Why do people hate Princess and the Frog so much?

[estefan]

Your conclusions are subjectively based on fan reaction on a Disney website. Of course the reactions will be biased.

Which is why I made a point to mention the aspects that were criticised and that those points were well-explained and thought-out criticisms that were perfectly legitimate.

And they also got basic information like animal species correctly.

[Musical Master]

Your conclusions are subjectively based on fan reaction on a Disney website. Of course the reactions will be biased.

Which is why I made a point to mention the aspects that were criticised and that those points were well-explained and thought-out criticisms that were perfectly legitimate.

And they also got basic information like animal species correctly.

Some people write out there agruments and points so well in their reviews of Disney movies to the point where I feel embarassed.

But it is really nice to have those people around.

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm surprised people dislike the film mostly because the characters are frogs for the majority of the film... We do know that Disney has a greater percentage of films with animal characters as the protagonists than films with humans, right...?

I suppose frogs just aren't as glamorous as dalmatians. I also wonder if the expectations of what a "princess film" should be affects the perception of the film. I'm not sure why it has to be like TLM, SW, SB, etc. in order to be considered good, all other issues aside.

[Musical Master]

I'm surprised people dislike the film mostly because the characters are frogs for the majority of the film... We do know that Disney has a greater percentage of films with animal characters as the protagonists than films with humans, right...?

I suppose frogs just aren't as glamorous as dalmatians. I also wonder if the expectations of what a "princess film" should be affects the perception of the film. I'm not sure why it has to be like TLM, SW, SB, etc. in order to be considered good, all other issues aside.

"I suppose frogs just aren't as glamorous as dalmatians". I don't know if I'm guessing, but maybe the expectation of what a princess film is that, to them, it has to hit all cylinders in order to become a great film (characters, story, art direction, songs). To them TPATF didn't meet all of them, some, but not all.

I still like TPATF on some strong good vurtues, but it has problems that are way to open for me to overlook.

[Disney Duster]

It was a classic case of high expectations and (perceived) low rewards, of which I was guilty myself. Yes, the humor is juvenile*, and some of the characters have no real purpose to be in the film (Louis, Lawrence and Mama Odie), but damn if it didn't have a better story, much more heart and better music than its immediate successor, and the idea behind it wasn't as commercial or calculated as Tangled's.

The Princess and the Frog was more commercial and calculated as it was all about making the first black princess and returning to the 90's type films. Tangled I suppose was also trying to be like the 90's films but it felt like it was going in a new direction instead of "the old thing again - but black!". Also Tangled had a better story. It was less back and forth and convoluted. Everything in Tangled felt like it was following an arc and needed to happen. It went smoothly. And the music in Tangled was better and more memorable. It felt grander and like it had good, followable melodies. And it had more heart, or at least more emotion in it. Rapunzel's passion is burning and her cries at being "left" by Flynn and later at Flynn's dying were deep and real and powerful.

[Disney Guru]

I saw it around the time that it came out, I found it very enjoyable. Cute music, great script. In my opinion one of the best animated features to come out of Disney in the last few years.

[Mooky]

It was a classic case of high expectations and (perceived) low rewards, of which I was guilty myself. Yes, the humor is juvenile*, and some of the characters have no real purpose to be in the film (Louis, Lawrence and Mama Odie), but damn if it didn't have a better story, much more heart and better music than its immediate successor, and the idea behind it wasn't as commercial or calculated as Tangled's.

The Princess and the Frog was more commercial and calculated as it was all about making the first black princess and returning to the 90's type films. Tangled I suppose was also trying to be like the 90's films but it felt like it was going in a new direction instead of "the old thing again - but black!". Also Tangled had a better story. It was less back and forth and convoluted. Everything in Tangled felt like it was following an arc and needed to happen. It went smoothly. And the music in Tangled was better and more memorable. It felt grander and like it had good, followable melodies. And it had more heart, or at least more emotion in it. Rapunzel's passion is burning and her cries at being "left" by Flynn and later at Flynn's dying were deep and real and powerful.

Uh, no. CGI, Alan Menken, Barbie-ready merchandise and storyline cobbled from some of their previous hits: all crowd-pleasers as calculated as they come. This thread is the very proof of that. PatF at least took risks even if they didn't work in its favor.

it felt like it was going in a new direction instead of "the old thing again - but black!"

[Lady Cluck]

It was a classic case of high expectations and (perceived) low rewards, of which I was guilty myself. Yes, the humor is juvenile*, and some of the characters have no real purpose to be in the film (Louis, Lawrence and Mama Odie), but damn if it didn't have a better story, much more heart and better music than its immediate successor, and the idea behind it wasn't as commercial or calculated as Tangled's.

The Princess and the Frog was more commercial and calculated as it was all about making the first black princess and returning to the 90's type films. Tangled I suppose was also trying to be like the 90's films but it felt like it was going in a new direction instead of "the old thing again - but black!". Also Tangled had a better story. It was less back and forth and convoluted. Everything in Tangled felt like it was following an arc and needed to happen. It went smoothly. And the music in Tangled was better and more memorable. It felt grander and like it had good, followable melodies. And it had more heart, or at least more emotion in it. Rapunzel's passion is burning and her cries at being "left" by Flynn and later at Flynn's dying were deep and real and powerful.

I can't believe what I'm reading. At least you're open with your racism!

And LMAO at Tangled's boring repetitive music being better than the fun, unique, eclectic, memorable, and whimsical soundtrack of The Princess and the Frog, which features an extremely talented cast instead of being headlined by a washed up B-list pop star. I don't hate Mandy Moore, but give me Anika Noni Rose over her any day of the week.

[Atlantica]

As with anything, it is all in opinion !

I think Ron & Jon got a little lost in trying to make it like their previous films, but with a twist, or different angle on it...and it came out a little bit worse for wear. It is still a lovely film, and Tiana is a great character to add to the Disney roster, but with not many other memorable moments in it. For me personally.

The music is the weakest part of the film, no question. There are no 'Classic' Disney songs on there. I feel like, when you hear music in Disney films, 'Could that be used in a parade or show in Disneyland?' Literally, that's how I think ! Tangled seems to be getting an awful lot of (unwarranted) hate on here lately, but the music has lived on - 'I See The Light' especially. This is used in Disney parades and shows etc, as it is memorable and worth being heard, and fits in with the Disney legacy. The best song from 'Frog' is 'Friends on the Other Side' which has thankfully had a bit of a second wind through being used in Disney Dreams! in Disneyland Paris.

And I don't honestly see why TPATF and Tangled are ALWAYS compared together - you don't have to love one and hate the other. The only connection they have is that they were released within a couple of years of eachother ? The same creative team didn't work on both of them either - you can't really argue they are both 'Princess' movies as there were quite a few beforehand too !

[estefan]

Honestly, I thought the songs were one of the best aspects of Frog. Then again, I'm a Randy Newman fan, but I like the style he brought to them and I think they're all very catchy. I will admit when Newman does underwhelming work (I can't say the songs from James and the Giant Peach especially stick with me), but I thought the soundtrack in Frog was excellent.

But, like I said, I'm a huge fan of Randy Newman and I don't think he deserves the flak he normally gets. If you look past his songs for animated features, his work is actually very biting and satirical ("Political Science" is a perfect example of this). But I'm consistently impressed with what he delivers in the animated films. I feel one of the rare animated films in the '90s (when the rule of thumb was that animated movies had to be musicals) to have a soundtrack on par with Disney's output at the time is Cats Don't Dance.

[thedisneyspirit]

+

[Lady Cluck]

At least we got to the root of the problem.

Sometimes the obvious explanation is the right one no matter how awful it may seem


TPATF's songs don't even sound that Randy Newman-esque to me. They're just fun songs. There are a lot of Menken loyalists here and I'm a huge fan as well, but Tangled isn't his best work. And it's okay to admit that because he was limited by the filmmakers micromanagement and Mandy Moore's mediocre talent. I'm sure he could have done better with more freedom. "I See the Light" is one of the most dull love songs ever to me. I've spent years trying to like it, but I can't. The visuals are beautiful though.


As for comparing the two, I agree it's unnecessary, but Tangled's fanbase was obnoxious proclaiming how Tangled "brought Disney back" and was so much better than TPATF. Many people took offense to that. It just sells better because Rapunzel is a blonde Barbie bitch!

[Atlantica]

It just sells better because Rapunzel is a blonde Barbie bitch!

Hey ! That isnt the case at all ! She is loveable, goofy even. She has slight duck feet, and overbite - she isnt supposed to be a great beauty or the best singer or anything like that. She is just a normal girl, which is part of the reason why she is so beloved as a character. I don't think she is 'Barbie-ish' at all, just because she's blonde...I think the similarities end there.

[DancingCrab]

I can't believe what I'm reading. At least you're open with your racism!

It just sells better because Rapunzel is a blonde Barbie bitch!

So, it's shockingly racist to you that someone makes an neutral observation about a movie having black people in it, but then you think it's ok to make a completely ugly remark against a character for being blonde?

[thedisneyspirit]

And here I thought my "lack of blackness" comment would be the one to offend people.

[Vlad]

I'm also not a big fan of this one, mainly because of what mostly everyone said: it does not have that fairy tale quality that Tangled had. The score and the songs were okay, but all in all they're pretty forgettable. I personally didn't like that the main characters are frogs more than half of the movie.

[Big One]

I can't believe I'm actually coming to the aid and denfese of Disney Duster, my old rival and bitter enemy. He actually made a well-written and well-reasoned post and got berated by garbage.

Uh, no. CGI, Alan Menken, Barbie-ready merchandise and storyline cobbled from some of their previous hits: all crowd-pleasers as calculated as they come. This thread is the very proof of that. PatF at least took risks even if they didn't work in its favor.

I'd like to know what kind of risks Princess and the Frog actually took, and why your critique of Tangled doesn't apply to Princess and the Frog which has Tiana who was pretty much exclusively made so there could be a black princess in the toyline to appeal to that audience. That isn't saying I have a problem with that, mind you, but your context is completely grasping at straws and your criticisms apply to Princess and the Frog even more-so than Tangled.

CGI isn't a con, either. It's called a new way to animate things and Tangled revolutionized how CG animation can be. Tangled looks and feels more like a classic Disney film than anything else before it (post-Aladdin). This isn't necessarily a pro mind you, I'm just stating why people attach more to Tangled than most of the films in the last 15+ years.

I can't believe what I'm reading. At least you're open with your racism!

Tell me one thing in Duster's post that was even remotely racist. Duster didn't criticize the movie for having a black audience in mind whatsoever, maybe beause it isn't a criticism even remotely. Duster was just criticizing the film for being made exclusively so there could be a black princess, rather than making a movie with black characters cause they want to tell a good story. I agree with this, but I don't hold it against the film as I feel like a lot of Disney films are made with a similar thought in mind (Pocahontas comes to mind). It's a shame that product itself was so mediocre, because I feel like after all the bouts with racism over the centuries the black community deserves a lot better than Princess and the Frog. An African fairy tale would be amazing for example if done right, cause Disney would focus on the story rather than worrying about having a movie starting a black princess.

[Lady Cluck]

How the HELL is TPATF any less of a normal story than other Disney movies? People are more critical of it because it's the first black princess. That's quite clear.

Someone had to be the first black princess but I'm sure if you had it your way, no one ever would have been And no it wasn't exclusively for tokenism and it's racist to be that dismissive of the entire story just because a black princess is attached and you roll your eyes at Disney doing that "just to have a black princess." I actually LOVE the New Orleans twist on the fairy tale, which would have been pretty boring as a straight up adaptation.

I can't believe what I'm reading. At least you're open with your racism!

It just sells better because Rapunzel is a blonde Barbie bitch!

So, it's shockingly racist to you that someone makes an neutral observation about a movie having black people in it, but then you think it's ok to make a completely ugly remark against a character for being blonde?

Oh please Because blonde girls have it so hard.

[Vlad]

Lady Cluck , I'm so sorry for going off-topic, but I love your profile pic!!!

[Lady Cluck]

Thanks