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.