The Princess and the Frog – The Princess and the Frog (2010)

Directed by: John Musker, Ron Clements | 98 minutes | animation, family | Original voice cast: John Goodman, Keith David, Terrence Howard, Angela Bassett, Anika Noni Rose, Oprah Winfrey, Jim Cummings, Bruno Campos, Jenifer Lewis, Jennifer Cody, Elizabeth M. Dampier, Kwesi Boakye, Breanna Brooks, Michael-Leon Wooley, Michael Colyar, Jerry Kernion, Ritchie Montgomery, Peter Bartlett | Dutch voice cast: Linda Wagenmakers, Jeroen van der Boom, Ruth Jacott, Georgina Verbaan, Stanley Burleson

In 2004, Disney announced that the movie “Home on the Range” released that year was the last animated film in 2D, but after Pixar’s acquisition in 2006, their minds changed. Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, the new frontmen of the animation division, decided to open the door to Disney’s traditional hand-drawn cartoons. Pixar focuses on the groundbreaking 3D computer animations, Disney focuses on the hand-drawn 2D animation films that once brought her great fame. The development of the largely CGI-made ‘Bolt’ (2008) had already started and was not stopped, but projects that followed were made in the old-fashioned way. ‘The Princess and the Frog’ (2009) is the first film to result from this new strategy. Ron Clements and John Musker, previously responsible for ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Hercules’, wrote and directed this film, loosely based on ED Baker’s book ‘The Frog Princess’ and inspired by the fairy tale ‘The Frog’. Prince’ by the Brothers Grimm. John Lasseter gave them a free hand, giving them plenty of room to make the film exactly as they had in mind. The result is overwhelming!

‘The Princess and the Frog’ is set in The French Quarter in swinging New Orleans of the 1920s and 1930s. Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose) is a young, hardworking woman with a big dream: one day she wants to start her own restaurant. She works hard to achieve her goal and doesn’t have time to enjoy life, even if it’s Mardi Gras! Because of the celebrations, Prince Naveen of Maldonia (Bruno Campos) comes to town. He is a smooth but free spirit, fond of music and dance. However, he is also very naive, as he gets involved with the unreliable voodoo priest Dr. Facilier (Keith David). It will cost him dearly if he turns him into a frog! The spell can only be broken when he is lovingly kissed by a princess. The beautiful Tiana, who is friends with the daughter of the richest man in town, is the first he meets. Although she is not a princess, Naveen sees his chance. He struggles to convince her, but in the end she kisses him anyway. But then she too turns into a frog! Maybe the 197-year-old voodoo priestess who lives deep in the Mississippi bayous can help them? A trumpet-playing alligator and an infatuated firefly accompany the pair on their journey through the Louisiana swamps.

John Lasseter is a worthy ‘successor’ to Walt Disney. Like the great initiator of the full-length animated film, he has a nose for what works and what doesn’t. He is one of the driving forces behind Pixar’s innovative animation studios, but also recognized the need for classic, hand-drawn animation films. Just as his main competitors are turning completely to CGI-driven cartoons, Disney is returning to traditional hand-drawn animation with Disney. And again he hits the nail on the head, because ‘The Princess and the Frog’ has become a gem of a family film that buzzes and swings to your heart’s content. The generation that grew up with computer animations will be delighted to see the beautifully drawn, colorful and above all warm images. The setting, the New Orleans from the Jazz Age, is of course also ideal for an enchanting film full of eccentric characters. To create the right atmosphere, the filmmakers paid an extensive visit to The Big Easy. ‘The Princess and the Frog’ pays tribute to the city. The mysticism that haunts it and the surroundings of New Orleans with its inscrutable swamps and the imaginative Mississippi River. And what is New Orleans without music? ‘The Princess and the Frog’ harks back to the musicals like Disney made in the past and gives it its own twist. That means relatively few theatrical ballads and lots of swinging tunes that will keep singing around in your head for hours. Randy Newman wrote the soundtrack full of jazz, dixieland, blues, gospel and zydeco (the music of the Creoles in Louisiana). All those styles are mixed into a catchy mix that fits perfectly with the beautiful animations and really rocks.

An impressive voice cast was gathered for ‘The Princess and the Frog’. Anika Noni Rose stars as Tiana. She portrays her as an honest woman who fights for her dream in a hard world. She is a go-getter with a heart of gold. Where in many Disney films the prince hardly represents anything, Prince Naveen from ‘The Princess and the Frog’ is a fully-fledged character who gives a sjeu to the whole. Especially in frog form, Naveen, played by Bruno Campos, provides quite a few hilarious moments. Keith David excels as the voodoo king of New Orleans, Dr. Facilier – also known as The Shadow Man. Also very successful is Jim Cummings’ contribution as Ray, the firefly with the genuine Cajun accent who has found the love of his life in a shining star in the sky. In smaller or larger roles, we also hear Oprah Winfrey (Tiana’s mother), Terrence Howard (Tiana’s father), John Goodman (‘Big Daddy’ LaBoeuff), Jennifer Cody (Charlotte LaBoeuff) and Michael-Leon Wooley (as the musical alligator). Louis). One by one, the votes are spot on. Funny where possible, emotional when necessary – but you always hit the right note.

Tribute to John Lasseter! With ‘The Princess and the Frog’ he proves that he can make an original, catchy and heart-warming animated film even without CGI. It is a beautifully made timeless fairy tale with a fresh twist, in which we find all those elements we look for in beautiful stories: comedy, adventure and music. But ‘The Princess and the Frog’ is above all a film with a heart and soul as we know it from the classic Disney fairy tales. The characters appeal to the imagination and the emotions touch you. Even the generation spoiled by Pixar’s brilliant animations will enjoy it to the fullest. The traditional animation in the style of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ (1937) has not been adopted indiscriminately, but has basically been perfected and given a subtle contemporary twist. The result is Disney as we like to see it: honest, heartwarming and extremely entertaining! Disney’s best animated film (excluding Pixar) in a long time!