DVDizzy Forum

I want to write more later, but for now, IT WAS AMAZING!!!!! I LOVED IT!!!!

I absolutely loved it. I don't know if I can say it's the resurgance of another golden era, but I think if ever a film would start off another one, this one would be it. I loved the whole thing from start to finish, it took me back to the "golden age" of the 90s musicals. Although I don't think it can top the classics like Beauty and the Beast, Mermaid, Lion King etc. I truly believe this film belongs side by side with them in the list of Disney's best. Well done, Disney!!

I enjoyed this film about as much as I thought I would. Still had lots of reason to be excited but wasn't completely blown away (and to be fair, I think part of is that I've simply become jaded as I've gotten older). I was also a little tired as it was the midnight showing, so I might catch this again before it leaves the theater. And I'll definitely be picking up the DVD, there was a lot to enjoy here. I'm so happy to see hand-drawn back on the big screen!!! Lots of lovely animation and scenery to take in.

It felt like the only point in the whole film where they *might* have touched on the race issue was when the real estate guys told Tiana that someone of her "background" was better off where she was. I half expected them to use the word "color" instead, but I'm sure the writers felt that would have been distracting from the story or might have caused too much controversy.

And I agree about Ray in that I didn't like how his death was handled. For him to be crushed and to show up again for his goodbyes with a normal-looking body felt a little unbelievable and lessened the impact of what happened. It reminded me of Kokoum getting shot in Pocahontas but showing no blood. I understand them not wanting to show a crushed version of his cute little body with "stuff" hanging out, but I think they could have had Louis wrap him up in leaf like a blanket and let his head stick out for that goodbye scene. That would have left enough to the imagination to make his wounds still feel serious. Then again I'm sure they wanted to make a point of his light going out, but I'm sure that could have easily been worked out, say unwrapping the leaf for the others to gauge his injuries and only showing their reactions before the light went out . . . Anyway, maybe I'm overthinking it, and regardless I still felt it was an emotional scene.

Charlotte was a pleasant surprise, I thought that she would be a total brat, but she was so sweet to Tiana throughout the entire film.

Totally random, but I couldn't help of think of a certain quote from the Lion King during key scenes...

"Their fire flies, fire flies that got stuck up in that big bluish black thing."
needless to say that thought distracted me for a good 20 seconds, heh.

I liked it a lot.....much better than I expected and yes I felt it was rushed but I think that was because I also wanted it to last longer.....its funny and odd....it took 3 years for them to get this Hour and half filim into theaters......so maybe waiting 3 years I wanted to see more....animation more more more....


Also to those who have not seen it....watch closely in the Mardi Gras Parade.....for a cameo and a few other things that make you wonder if... I'll put this in white just in case you want to see if you can catch the things I noticed on your own or if you didn't catch it

In the Mardi Gras Parade there was a float that looked resembled King Trtion from The Little Mermaid and also I think during the Frog Hunters when they run away in the boat it looked like it was paying homage to Captain Hook's get away at the end of Peter Pan...also a dog chases Frog Naveen and Tiana at the party and gets a mermaid tail from a differ costume that looks like Ariel's Tale...and in little Charolottes room I swear all the dolls in room that are Princesses looke strikeingly like past Disney princesses....like I could of sworn I saw a Belle type doll in a yellow dress and the scene where Naveen and Tiana almost kiss as frogs on the lily pad looked like it was paying homage to the scene from The Little Mermaid song...Kiss the Girl....

disneyboy20022 wrote: Also to those who have not seen it....watch closely in the Mardi Gras Parade.....for a cameo and a few other things that make you wonder if...

I think I can guess another cameo. (white text) There appeared to be a cameo of the directors (Ron and John) as float riders in the parade.

Flanger-Hanger wrote:Am I the only on who thought the whole story felt rushed?

I personally didn't feel this way...

kenai3000 wrote:Here is a special version of Never Knew I Needed made for the German version. It is a duet between Ne-Yo & Cassandra Steen (Tiana's German voice).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51phaM062ww

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Another way to enjoy the song I listen to all the time! Really, I'm obsessed.

Disney's Divinity wrote:liked that Naveen grew rather organically, but the “will you marry me” part came rather suddenly. I don’t know, it seemed like they were trying to be so serious/realistic the rest of the time that it threw me off.

I was a little shocked at the fastness of it, but I think that they really connected, and Tiana was just so different from the usual women he dated- she didn't like him because he was a prince, and she even liked him in froggy form- how many of the women Naveen had dated would've stuck around if he was in froggy form?

Disney's Divinity wrote:I kept wondering why Louis was in this movie. He really isn’t funny and he doesn’t offer anything.

Louis helped Tiana and Naveen out of the swamp- he was kind of like a protector (well, I mean, as much as a scaredy cat alligator would be. You know, because it's best to be with a large alligator than all alone in the bayou!

Disney's Divinity wrote:Also, the fact that Mama Odie is also a “voodoo queen” goes unquestioned—and I’m left wondering how she can be good when she’s endowed with the same powers (apparently from the same source) as Facilier?

Well, that's like with anything- people can choose to use themselves for good, and use themselves for evil. Look at Triton and Ursula- same magic source (the sceptor), but Triton uses it for good (I mean, not that destroying Ariel's grotto is good...), and Ursula uses it for evil.

Disney's Divinity wrote:Oprah did a great job here, because you almost couldn't tell it was her unless you knew so.

Yes- I completely agree! At one point earlier on, I listened hard to hear it sound like Oprah, and for a tiny bit of time it did sound like her, but I wasn't focused on it- like, for the rest of Eudora's time on screen, I wasn't paying attention to the fact that it's Oprah- she just did a really great job.

So, I saw it last night- I was not disappointed at all- I knew that I'd be one of my favorites, I just knew! It was so magical. Everything was just perfect. I laughed, I cried, I felt for the characters. Tiana & Naveen are really giving Aladdin & Jasmine a run for their money in terms of my favorite Disney couple- I loved them that much. Tiana & Naveen's relationship was so amazing- I just loved the evolution of it. I'm jealous of the relationship of cartoon frogs. There wasn't anything that I didn't like in the film- for me, everything worked wonderfully, all the characters are great (I agree about being curious about Dr. Facilier's background, but the film isn't called The Evil Shadowman and the Frog), I love the music- even more now that everything is in context. Amazing, amazing movie. I loved Charlotte- so funny, so engergetic, so kind. Oh, and I had voted for Naveen in the poll in this thread, but he'd have to be tied with Tiana now that I've seen the film.

**************************************************
The Art of Princess and the Frog: Down in New Orleans with author Jeff Kurtti
http://animatedviews.com/2009/the-art-o ... ff-kurtti/

Princess And The Frog soundtrack streamed
http://animatedviews.com/2009/princess- ... -streamed/

“The Princess and the Frog”: After Being Downsized, a Filmmaking Team Is Back on the Big Screen
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/12/ ... m-is-back-

on-the-big-screen/
(via animationguildblog.blogspot.com)

Disney's Princess: A Breakthrough for Curly Hair
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0 ... 14,00.html
(via laughingplace.com)
(Even though Aurora's hair is curly...)

Oooo! I'm so jealous of everyone who's gotten to see it! I have to watch this movie this weekend!!

I saw it yesterday at 5:30 PM on its first day and I loved it!

Characters- I liked all of the main characters. They all played an important part to the story.

Music- After hearing the songs for the first time, I have to say that I enjoyed just about all of them. My favorite song for now would have to be "Dig a little Deeper" followed by "When We're Human". I thought "Friends on the Other Side" was a fine villain song and I actually liked Ne-yo's "Never knew I Needed" song in the credits. "Almost There" was a pleasant surprise.

Tiana- She is the strongest princess of the group. Her goal of owning a restaurant in dedication of her dad is very believable and real. She's not overly feminine like a couple of the other princesses, but she has a charm to her that makes her a very good character. I also liked how she stood up to Dr. Facilier when he tempts her to hand over Naveen's blood.

Naveen- Definitely the most colorful prince. He starts out as fun-loving and spoiled but when he takes the journey to Mama Odie with Tiana, they both begin to realize what matters. They made a nice couple!

Dr. Facilier- He was a great villain. Although he may have been meant to be a combo of Cruella De Vil and Captain Hook, he still reminded me a lot of Jafar. His shadow friends are definitely the creepiest Disney villain cronies ever made. I was impressed that the kids in the theater never once squealed or cried when they showed up. I also liked Dr. Facilier's defeat when Tiana destroy's the skull holding Naveen's blood and Facilier's shadow friends turn on him. The way the giant voodoo mask pulls him into its green mouth is like him being dragged into Hell.

Ray- I was surprised by how emotionally touching he could be. "Ma Belle Evangeline" was a nice song and the scene where the fireflies hold his funeral and he becomes a star next to Evangeline was wonderful.

Louis- I love alligators and crocodiles and this guy didn't disappoint me one bit. He was pretty funny and cute, and he turned out to be my favorite character.

Charlotte- She was hilarous. Almost every scene with her was great. It was refreshing that she didn't turn out to be a spoiled girl but an eccentric best friend of Tiana who could care for her. A lot of her jokes were good!

Mama Odie- Even though she had a short time in the movie, she was a very good character. The "Dig a little Deeper" sequence was fantastic.

Animation- It was beautiful. New Orleans looked very colorful and the swamps and bayous were nicely done. The water in the "When We're Human" sequence was crisp and clean. I also liked the fireflies during Ray's song, seeing them bounce and breeze across the big screen. The "Friends on the Other Side" sequence was creepy with all the masks and colors and the finale of "Dig a little Deeper" was awesome when you see the light shining behind Mama Odie and all the spoonbills. The 20's art of the "Almost There" sequence was pretty neat.

The only con I can think of is probably the pace of some of the scenes. Even at that the movie never disappointed me at all. It felt magical and charming just like the 90's films. I don't know if it would be in my top five, but it should be side-by-side with the other DACs.

The audience had a good time with the movie as well. Just like any Disney movie, a lot of kids appeared and the adults loved it just as much as them. The frog hunters, although silly, were supposed to be catered to the kids and Charlotte and Naveen had more of the adult humor. I think this movie did a great job of keeping most of the humor balanced for everyone.

So for me, I give it a 9/10. It was awesome. The audience started clapping when Tiana and Naveen kissed and then me and the audience clapped in the end.

Everyone in my theater clapped, too....

You know, I really did think that the whole voodoo thing was handled very well. You can tell that they really did their research on New Orleans, and the fact that Facilier and Mama Odie live in the same universe isn't that surprising. It's pretty accurate, since "real" voodoo practitioners who really believe it and use it for good (like Mama Odie) look down upon the "fakers" who just use it to get money and approach it as something creepy and slightly evil (like Facilier). That fact that his just desserts were handed down by the voodoo spirits themselves really justified that, in my opinion, since it was the very force that he only pretended to understand that was his undoing.

I just saw an ad for the movie on Disney Channel that rubbed me the wrong way. It shows a scene from "Almost There" where Tiana is singing about her dream of owning her own business and the voiceover says "this is the story of a girl who dreams of finding her prince and living happily ever after." Um, no it's not. Did they even watch the movie they are promoting?

LMAO - did they say that?

Looks and sounds like Disney's marketing department still isn't in synch with the animation studio. Much like Bolt, mistakes were made - again.

I saw the film last night, and I loved it also.

I have to say that I was expecting a lot, and it met all of my expectations except in some areas (which didn't stop me from loving it).

I'll start off with the bad IMO...

I personally don't really like the music. I think it fits well and that it does match the environment, but I really wanted a big show-stopping number. This film simply does not deliver that. You can tell that Randy tried to do that, but it just doesn't get there for me. I'm not saying that the music is bad at all, but for my taste it isn't what I wanted so that hurt the film for my tastes.

I also felt that Facilier could have been more developed. I feel like there was a deleted scene somewhere that explained why he went to voodoo or how he ever got involved. I don't really understand his motivation other than trying to save himself, and then there was the curveball about taking over the city. He's kind of a empty character amongst the awesome character development that many of the other characters received. He was cool, and I did really like his animation, but he should've received more story.

Now for the good stuff...

Tiana is by far one of the best characters Disney has ever made. She's beautiful, she has a great personality, she has a great voice, and is animated beautifully. Her development throughout the story is some of the best I've ever seen in a animated film. I loved Treasure Planet because the characters were so great, and I was happy to see that Ron Clements and Jon Musker were able to bring that to this film as well.

Naveen is a wonderful prince. At times he seems a little too stereotypical as a "rich, famous, lazy" guy, but his progress through the film and the love that begins to grow on him for Tiana throughout the film is really neat to see. By the end of the film it is honestly hard for me to decide whether I like Naveen or Tiana more.

Charlotte is a hoot. At first I did find her animation at times very distracting because she was moving around so fast, but as the film went on I really liked that choice. She's a great character.

Louis and Ray are really great side-kicks as well. I don't think I've ever really cared about a side-kick as much as I did about Ray though, which is great. Louis is just fun all around. I can see how he'll be a kid favorite.

Mama Odie is a fun character as well. I wish we could've seen more of her!

The animation throughout the film is spectacularly beautiful. That is something that CGI will never be able to replicate, and I'm so happy to see it back. I did see some computer work used, but I never found it to be distracting. In fact it was something I had to look for when I thought about it. When I was getting lost in the story (which was most of the time) I never noticed.

Overall I was taken away by how much I loved it. I saw it with 5 of my friends and we all felt the same way. Because we saw it at 9pm only a quarter of the theater was full, but they all responded to it well. I could hear gasps, and random outbursts of "No" and "Yes", there was more laughter than I thought I'd hear, and I even heard some crying noises. It was just a great experience, and I'm very happy that Disney Animation has FINALLY released a film like this.

not that they matter in terms of how good the movie is, but because this will predict the future of Disney handdrawn animation for a bit, here are some numbers from the box office about friday's totals. And it's good news, because Princess and the Frog is set to open as the #1 movie after the weekend ends, it's already in the lead based on friday's ticket sales alone and has so far made: 7,193,000 million dollars! compared to the #2 movie on friday with only 4,6 million dollars so far it's looking GREAT!!!!

Glad to see TP&TF's doing well--and I'm glad to know I helped contribute to it a little bit.

blackcauldron85 wrote:

Flanger-Hanger wrote:Am I the only on who thought the whole story felt rushed?

I personally didn't feel this way...

I agree. Except for that particular point with Naveen and Facilier at the beginning, the movie felt like it took its time to me.

Disney's Divinity wrote:Also, the fact that Mama Odie is also a “voodoo queen” goes unquestioned—and I’m left wondering how she can be good when she’s endowed with the same powers (apparently from the same source) as Facilier?

Well, that's like with anything- people can choose to use themselves for good, and use themselves for evil. Look at Triton and Ursula- same magic source (the sceptor), but Triton uses it for good (I mean, not that destroying Ariel's grotto is good...), and Ursula uses it for evil.

That's true. But I don't think that'll stop some people from complaining.

Last night, I listened to the soundtrack a lot and I think I've changed my mind about the music. I actually really enjoy it. I guess it was hard to judge how much I liked it based on one viewing of the film. And the fact that it has a certain flavor to it, you kind of need to be in the right mood, too.

And reflecting over how this movie would be placed on my list(s), I think Tiana has become my favorite "princess" after Ariel and Cinderella. The movie itself would probably end up somewhere around 13-17 on my list. Anyway, I think I'll go see the movie again sometime the next few days.

disneyboy20022 wrote: Also to those who have not seen it....watch closely in the Mardi Gras Parade.....for a cameo and a few other things that make you wonder if... I'll put this in white just in case you want to see if you can catch the things I noticed on your own or if you didn't catch it

In the Mardi Gras Parade there was a float that looked resembled King Trtion from The Little Mermaid and also I think during the Frog Hunters when they run away in the boat it looked like it was paying homage to Captain Hook's get away at the end of Peter Pan...also a dog chases Frog Naveen and Tiana at the party and gets a mermaid tail from a differ costume that looks like Ariel's Tale...and in little Charolottes room I swear all the dolls in room that are Princesses looke strikeingly like past Disney princesses....like I could of sworn I saw a Belle type doll in a yellow dress and the scene where Naveen and Tiana almost kiss as frogs on the lily pad looked like it was paying homage to the scene from The Little Mermaid song...Kiss the Girl....

There's also some more that John and Ron told us about at the D23 showing of the movie. At the very beginning when Down in New Orleans is starting, a woman is waving the carpet from Aladdin over her balcony and when Mama Odie goes through her trunk, one of the things that goes flying in the background is the lamp from Aladdin.

Disney's Divinity wrote:And reflecting over how this movie would be placed on my list(s), I think Tiana has become my favorite "princess" after Ariel and Cinderella. Anyway, I think I'll go see the movie again sometime the next few days.

Me too! Favorite princesses:

1. Cinderella
2. Ariel
3. Tiana

I'm definitely seeing the movie again in the next week or so.

I caught a matinee of this earlier today and loved it. I knew it I would at least like it, but I was afraid that with so much riding on this film, it would buckle under the pressure and become stale and derivative. I'm happy to see that it has a distinctive voice and stands on its own two feet. Some random thoughts...

* The story was vaguely Wizard of Ozish, but thankfully they approached it in a differet way. Besides, I don't think Disney's ever done a feature animation film before with this story structure, have they? Where the characters spend the movie on a road trip to a destination to find something they thought they needed? None come to mind at the moment, and that helps the film from feeling too formulaic since the last renaissance was more about "boy/girl wants this girl/boy."

* The animation was simply stunning. I'm sure some will call it stereotypical Disney since it doesn't have a totally unique style ala Sleeping Beauty or Aladdin. It feels more generically Disney, but I think that was most than appropriate for this film.

* I love love love the art deco during "Almost There." On a semi-related note, I think Tiana's 1920s high-end fashion (which we only to see "live" during Facilier's temptation scene) is my favorite look of hers. I wish we saw more of it.

* Like a lot of people, I found both Charlotte and Ray more likable than I anticipated. Charlotte came across as whiny in the ads, and Ray just came across as kind of annoying. Both characters are actually quite lovable, especially Ray. Louis was also a lot of fun, though I was expecting that.

* Dr. Facilier, for some reason, didn't seem as prominent as I expected. He actually has more scenes than most Disney villains, but a lot of them were brief and unmenacing. I liked his design and personality, but he still somehow didn't quite work for me. Maybe more backstory, like others suggested, would've done the trick. It did seem like we didn't really know him as a person, but I think a lot of this has to do with how the characters around him are portrayed. Everyone's got a full-developed arc, and that makes his lack of one more noticeable.

* The music definitely works better when viewed in context. I had bought the soundtrack from Beat Buy last week and while I found it pleasant, I was disappointed by how it wasn't sticking with me. I still feel some of Randy Newman's lyrics and melody transitions awkward, but the visuals and dialogue that accompanied these helped mask that. "When We're Human" is easily my favorite song.

* As for Ray's death, I thought it was just okay. I agree that it's a bit odd to still have him alive and in one piece long enough for some final words. I was honestly expecting Louis to show Tiana and Naveen a corpse and he rejoined them. I do, however, think the payoff with him becoming a star next to Evangeline was beautiful and gave me goosebumps.

* If Tiana and Naveen can understand other animals when they're frogs, do they retain that gift when they become human again? Otherwise, they'll never be able to understand Louis again.

* So...what happened to Lawrence? His arc had no closure.

More thoughts are swimming through my head, but this post is long enough as it is. While this doesn't rank with the previous Disney renaissance, I do think it's better than most of what we've gotten since 2000 (I only prefer Emperor's New Groove, Lilo & Stitch, and Meet the Robinsons to this). An excellent movie that I plan on seeing again tomorrow with a friend. Maybe I'll post more of my thoughts from today's screenings and whatever new stuff I notice tomorrow.

Welcome back, Disney!

Disneykid wrote:* The story was vaguely Wizard of Ozish, but thankfully they approached it in a differet way. Besides, I don't think Disney's ever done a feature animation film before with this story structure, have they? Where the characters spend the movie on a road trip to a destination to find something they thought they needed?

A Goofy Movie

I just saw the movie .

It was definitely one of the best Disney movies I've ever seen. It was just perfect.

I was expecting not to like the songs, but they were actually pretty good. I LOVED Almost there and Down in New Orleans and I just liked the others.

Tiana was a great lead. Her motivation to live her father's dream really stood out from ALL Disney heroines. She had a very lovely design and looked very cute as a kid. Her voice was better than I expected it to be and fit her perfectly.

Naveen is officially my favorite prince. He was a great character and he didn't really come off as a jerk, unlike other conceited characters, like Kuzco or Gaston. His evolution was so realistic (Tiana's too).

Charlotte was a really funny character and was really just spoiled and not a brat. She was such a sweet character and one of my favorites.

Ray and Louis were both funny sidekicks, although surprisingly, I liked Ray a lot more than Louis.

The rest of the cast was nice too. Although people here are right, Lawrence's arc was unresolved.

Overall, I give this movie a 9.8 out of 10. This is now right up there with my favorite Disney movie if all (TLM).