Princess and the Frog Review

 

The Princess and the Frog Review 

Here is my review of Princess and the Frog for Black History Month. The Princess and the Frog was a game-changer, marking Disney's return to hand-drawn animation and introducing the first black Disney Princess. Now the film itself is excellent, like I love this film, it's a lot of fun, has great music, and memorable songs. Here is my review of The Princess and the Frog.

Tiana, our main character, wants to start her own restaurant because it was her dad's dream, but sadly, James was killed in combat during WW1. She works long hours and takes double shifts to make enough money to buy her own restaurant, and all her friends tell her she never has fun. Tiana doesn't care until her best friend, Lottie, the daughter of the wealthiest man in New Orleans, Big Daddy, gives her so much money she can afford to buy her own restaurant, but that doesn't go well for her in the end. Tiana is a good character, and she's very hardworking, but she needs to know you have to have fun. Still, I like Tiana she's a great character that we can relate to.  

We then meet Naveen, a prince who wants to have fun and not do any work. His own parents come off too unless he finds a wife. Naveen is the opposite of Tina, where he doesn't work hard to get where he is because everything is just handed to him, and he realizes he doesn't know how to do anything on his own. However, he grows to starts to do things on his own because Tiana helps him. 

It's funny how they meet in the opening, and they both aren't interested in each other until they become frogs and fall in love.

Also, the film features Lottie, who wants to be as funny as she wants to be a princess, and is also Tiana's best friend. Interesting Fact: Originally, she was going to be the villain of the film as a rival to Tina, but they changed that.  

Now, the highlight of this film is its villain, Dr. Facilier, voiced by the legendary Keith David. This guy is on my list of best Disney villains. He is funny and cool, and his musical number, "I Got Friends on the Other Side," is fantastic. One of the writers describes him as the love child of Captain Hook and Cruella DeVil. I love this character; he's so much fun to watch, and as I wrote before, he is the highlight of this film. 

Now we all know Naveen meets Facilier, who says he can help with his money but is double-crossing him, and he has made a secret deal with Naveen's butler, Lawrence, who wants to be rid of him and not be a pushover anymore. 

Remember, don't blame him, blame his friends on the other side. 

So now Naveen meets Tiana at a party, and she's upset to know she won't get a restaurant, not because of the money, but because, you know, this is the 1920s, and everyone is racist. So then, he meets Naveen, and she freaks out, but he tells her that if they kiss, he will turn into a prince and make her dreams come true. However, the kiss turns her into a frog. 

Now both of them get turned into frogs, and they both freak out and end up in the bayou, and they meet Louis, a gator who wants to be a jazz player. His introduction was funny, and I love the cutaway scene of him attempting to show off his skills. It's very Family Guy. 

Louis then tells them about Mama Odie, a voodoo doctor who can help them break the shadow man's curse. They have a musical number, "When I'm human," a great song by the way.

Now, later in the film, they meet Ray, a Cajun firefly. 

Ray is this cajun firefly who tells them where Mama Odie and they meet his family going down the Bayou, and he tells them of a firefly he loves who's a star, but he doesn't care. Now we see Tina and Naveen bond, but they learn they are being hunted by Doctor Facilier, who summons his shadows to capture Naveen since his blood turns Lawerence into him. 

The shadows were very cool, and eventually they met Mama Odie. 

Mama Odie was one of the funniest characters in the film, and her song " Dig a Little Deeper is so good, and it's a feel-good song. She helps them by telling them that Naveen needs to kiss Lottie before midnight, as she is the princess of Mardi Gras. However, we see Naveen and Tiana have started to fall in love with each other as Naveen wants to be with Tiana.

I found it funny when he mentioned he'd dated thousands of women, and Tiana is like.

Do I look like I want to hear about your past relationships? It's a funny scene, but Naveen's plans to propose don't go well, as he gets kidnapped by the shadows.

So they go to Mardi Gras, and we have fun King Trition cameo.

Ray tells Tiana that Naveen was going to propose to her, and she's so happy until she sees Naveen marrying Lottie, but it turns out that's Lawrence. Naveen is free with Ray's help, and he manages to get the necklace that turns Lawrence into him away from him. Sadly, though, Dr. Facilier kills Ray. That was a sad scene. 

Now Tiana gets the necklace and tries to destroy it, but is stopped by Dr. Facilier, and he offers to give her the restaurant her dad always wanted. However, Tiana admits her dad didn't get what he wanted through hard work; he had something greater: love. She turns down his offer and destroys the necklace. This is one of the best Disney villain defeats. 

For a villain defeat this was entertaining to watch. 

Later in the film, Tiana and Naveen reunite, but the kiss with Lottie doesn't work. However, Naveen and Tiana confess their love for each other and decide to remain as frogs. They later married and were turned back into humans when the spell was broken because once they married, Tiana became a princess. I know it's a little confusing. As well, after Ray dies and has a funeral, a star appears next to Evangelina, showing that he is finally with her. 

If you think about it this is Neverland. 

Naveen and Tiana get married for real, open her restaurant, and everyone is living their best life. Also Lottie got her prince in the end.

But he's six and half. 

The Princess and the Frog is a great film that helped bring Disney animated films back. Unfortunately, he didn't keep 2D animated films going; they stopped producing them, though there are rumors that they are going back to 2D. Still, Princess and the Frog is an excellent film with musical numbers like Almost There, " " Friends on the Other Side, When I'm Human, Dig a Little Deeper, and Down in New Orleans. The characters are well written, and the film's cast includes Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Jennifer Cody, Keith David, Oprah Winfrey, Jim Cummings, Michael-Leon Wooley, John Goodman, Jennifer Lewis, and Terrance Stamp. Overall, it's a great film. 

I give Princess and the Frog a 9 out of 10.

The Wrecking Crew Review

 

The Wrecking Crew Review

So I saw The Wrecking Crew today, and here is my review...I liked this movie. It was a fun action film starring Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa as they play two half-brothers investigating their father's murder. The film had some great action moments and funny moments, too. The cast of this film is excellent, and there are some twists and turns. This is a fun film to watch. I highly recommend it. I give it a 7 out of 10. Also I can't deny I couldn't help but picture this film being about Drax and Lobo. 

The Pink Panther Review

 

The Pink Panther Review.

We all remember the Steve Martin remake of The Pink Panther, and as kids, we loved it, but as we get older, we see how bad it is. I still have a soft spot for this film. The reason is that the director of this film went on to make Deadpool, Wolverine, and Steve Martin. He made a career comeback in The Only Murders in the Building. Now this film is 20 years old, and since it was part of my childhood, here is my review of The Pink Panther remake.

Now the film is about this rare diamond called the Pink Panther because, as mentioned in the original, there is a dancing panther in there. Now, the diamond gets stolen during a soccer game with France against China, and the owner of the diamond and coach of the French team, Jason Stathman, gets murdered by a poison dart. 

So the commissioner of the police in France, Charles Dreyfus, recruits Inspector Jacques Clouseau for the case. But he's only picking him because he's an idiot, and he's heard stories about Clouseau, he's stupid, and is not considered a great cop because Charles wants to win the medal of honor by finding the killer and getting the Pink Panther diamond back. 

However, Clouseau is actually not as dumb as they think he is, and he's got a good heart. Now, Steve Martin, I will be honest with you guys, he was funny, and he did have some good moments, but as my late grandpa said, he won't be as good as Peter Sellers. Even Steve Martin himself admitted he could never be as good as Peter Sellers.

Peter Sellers is still considered the definitive Clouseau even to this day. I know we are getting another reboot of Pink Panther, with Eddie Murphy as the next Clouseau, and I like that choice. Eddie Murphy will do a great job. I just hope the film has clever writing and is written by people who love the franchise and know how to write a good murder mystery, but not too goofy. 

Now in the film, Inspector Clouseau is assigned a partner named Gilbert, who helps Clouseau during the case. However, he at first doubts Clouseau's detective skills until he realizes he was right about one of the suspects being the killer, until he was murdered. He grows to respect Clouseau, but Charles hired him to spy on him in case he got too close to the real killer. 

There were some funny moments in the film with Clouseau and Nicole, she's a secret and Clouseau's love interest too. She was hilarious in this film, like they were so funny together, especially with the door scene with Closeau, which had me laughing.

Now we meet Xaina, who was Yves's on-and-off girlfriend. She is a suspect but claims she never killed him at all, but she also had a relationship with a soccer star named Bizu, who hated Yvets Gluant.

As everyone hated him, even his assistant coach, who is now the head coach, wasn't sad about his death. Now, in the film, we did get a lot of slapstick humour, and, of course, I will admit I thought it was funny when Closeau tries to pronounce 'hamburger'; that was funny.

This scene was in the film's promotion. It is a pretty funny scene, and Closeau does eat a burger. That scene is funny too.

Love at first bite.

Later, Closeau follows Xaina to America, where there are some funny moments, and I find the hotel bathroom scene funny. As well, when Gilbert beats up those three guys, it turns out they weren't bodyguards. 

Now Charles isn't happy about Clouseau becoming more popular since he stopped the gas-mask bandits, who were someone, but Clouseau took the credit because 006 was never there. So, Charles has someone replace Closeau's bag with a bag full of weapons. 

Clouseau then gets dismissed from the case. It isn't until Clouseau discovers who the Pink Panther diamond belongs to that he and his team reveal the diamond's location and the murderer.

We have some funny scenes until they finally reveal who the murderer is and where the diamond is. As well, Charles is planning to arrest a person who thinks he did it, but didn't.

Closure reveals that the murder was actually Yuri the Trainer. He killed Gluant because he took credit for all of the training he taught his players that Yuri had taught him, but didn't take the diamond. Closaue reveals that the diamond was with Xania, who had hidden it inside her purse, which she had sewn on the outside. She then keeps the Pink Panther, since Gluant gave it to her, and even apologizes for having an affair, asking her to marry her. Thus, she is the rightful owner of the Pink Panther. The case is closed. Clouseau wins the medal of honor, which upsets Charles, and he ends up in the hospital after his sports jacket gets stuck in the car as he drives away. 

Also, the film's opening animation is excellent, and I love it; the music theme is great too. The film's opening animation was great like overall this one of the best moments of the film was opening animated sequence. 

Overall, I still think Pink Panther was a film from the 2000s that I loved as a child, but as I got older, I admit there were some stupid moments in it. But still, I have fond memories of it, but I do agree that Pink Panther 2 was awful. I watched it, and I was like, "Wow, this is bad and so hard to watch.” At least the first film had a bit of a charm to it. 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming reboot with Eddie Murphy. I hope it's good and learns from the mistakes of this film and the second film.

Overall, I give this film a 5 out of 10.

In the end, it's a fun movie to watch if you have nothing to do. 

Space Jam Review Celebrating 30 years of this film.

 

My Review of Space Jam.

Space Jam was a '90s classic that I watched a lot when I was a kid, and this movie is the reason Basketball is my favourite sport. Space Jam was actually inspired by the Nike promotion in which Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny sold Nike shoes. So decided to make a film about it. Now, Space Jam is a film about Michael Jordan playing himself, how he gave up Basketball to become a Baseball player (which he did in real life), and how he wasn't good until he came back to Basketball. 

Fun Fact: Chuck Jones, the creator of Bugs Bunny, didn't like this movie because he said his Bugs Bunny could have defeated the Monstars all on his own. He's not wrong. Bugs Bunny has taken on many bigger people than him, and he's come out on top. 

In the film, the Monstars threaten to take Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes back to their home planet to serve as entertainment for their boss, Swackhammer (voiced by Danny Devito).

So they challenge them to a basketball game, which they think will be easy, but the Monstars steal the talents of each NBA all-star. So they come out being powerful, and the Looney Tunes need help. So they get Michael Jordan to join the team. 

In the film, we are also introduced to Lola Bunny, who, as we all know, was one of the main causes of furries. She's a skilled basketball player who hates being called a doll and is Bugs' love interest in the film. I'll be honest, I like Lola, but I like the Kristen Wig version the best. 

Honestly, this was the Lola we should have gotten in the Space Jam Legacy film, not that Zendaya version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_ywo1FcylU

Check out Fan Scripts, What if Lola was Funny, and let me tell ya, Kristen Wigg is the best version of Lola. 

Now, in the film, there are some funny moments that made me laugh as a kid, like the Looney Tunes, and the cast did a good job, too. Like Michael Jordan, he's not an actor, but he was good at it. Also, Wayne Knight, Danny Devito, Bill Murray, Theresa Randle, and Billy West as Bugs Bunny. Also, the soundtrack of Space Jam was great, especially Seal's Fly Like An Eagle, For You, Space Jam, and I Believe I Can Fly...It's hard to enjoy that song knowing what a scumbag R Kelly is. 

The team plays the Monstars, struggles at first, but improves after Bugs gives them Michael's Secret Stuff, which is just water. However, it helps the Looney Tunes during the game. 

I think Lola liked the buffed Bugs a little too much during this scene. 

Now the team starts playing better, but during the last period, Mr. Swackhammer makes a deal with Michael: if he wins, Michael goes to his home planet and is forced to sign autographs and play basketball, but he will always lose. If they loose they never bother the Looney Tunes again. 

Now, during this, Bill Murray comes in and saves the day. The team is at the last minute, and Michael unleashes his inner Tune. 

The Looney Tunes and the Monstars send Mr. Swackhammer flying in a rocket to the moon. They also return the talent to all-star players. The film ends with Michael returning the basketball, and all is right with the world. 

Space Jam is still one of those films from childhood that I still enjoy watching, like it's very nostalgic for me because it's the reason I love Basketball. I give Space Jam a 7 out of 10.

Also recommend watching The Last Dance documentary on Netflix about Michael Jordan it's really good.

 

Fun Fact: Their original plans for Space Jam 2 included Michael Jordan's return, but he declined, preferring to focus on basketball, saying he wasn't an actor. The original plot had the Looney Tunes kicked out of their world, forced to live in the real world until they agree to another basketball game to win back their world. As well, there were some rewrites like a Space Jam with Tiger Woods or Tony Hawk, but they never happened; instead, we got that awful LeBron James film. Makes you think did we really need another Space Jam film it was fine just being a 90s classic.