Australia's Best Movie Magazine

Film reviews

Chronicle

Let down by its illogical “found footage” approach, this remains an impressively compelling ride, which has more in line with classic storytelling than current fads.

Man On A Ledge

While Worthington doesn’t quite match the talent of his top-notch co-stars, this admittedly implausible but impressively dynamic thriller is exciting stuff.

The Artist

Beautifully made, surprisingly fresh, and there’s no denying its charm, but ultimately, it’s a slight case of style over substance.

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Driven by Elizabeth Olsen’s mesmerising lead performance, this languid and unsettling story buries deep into your mind

search the site

Enter search term:

newsletter

Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter

Enter search term:

The Princess And The Frog (Film)

by Annette Basile | December 23, 2009 12:32 | Edited December 23, 2009 12:34

Beautifully drawn and great for the kids but not the classic Disney would have been aiming for.

Even before its release, this film was much discussed for two reasons: it features Disney's first black heroine (it's only taken them 70-odd years), and represents Disney's limited re-commitment to hand-drawn animation - an art-form they previously announced that they had abandoned.

 

Purists will whinge about the use of (seamless) digital effects, but the animation is gorgeous.

 

A musical set in 1920s New Orleans, The Princess And The Frog is about Tiana (Dreamgirls' Anika Noni Rose) - a young African-American woman who dreams about being a restaurateur. Her life changes with the arrival of Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos).

 

As you've already figured out, he's her love interest and he's about to get turned into a frog. But when Tiana predictably kisses the blue-blooded amphibian, things do not proceed along standard fairytale lines...

New Orleans' traditions inspire a wonderful ambiance, with everything from streetcars to Mardi Gras getting a look-in. And the film's visual centerpiece - a moonlit, firefly-guided journey down the bayou - is so atmospheric you almost feel the humidity.

 

But while Randy Newman's serviceable songs echo New Orleans' jazz-era sound, they don't capture its spirit.

The voice cast, though, is excellent, and includes John Goodman as the rotund ‘Big Daddy' La Bouff, Keith David as a deliciously malevolent voodoo magician, and Oprah Winfrey (the film's racial consultant!!) as Tiana's mum. Also included are the kinds of exaggerated characters that kids - and merchandise-makers - love, like the portly trumpet-playing alligator and the semi-toothless firefly (whose wistful tale offers a rare moment of unmanufactured emotion).

The film's moral - that the people (and frogs) around you are more important than dream-catching - is refreshing. But lovely as it all is, it's not the classic Disney's pitching for. It's a nice one for littlies, but adults may find it more of a visual experience than an emotional one.