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With the CG-animation trend out there it’s a shame that hand drawn movies like The Princess and the Frog aren’t hardly made any more. While Disney did have flop after flop in the 00’s one CG-flick after another scores big time. But in terms of quality only the Pixar and some of the Dreamworks releases were up to par with the quality of Disney’s golden age in the (early) 90’s when they released some of there best movies to date: The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin etc. And now they are back with a new hand drawn movie, and it’s quite a looker.
Now that every douche with a decent computer can pop out a CG animated movie (or short) it’s really refreshing in a nostalgic way to have some old decent craftsmanship on the screen. This is what Disney does best and they still know how to do it. And to be honest, I think that the beautiful animation and the positive throwback to the 90’s does make up most of the credits this movie deserves. While the plot of a princess kissing a frog which makes her turn herself in a frog also is one of those original Pixar-like pitches for a movie, the movie itself in terms of plot is really basic fare. This is a Disney movie to its core: it has a princess (sort of), a prince, an evil “wizard” who reminded me of Jaffar, plenty of songs and talking animal sidekicks that provide comic relief.
This movie had me admiring the visuals more than enjoying the story, even though in the end it did managed to creep under my skin in one scene which I found rather daring for a Disney movie. Then again we all remember the scene in which Simba’s father died, or Bambi’s mother for that matter. The movie looks great and has a heart, but it’s beating is only a vague echo, due to the fact that is a Disney movie by the numbers.
To sum it up: it looks great, but is rather standard story-wise. It’s like catching up with a childhood friend you haven’t seen in ages talking about everything that went on back in the day. It’s fun and nostalgic, but it doesn’t bring anything new.
