The Princess and the Frog Discussion - Part III

[Mooky]

About this whole "reviews" thing: I think Flanger-Hanger said it best in another thread:

Regardless of what RT says, it's more important to form your own opinion on a movie. Although, it's nice to know sometimes the critics agree with you

[CherryLipTherapy]

i hope this works

[Margos]

Oh, no! I was afraid of that.... Oh well, at least I'll see it coming. Won't embarrass myself with helpless sobbing.

Ummm.... you may want to edit that to put it in white before those who are anti-spoiler stumble across it!

[CherryLipTherapy]

is it white i cant tell thats what i tired to do cant i just erase it entirely

[Margos]

Yeah, it's gone. Here's the problem, I've done it, too:
When you change the font color, both the beginning and ending HTML codes are provided. You have to place your text in between the two sets of brackets, instead of just typing it the way you would in a word document.

[CherryLipTherapy]

Thanks. I was wondering what I was doing wrong. I didn't want to spoil anything for anyone

[DisneyJedi]

To be honest, I was too curious to take a glimpse at one of the storybooks, and, well...... I kind of found out that Ray does die in the end. But this isn't the first time that a Disney character has died and not come back.

[Margos]

Still, it doesn't happen too terribly often!

[Cordy_Biddle]

All Aussie UD'ers take note:

Kmart has started to stock the "Princess & the Frog" dolls. No sign of the lovely Charlotte doll yet, but lots of the basic 'Bayou wedding' Tiana ($20) and the more expensive Tiana in her light-up blue ballgown ($48).

Keep your eyes peeled at Kmart! :)

[kurtadisneyite]

At last look Rotten Tomatoes pegged PATF at 83% approval. This was before the slew of additional good reviews released today.
Only major "bad" review was from Variety.

Any bets Froggie plucks the Box Office's magic twanger hard enough to set a new 2D animation BO record?

[DisneyJedi]

Any bets Froggie plucks the Box Office's magic twanger hard enough to set a new 2D animation BO record?

Well, if it at least makes back over twice its budget, I'll be happy

[singerguy04]

honestly, due to inflation since the last 2D animated record (which i think is The Lion King) could easily make it gross higher number-wise. I would just be happy with it doing well enough to prove 2D is definitely worth it's cost to make.

Also, I just cannot see this doing badly in the box office. There is enough buzz and enough positive reviews to make people want to give it a shot. I hope it's number one in the box office on it's release though. I'm really hoping that it'll be more than a box office success though. If anything though, maybe TPatF will be the perfect launch pad for Rapunzel!

[tsom]

The Tyra Show just did a whole segment about The Princess and the Frog. It was GREAT!

Oh really!? What all did they show? Anything new?

Well, she talked about TPatF and how much of a huge impact it will make on the world and on millions of girls, especially black girls. Then, she had three little girls (two black, one white) and asked them how they felt about Princess Tiana, and they were elated!!!

She then surprised three of them with a trip to Disney World, where they met Tiana and Naveen. They had a party and everything. The girls also met other Disney princesses. It was pretty cool. I'm still wondering why Oprah hasn't done a whole show about it...

[ColorsOfTheWind]

Hey everyone! We're just heading back from the special D23 screening of the movie and all I can say is what an amazing experience between seeing the movie, going on a studio tour, and talking with John Musker! And the movie? Absolutely fantastic. I had high expectations for this movie and every one of them was met. I'm currently typing on my phone, so I'll write a better review when I get home, but I assure you guys, its a wonderful movie. I laughed (a lot, especially at Charlotte and Naveen, who are a riot!) and I cried (again, a lot!). Definitely a worthy return to 2D animation

[jpanimation]

Great to hear ColorsOfTheWind! Really seems to be a fan pleaser. A lot of people seem to wish more of Dr. Facillier was explored, were you left feeling the same or did you get all you need to know about him?

As for whether this film will do good or not, I think it will do well, if not great. This is the first Traditionally Disney Animated Feature to be properly marketed in ages. Their last few traditionally animated movies didn't get the marketing they deserved and the results showed in the lack of enthusiasm and BO gross (in addition to being bad movies). This will be the first opportunity for many kids to see a traditionally animated film in theaters, let alone an animated musical, and I'm sure parents are excited to see something non-computer animated for once. I'm not sure what the budget was but I'm assuming they kept it under control for once and that will hopefully help make big returns.

BTW, Floyd Norman stopped by CartoonBrew and had this to say: "Anyway, “Frog” is not without its problems, but it’s a pretty damn good movie."

[DisneyJedi]

There's a few more sneak peeks.

http://www.youtube.com/user/daytimesky2000

And judging by one of the clips, the way that Tiana smashes that charm reminds me a lot of how Ariel smashed Ursula's shell in the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid.

[ColorsOfTheWind]

Great to hear ColorsOfTheWind! Really seems to be a fan pleaser. A lot of people seem to wish more of Dr. Facillier was explored, were you left feeling the same or did you get all you need to know about him?

Wow, if there was one thing I would change about the movie, you definitely hit it right there I adore Dr. Facilier and I really wish they would have explored his character a bit more and given him more screen time, even if it meant extending the movie's length. He is such a great villain, but I felt like there could have been more with him.

Anyway, here's my thoughts on the film and its characters. (Minor spoilers, mostly about things many of you probably already know are going to happen, but anything major will definitely be in white)

Tiana: I think she is absolutely amazing and worthy of the Disney Princess title. She's strong, independent, and, as we all know, a hard worker. The whole race debate, I think, is absolute nonsense. Disney did a wonderful job handling the first African American princess. Honestly, I can barely even find words to describe her, I love her so much.

Naveen: Oh my goodness. Naveen has officially stolen the title for favorite prince. Not only does he have a much larger role than a majority of past princes, but he's got a wonderful personality too. I think my favorite thing about him is his realization about how wonderful Tiana is and how he loves her. Naveen in love is so adorable. Did I mention he's also absolutely hilarious? Some of the things he says had the entire theater laughing, and I was in tears.

Dr. Facilier: As I stated above, I thought this guy was an amazing villain and some of his scenes were actually VERY scary (mostly his friends on the other side). He's shown to be pretty ruthless in the scene where hekills Ray and we briefly get to know why he's doing what he's doing. But, like many others have said, I was left wanting more of him! I wanted more of his back story and more screen time in general!

Ray: I'll admit, I first had doubts about his character, mostly because a lot of his scenes seemed to have a childish humor and also because I had a hard time grasping how he was supposed to be "lovesick" and such. But after seeing the movie, I've grown quite fond of him and he has some really funny lines aimed not only to children. I think the way they portrayed his love was absolutely heart-warming. When Ray dies, I was bawling and completely upset. I loved his character and was so sad to see him go. But, his death is shown to have been a way for him to be with his Evangelline and by the end of the movie, he joins her in the sky (which probably made me cry even more because of how touching it was).

K, from here on, my character summaries will be a lot shorter because I'm awfully tired feel free to ask any specific questions you have though!

Louis: Like many of the characters in this movie, Louis was hilarious and any doubts I'd had about his character were completely erased.

Charlotte: Oh my gosh, whenever this girl was on screen, she stole the scene. I'll say I expected maybe...a third of her craziness? But her character is arguably the most laugh-out-loud hilarious, in my opinion. While she's a bit insane, she's also shown to have a good heart as well.

Mama Odie: I was actually expecting Mama Odie to be in the film a bit more than she was, but I was satisfied with what she was given. She was very interesting and I actually want to know more about her background, none of which was revealed to the audience!

The music: I love the music and every song in the film. My only complaint - and this might just be me - is I wish the songs never ended! They were over much to soon for me. That, and I wish Naveen would have sung some more because I love his voice Other than that, I think the music is great and even more amazing when paired with the animation.

Overall, I think this movie could be the start of some amazing things we'll see from Disney in the future. The only major thing I noticed was the film felt a bit...rushed in places? The scenes seemed to jump around just a bit at times, but it in no way made the film any less magical. I'll want to see it again to make sure, but I think this could actually be my new favorite animated film. It had everything I like to see in a Disney film, and more.

Of course, this is all just my own opinion. I hope you all watch it and develop your own!

[schoollover]

Wow The film sounds great. This is jut wishful thinking but I hope it starts a rennisance- esque age for 2d and cgi for disney.

[Babaloo]

Wow The film sounds great. This is jut wishful thinking but I hope it starts a rennisance- esque age for 2d and cgi for disney.

Exactly what I was thinking. I've been hoping for this since I heard this movie was coming out. Maybe this is like Mermaid, Bolt was like Oliver and Company (Dog and cat characters , just joking about that), and Rapunzel as good as Beauty and the Beast ! And even if it doesn't follow the same pattern as long as there is a second renaissance. But this movie sounds amazing! I was a little bummed out when it first came out, but after hearing how great it is from fans, I'm thrilled! I actually think at the end of the movie I'm going to jump up and cheer in the theatre and embarrass myself! And I'm so happy Charlotte is not just a complete brat! I'm happy to hear she has some heart to her.

[Margos]

Oh my gosh! You have no idea how excited those descpritions made me! Now I'm looking forward to this movie a lot more than I was before, and I was already super-excited!
I agree, it's definitely good to hear that Charlotte isn't a total brat. From what I've heard of her, it definitely works better for her to be a good person, but full of craziness!