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The Princess and the Frog
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Anika Noni Rose |
| MPAA Rated: |
G |
| Released By: |
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
| Kiddie Movie: |
More for the girlies. |
| Date Movie: |
If she's involved with your kids. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Um, no. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Cartoon. |
| Action: |
Not really. |
| Laughs: |
In the Disney way. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
Nothing stood out. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
Nah. |
| Directed By: |
Ron Clements |
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Cool Things About the DVD |
| Learn French! |
It's got the French and Spanish stuff going. |
| Buy a New TV! |
Yup. Looks great on Blu-ray and on my big screen. |
| Buy a New
Stereo! |
It's got Disney singing and dancing, so it would sound better. |
| Anything Else! |
The Blu-ray has tons of extras, most of which the kids won't care about, but if you want to know about character development, it's there, and there's also a game for the kids to pick a Princess. |
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The Princess
and the Frog
A Movie/DVD Review |
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Ahh, Disney movies. Since I’m 42, with no kids, the oldest of three kids, and I’m wondering if all of my brain cells are still in place, I generally don’t have recollections of Disney classics like “Dumbo,” let alone the new movies like “The Little Mermaid” or “Alladin.” But I do like a good story, try to relate if I were a kid, or at least just try to like a movie, and I have to say that for me, “The Princess and the Frog” was just okay, or maybe I just have a hard time relating to frogs.
The story is pretty straightforward: Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) lives in the south, Louisiana as a matter of fact, and she’s a great cook and hard worker. With a dream instilled by her father, she envisions herself owning her own restaurant one day, and for all of her life she puts everything else on hold, including falling in love, so that she could work to make the money to open her dream. She’s also a friend with a well-to-do girl, Charlotte (Jennifer Cody), and when a good Prince comes to town, Cahrlotte wants to “snatch” him up, but wouldn’t you know it, the Prince has been hit with a spell by the crazy witchdoctor dude, and now he’s a frog. Instead of what is supposed to happen when you kiss a talking frog, Tiana kisses the frog and she, herself, becomes a frog. Now it’s a race against time to find the witchdoctor lady, who can reverse the spell, maybe.
Yup, our two frogs heroes bounce across the bayous running into all kinds of characters, all of the while learning that money is important, but not as important as love.
Gosh, I really wanted to like this movie more, but instead of being wrapped into the characters, I actually found the story almost too complicated. I mean, there was the Prince who, as it turns out, is short on cash. You’ve got his assistant who is in cahoots with the voodoo man who is trying to trick the rich girl to marry him. Of course the witchdoctor lady confuses things because she can’t turn you back to a human unless you learn your lesson, and of course the dopey Prince is going to change because of love.
For the kids I suppose it’s okay, but probably more so for the girls, especially with the “kiss a frog and find your Prince Charming” angle.” There is the singing and dancing you want in a Disney animated flick, and they songs are nice enough, but I also thought the bayou scene was just too long to get to it’s conclusion.
As a movie I’m giving “The Princess and the Frog” 3 stars out of 5. It’s a nice enough story, the animation is old-school but great, and I think it will keep the kids watching, but for me, it was just sort of “Ehh.”
As far as the Blu-ray and extras, it’s got a lot of them, from scenes that never made the movie (I liked the explanation of how they were “tested” to begin with), as well as a ton of extras detailing how various characters were developed. For hard-core movie fans I suppose it’s a great look at what goes into a character, but I didn’t care that much. There is a game for the kid, “The Princess Portraits Game,” which was nice enough, and sure, go ahead and get that 3-Disc Combo Pack so that you can put the movie in your kids player to take on the go.
Maybe it’s because I’m a 12 year old boy at heart, but in the end, “The Princess and The Frog” didn’t do that much for me.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!! |
