Escapay wrote:Jack wrote:I've always been wary of the project turning out a little too reminiscant of prior Disney films and my expectations were realized in the latest trailer.
This is how I feel too. I mean, I'm sure it'll be a good film, but based on everything I've read and heard, it seems more like Disney has consciously made it from the mindset of "let's recapture our glory years in this!" rather than "let's make a good film!"
albert
Who says you can't recapture your glory days and STILL make a good film?
I understand the doubt comes from all the hype Disney is using to sell the film, but I also believe that they have to sell the movie that way because, truth to be told, that's how people know Disney. They know Disney as the great teller of classic tales. Don't believe? Seth McFarlane certainly didn't use Atlantis Disney or Oliver and Company Disney to do his Disney parody.
But I am also surprised that people complain about Princess and the Frog being "too familiar" when nearly all of their animated classics share the same elements, even the wildest and most different Disney film.
Let's do a run down, shall we?
Atlantis: Unlikely hero discovers an ancient civilization where he gains the strength to defend this new world.
Brother Bear: Young man refuses to accept his fate and goes on a spiritual journey where he learns the importance of family and brotherhood.
Home on the Range: Three very unlikely heroes set out on a journey through the old west to catch a criminal and earn the reward money to save their farm.
Chicken Little: Underdog character makes a mistake, people judge him based on that and wishes to be accepted (and upon a star no less), and ends up being the town's hero.
Meet the Robinsons: Young boy wishes to discover and learns that not only does he have a future he finds the one thing he wished the most: a family.
Bolt: A dog learns to find his true self, learns the importance of friends and family and experiences a life changing journey.
And now...
Princess and the Frog: A young woman works hard to get a restaurant, but instead goes on a journey where she learns what truly matters in life.
Let's see, what common themes do we have here?
Acceptance, love, learning what's important in life, unlikely heroes becoming beloved heroes, self discovery, a life changing journey, having faith in your dreams, so on and so forth.
The only thing that changed were the theme, the story, the settings and the characters. But the core elements of a Disney film remained intact. And that's what is going to happen to Princess and the Frog.
In fact, its already different from the earlier Disney films...
- It's a classic fairy tale envisioned as an American story
- Takes places in 1920s, Jazz age New Orleans around the French Quarter and the bayou
- The princess is a working woman
- Many of its characters are African-American
- Has voodoo as its main magical element
- EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL (Funny how people say Princess and the Frog feels too familiar, yet I don't recall there being a huge uproar over the film's leads being different in the other films)
Yes, the film has an air of familiarity (and this is something Disney is selling very well), but it takes the familiar and puts it in a completely different setting that feels familiar but not the same.
Another thing...
Its been 5 years since they did a 2D animated film. Its been LONGER since they did a fairy tale story. The complains would be understandable if Disney had kept making fairy tale films like clockwork, but the films have been very different for a while now, and Princess and the Frog is the first instance in YEARS of doing a fairy tale musical.
What's the bother?
