The Princess and the Frog Discussion - Part III

[pap64]

Yet we have to remember who would be going to see Avatar...PatF is aimed at families and children, whereas Avatar isn't. I would be surprised if a family with little kids decide "Oh let's go see Avatar" .

I would agree to this if it wasn't for the fact that the Twilight film series, a franchise strictly aimed at female teenagers, keeps breaking record after record after record at the box office. And note that this is a very maligned film series that a great deal of people hate. Yet, people went to see it in flocks.

By that logic, PatF should have made 300 million in its first weekend because it has wider appeal and the critics love it .

[DisneyJedi]

I would agree to this if it wasn't for the fact that the Twilight film series, a franchise strictly aimed at female teenagers, keeps breaking record after record after record at the box office. And note that this is a very maligned film series that a great deal of people hate. Yet, people went to see it in flocks.

By that logic, PatF should have made 300 million in its first weekend because it has wider appeal and the critics love it .

Another reason I wish that Twilight was never even created. It's brainwashing the poor souls of teenage girls, turning them into real-life vampires. God, I wish that godforsaken series would just go and burn, then rot in some unknown ditch!

[bradhig]

Did PatF bomb? Someone at IMDB called it a flop.

[Disney Duster]

Hey DisneyDuster....

Is that some sort of sarcasm about the fairy godmother's wand? Mama Odie makes her magic stick appear the EXACT same way the fairy godmother did in Cinderella. Its in the "dig a little deeper" song

Are you saying that the fairy godmother from Cinderella doesn't have a wand or am I totally reading this the wrong way . . .
. . . in that mama Odie's scene doesn't match up with the way the fairy godmother pulls it out of thin air (a scene I remember from Cinderella but couldn't find a screencap of).

I never thought of Mama Odie's stick as a magic wand, I thought of it as a magic torch, though it looks like a caveman club, lol...I don't know what it's real voodoo name would be, if it is even based on anything that close to real voodoo.

And I don't remember the way she pulled it out, but I'll look for it next time! A Cinderella homage, cool!

I read or looked over all the reviews, I think, especially reading all those of my friend's here, I think you know who you are, people I know and such.

Disney's Divinity, I think you are right about Mama Odie and Facilier. Unless there are good spirits, and bad spirits...which I think is the case.

With Facilier, his friends on the other side were evil, I mean, they wanted lost souls and to take over New Orleans, soo...

There seemed to be some plot holes as others mentioned, like with Lawrence and if they'll talk to Louis again...well, I do feel this thing was probably a little bit rushed.

[pap64]

Did PatF bomb? Someone at IMDB called it a flop.

No one has declared it a flop. We are saying that the film had a somewhat weak opening and it will face strong competition in the upcoming weeks.

I think it will earn its money back in a few weeks, but I don't know if it will have strong legs at the box office.

[goofystitch]

Did PatF bomb? Someone at IMDB called it a flop.

It did not bomb. People are viewing its $25 million opening as lackluster, but it was the number 1 movie this weekend and it's the highest grossing opening weekend for an animated film in December. According to box office mojo, December is typically a profitable period for animated films, but usually has a much slower rise to high revenue than the film would have at other times of the year. Its gotten great reviews and people who have seen it seem to love it, so the good publicity and word of mouth should keep it's box office growth consistent through the holiday season.

[DisneyJedi]

No one has declared it a flop. We are saying that the film had a somewhat weak opening and it will face strong competition in the upcoming weeks.

I think it will earn its money back in a few weeks, but I don't know if it will have strong legs at the box office.

Though a $27 million gross with a budget of $105 million is pretty good. At least it's not a movie with a $150 million budget

[Margos]

Disney's Divinity, I think you are right about Mama Odie and Facilier. Unless there are good spirits, and bad spirits...which I think is the case.

It does make pretty good sense. I know I explained this a few pages back, but, here goes:
Mama Odie is a true voodoo priestess, a real believer who uses the powers that she has been endowed with for good. She betters mankind, instead of using them for her own personal gain, and she is rewarded. She even has the snake, and you can call it a "seeing-eye" snake if you want, but all real voodoo priestesses have a snake, the Vodu, the Gran Zombi (I think, but I may be confusing my terminology slightly). She is the real deal!
Dr. Facilier, on the other hand, is a common French Quarter shyster dabbling in the dark arts. He commercializes the power of voodoo for his own financial gain, and approaches it as something arcane and terrible. He isn't really a practitioner, he's one of those people who try to make a quick buck on the petty desires of humans and their thrist for something greater and more mysterious. For this reason, he cannot control powers greater than himself.
It is the same power, by the same spirits, being harnassed by two very different indivuals for two very different purposes. If you do some reading on voodoo, and it will help if you have a bit of a knowledge of the concept of "plastic shamanism" as well, this concept makes perfect sense. It really does remind me of how the people in New Orleans really percieve voodoo, and the difference between true voodoo and the "tourist-trap" voodoo all over the French Quarter.

[Disney Duster]

But what about the voodoo that Facilier was using looking so evil and going after people and taking pleasure in Facilier's promise to have all the lost souls they could want? That voodoo, those spirits, seemed to be evil, not just Facilier.

[Avaitor]

Guys, don't call out a scenario similar to Aladdin for Princess and the Frog; remember, it did well when it first came out, but it really made a killing when Christmas came by, and stayed at #1 for weeks. P&TF's word of mouth is strong enough for it to still do well for a while. More than likely, thanks to the hype and 3D effect Avatar will be #1 this coming weekend(and I'll probably contribute to it; hell, I'd do the midnight showing if not for exams this week), but I see P&TF at least breaking even.

Anyway, I loved it. I'm hoping to work on a blog within the next few days(once again, mid-term exams are making me refrain from doing it tonight), so I'll link to it when I finish it.

[jpanimation]

What's with the IMDB rating. It was dropping for days and suddenly it shot up to 7.9. Heck, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are the only Disney movies with higher ratings (is this really their third best?). How is it that people like this more then Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, Cinderella, etc. After seeing the movie, I predicted it would settle at a 7.3 or 7.4. Its the hype like this and The Dark Knight received that completely kill any credibility that IMDB may've had. If you check the details, all the high ratings are coming from kids under 18, especially little girls.

I don't even know why this bothers me so much but I try to use the IMDB ratings to help sway me one way or the other when deciding to see at movie and I hate when it's ruined by hype (I've been mislead a number of times to see bad movies that were hyped way higher then they ever should be).

Anyways, I don't think this movie will earn what it deserves because of Avatar being hyped, and if the early reviews are any indication, deservedly hyped and will only draw more by word-of-mouth. Then after that you will have Frog's main competition, Chipmunks coming in and stealing the family audience. Maybe they would've been better off releasing it during January, when it wouldn't be drowned out by these other mega releases.

[DisneyJedi]

I don't think this movie will earn what it deserves because of Avatar being hyped, and if the early reviews are any indication, deservedly hyped and will only draw more by word-of-mouth. Then after that you will have Frog's main competition, Chipmunks coming in and stealing the family audience. Maybe they would've been better off releasing it during January, when it wouldn't be drowned out by these other mega releases.

I'm sorry, jpanimation, but why must you be so negative?

[David S.]

IMO, releasing it in December even with the compitition will make much more money than a January release would have. Animated and family films released in January traditionally don't do well at the box office, because schools have reopened, whereas lots of kids/families go to see movies over the Christmas break. That's why I think the movie will have "legs". Besides the strong word of mouth, when schools let out it will get a lot more attendance on weekdays and will be well-attended during the peak of the Christmas holidays (the week before Christmas and the week after it)

[akhenaten]

avatar will pose some competition frog. but each cater to a different level of audience..younger children will not be permitted for avatar,parents have no choice but to take them to a friendlier picture.besides, feel good movies r usually hits during xmas.its a time when families get together.

seen it 5 times now, loving it more n more each time so did the audience.

[PrincePhillipFan]

What's with the IMDB rating. It was dropping for days and suddenly it shot up to 7.9. Heck, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are the only Disney movies with higher ratings (is this really their third best?). How is it that people like this more then Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, Cinderella, etc.

I know I'm probably a minority, but I greatly enjoyed more than any of the Renaissance filmes, or Pocahontas and Mulan. The songs may not have been as good, but it's the first Disney movie in years I completely enjoyed a heroine and a prince where they never got on my nerves and believed their love to be real, and pretty much enjoyed every character in the film. It has its flaws but hey even the Renaissance films and Walt's films do as well. In my personal opinion, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast are probably the most overhyped Disney films I've seen. They're great, but I really don't think I could consider them the number one Disney film like so many people claim they do. Heck I wouldn't even counter Aladdin in the top 20 of my favorite films, just because I never found Aladdin or Jasmine to be engaging characters at all. Princess and the Frog succeeded to me because I loved every one of the characters, the animation was terrific, and the story was engaging. And while it was maybe a bit fast, I never felt that any time was wasted at all in this film. It's definitely become probably my fifth of sixth favorite Disney animated film now.

[tsom]

I don't think this movie will earn what it deserves because of Avatar being hyped, and if the early reviews are any indication, deservedly hyped and will only draw more by word-of-mouth. Then after that you will have Frog's main competition, Chipmunks coming in and stealing the family audience. Maybe they would've been better off releasing it during January, when it wouldn't be drowned out by these other mega releases.

I'm sorry, jpanimation, but why must you be so negative?

I was just going to ask the same thing!

What's with the IMDB rating. It was dropping for days and suddenly it shot up to 7.9. Heck, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are the only Disney movies with higher ratings (is this really their third best?). How is it that people like this more then Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, Cinderella, etc.

I know I'm probably a minority, but I greatly enjoyed more than any of the Renaissance filmes, or Pocahontas and Mulan. The songs may not have been as good, but it's the first Disney movie in years I completely enjoyed a heroine and a prince where they never got on my nerves and believed their love to be real, and pretty much enjoyed every character in the film. It has its flaws but hey even the Renaissance films and Walt's films do as well. In my personal opinion, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast are probably the most overhyped Disney films I've seen. They're great, but I really don't think I could consider them the number one Disney film like so many people claim they do. Heck I wouldn't even counter Aladdin in the top 20 of my favorite films, just because I never found Aladdin or Jasmine to be engaging characters at all. Princess and the Frog succeeded to me because I loved every one of the characters, the animation was terrific, and the story was engaging. And while it was maybe a bit fast, I never felt that any time was wasted at all in this film. It's definitely become probably my fifth of sixth favorite Disney animated film now.

You're not alone. I definitely liked this film more than I liked Aladdin and The Lion King.

[Flanger-Hanger]

I liked this better than Aladdin and Lion King too (then again, I like alot of things better than Lion King), but jp is allowed to have a freakin' opinion too, especially if he or she tries to reason it out with logic.

"Why must you be so negative?" How about why are you begin so childish?

[Babaloo]

Its the hype like this and The Dark Knight received that completely kill any credibility that IMDB may've had. If you check the details, all the high ratings are coming from kids under 18, especially little girls.

Yet there are more votes from people aged 18-29, and their average is 8.2 (8.1 from males, and 8.9 from females). Obviously the age group below 18 would have a high rating, but the group from 18-29 has more voters. Also under 18, doesn't mean little kids, it also means high school teens and I think a rating that high from them is pretty good.

[MICKEYMOUSE]

This was one of the greatest Disney movies! I wanted to clap at every music piece when it was finished!! This will be on Broadway one day for sure!! Plus there were so many Disney references that if you like all the other Disney classics, it's hard not to like this one!!! I truly felt like a kid again watching this movie! great job Disney, and I loved the villian Shawdow Man and his ghosts!!!

[BelleGirl]

Great that so many of you were able to see TPATF already. I cannot understand why it takes so long for the movie to premiere in The Netherlands, more than a month after Christmas time, when children will have gone back to school. maybe it 's got something to do with the dubbed version not being ready for December?
Well, I just have to do without a new Disney animated feature this christmas. Just watch A Christmas Carol instead, the dvd of Up (I've ordered the deluxe edition and it's been sent, so I have it tomorrow! ) and some older Disney features.

I wonder if TPATF can beat Up at the oscars but I doubt it, Pixar is still the critic's favourite - not that I would mind Up to win, but I would not begrudge Disney getting Best animated Feature award either. (Even though I haven't seen TPatF yet and cannot judge it fully)