressive hand-drawn films are and how digital animation techniques just don’t compare.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 3:09 pm and is filed under Arts + Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.