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The Princess and The Frog Review - Movie Magic for Kids and Adults Alike! The Princess and the Frog is a feature length animated film produced in by the Walt Disney Company. The movie was highly anticipated and celebrated as the first Disney film to feature an African American - or even just American - princess; however, there are numerous reasons why adults and children alike are falling in love with this piece of cinema. According to movie reviews by viewers, one of the most loved aspects of the film that is most enjoyed is its spectacular animation. Disney cartoon engineers decided to return to its roots by having the animation, for the most part, created by hand, rather than through CGI animation as is commonly used in cartoons nowadays. Many adults are pleased that this animation style of the film allows its visuals to have a softer, more romantic, classic Disney feel. The cast of characters featured in The Princess and the Frog have also received high amounts of praise. Princess Tiana has been praised as an ideal role model for young girls, because of her headstrong, goal oriented, and independent spirit. The cast of engaging supporting characters is particularly enjoyable for audiences. From Tiana's best friend, Charlotte, to a Cajun firefly named Ray, they almost steal the show for themselves. Keith David, in particular, has also drawn strong reviews for his role as Dr. Facilier. His character has been described as one who combines the elements of Jafar, from Aladdin, with the character of Oogie Boogie, from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Likewise, many viewers also appreciate the historically rich setting of the film, New Orleans in the 1920's. Rather than gloss over the historical injustices of the time period, Princess Tiana's life is depicted in a tasteful manner that would have been accurate for the time period, and appropriate for viewing for children. Despite her family's poverty, it has also been shown that Princess Tiana comes from a happy and loving home life, and aspires to create a successful life for herself through her restaurant. Set in New Orleans, voodoo, or black magic, also appears in the film. In the instances in the film where voodoo is shown being used for personal gain, it backfires tremendously on the individual, imparting a lesson to children that by only hard work, diligence, and patience can we make our dreams come true. If your daughter loves to sing, you will be pleased to learn that The Princess and the Frog soundtrack has also received sound reviews. Some of the favorite tracks are "Never Knew I Needed" and "Almost There," sung by lead actress Anika Noni Rose herself. The styling of the songs ranges from Gospel to Jazz to Blues, which were all popular in Louisiana around this time period. Additionally, you can rest assured that these tracks are also kid-friendly for an impromptu sing-along with your children. Your daughter is fit to be a princess! Please visit to find Princess Tiana costumes for kids and adults, party planning tips, supplies, and more! Thanks in advance for visiting us at http://www.princesstianacostumes.netHow To Understand Professional Medical Billing: Outpatient Rebilling and Capitated Billing
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The Princess and the Frog - The Perfect Princess Party - Tips, Ideas and Advice
By Chelsea Gillespie
Throwing a child's birthday party is no easy task. There are several key things that make a party fun and enjoyable. The Princess and The Frog is Disney's latest creation and a theme being requested by lots of little girls. This article will help make sure your daughters party is exactly what she wants.
1. Decorations- Most children are not going to care the quality of the tableware or if the settings are placed properly. However, they are going to notice what is on the tableware and decorations around the house. If you are doing a themed party be sure to get tableware, balloons and banners that match the theme. There are several different lines of Princess and The Frog tableware and decor to choose from.
2. Party Favors- Children love presents and sometimes do not understand fully why only one person at a birthday party is getting gifts. Party favors are a great way to solve this problem. Something as simple as a blowout or a card of stickers is perfect. Most princess themes have things like a necklace or hair bows. Be sure to put party favors on your lists and have a couple extra in case an unexpected guest shows up or one breaks.
3. Something Special- Making the birthday girl feel special is the most important thing on your list. Finding an item that is unique and only the birthday girl gets to have will help her feel even more like a princess. The Princess and The Frog party line has several different items you could use for this purpose. Most birthday themes will include something like a crown or some kind of jewelery. No matter what it is you decide on be sure it is unique and the birthday girl gets to wear it.
4. Activity- Games are an important part of any party. I have found that sometimes a small craft activity or baking project is more fun for the children. Making cup cakes with the children and letting them decorate or creating a giant picture that they all help color is a perfect activity. It helps them work as a team while they are having fun. Be sure to look for a craft idea or a baking kit while picking out your theme decorations.
I hope these tips help you create the perfect Princess and The Frog birthday party for your special little girl.
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The Princess and the Frog Evaluation
By Sigitas Ramanauskas
That is the first Disney animated movie about an African-American princess, and this delightful fairy tale couldn't come at a greater time, what with the two little African-American princesses who reside within the White House. The newest Disney royal is called Tiana, and she's a young woman with pools for eyes, a determine straight out of a style magazine, and a big dream. Tiana needs to own a restaurant, she makes a mean beignet, but she's so busy working to save money for it that she barely notices when a prince comes to her nook of 1920s New Orleans. Like every Disney prince, Naveen seems utterly unattainable, though for causes which have much less to do with his station or his dreamy French accent than with our personal, more fashionable concerns.
On its most simple degree, "The Princess and the Frog" is a vintage Disney princess fairy story, in hand-drawn (2-D) animation, a Broadway-type musical. It attracts inspiration from an 18th-century fairy tale from the British Isles, and "The Frog Princess," a 2002 teen novel from Maryland writer E.D. Baker. Disney transferred the story to Nineteen Twenties New Orleans and altered her identify, race and nearly every little thing else.
Still, for the greenest or the grayest within the viewers, the inclusive story of a resourceful African-American woman who kisses a frog with unexpected, funny outcomes is its own reward: This A-degree, G-rated leisure is a contemporary twist on the basic fairy tale a couple of good-looking prince briefly out of fee due to a malicious magic spell, a royal catch requiring the smooch of the best kindhearted, danger-taking heroine to revive him to his waiting throne. As an additional benefit, the smoocher gets to stand alongside her royal as his princess. Solely this time, the kiss that the stunning heroine, Tiana - voiced by Anika Noni Rose, bestows on frog-bodied Prince Naveen backfires. He ends up in the identical shape that he hopped into - and Tiana turns amphibian too. The affected person, stunning, exhausting-working, entrepreneurial young girl is particularly irked because she has no desire to be a princess in any respect; what she actually desires to do is open her own restaurant.
Ebert might have discovered his old fashioned champ in the form of The Princess and the Frog, however the film represents a slightly missed opportunity for Disney to indicate that old-fashioned animation does not should imply old-fashioned storylines. Randy Newman's rousing songs and a few genuinely exquisite musical fantasy scenes conjur up a vivid, sumptuous imaginative and prescient of jazz age New Orleans, and there are some deliciously dark moments harking back to Tim Burton's glorious The Nightmare Before Christmas in the shape of voodoo-practicing villain Dr Facilier.
But of their efforts to current a timeless, basic Disney animation, the writers have erred too far on the aspect of caution: if Pixar's people are actually in charge at Disney, the place are the imaginative, broadly varied storylines to compare with those featured in The Incredibles, Wall-E, Discovering Nemo or Ratatouille? Why does the film need to centre on a predictable romance?
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The Subtle Lessons of Race in Disney's "The Princess and the Frog"
By Jason Croswell
As usual, Disney is 50 years too late on updating their socio-political worldviews.
Still, despite arriving late to the party, Disney Animation Studios has produced a movie that deals with the past and present racial issues in ways that are remarkably child-accessible. "The Princess and the Frog" (2009, Ron Clements & John Musker) is attempting to tell a quintessentially American fairy tale. It would have been totally presumptuous to make an African tale into the "first black princess movie" in Disney's line-up, because they would have no doubt missed the subtleties of those African fables. This is, first and foremost, a childrens' movie, and more over, a "girl" movie, and my guess is that little black girls in America (no doubt this film's intended target audience) will respond more effectively to a story about a young black American than some far-away tale from another continent.
Disney knew it couldn't ignore the race issue as soon as they had figured out their main story. We are transported back in time to 1920s New Orleans. Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), a young waitress, has worked long hours and hard conditions (such as not being able to go out on the town with her friends) to save up enough money so she can buy property to convert into the swanky restaurant her father always wanted. Of course, there is the usual hang-up of a romantic love interest getting in the way. When Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) comes to town, presumably ready to fornicate-it-up, he falls into a bad situation with the local Voodoo man Dr. Facilier (Keith David) and is turned into a frog. Mistaking his condition, Naveen kisses Tiana at a masquerade ball hoping to turn back into a prince and get on with his life, but instead ends up turning her into a frog. A series of escapades through the Louisiana bayou with a madcap ensemble of characters ultimately brings them back to the conclusion that (you guessed it) they are madly in love and should live happily ever after, no matter what they look like. As the first Disney Animation Studios production that deals with an African-American main character, it's a story that could have easily fallen flat on its face and made a lot of people angry.
John Musker and Ron Clements (the directors) handled the issue in a very interesting way. Think about it: you have to craft a story that gives children the sagely wisdom that everyone is beautiful on the inside, while not necessarily being able to ignore the inherent contradictions in American society of racial and economic divide. Musker and Clements are certainly not skirting the race card here by any means, as one can tell by the look on main character Tiana's face when New Orleans realtors The Ferner Bros. snidely use the double-entendre "a woman of your background" to describe her. What they are doing is creating a story about appearances and background where racism is more inferred than brought to the forefront, a story for little girls who will one day have to face these issues head-on. And the trick in a childrens' movie is not to bash kids over the head with harsh realities, but rather to create subtly in their minds the ethos that color doesn't matter. As I said, Disney is about 50 years late on this bandwagon, but then this whole country has been behind the times in a lot of ways when it comes to race, sex, and economic issues.
I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert on the experience of being a 4-year-old black girl. However, I do know that children of that age, regardless of skin color and economic divide, are remarkably void of the concepts and notions that we create around racism, sexism, and the like. I can certainly see how many would construe Tiana being a frog for most of the movie as overtly racist. However, in a movie whose primary audience will one day deal with overcoming issues of color and appearance, what better and subtler way to exemplify a lack of commitment to appearance? No doubt young children often look at themselves in this way, thinking they are ugly, or unwanted. It's not Franz Fanon, but for children, its a subtle hint that race shouldn't matter. And the film doesn't ask black children to "give up their blackness," either, another dangerous peril that race themes can fall into. Rather, the characters (especially Tiana) are defined by what they do and how they do it, not what they were born as. Childrens' movies, and by the same token all childrens' myths and fairy tales, aren't meant to face kids up to harsh realities, they are meant to give children those foundational philosophies to help them realize what is "truly important.
I think if anyone is going to attack this movie on hot-topic issues, it should be the film's contradictions in its critique of capitalism. It is said over and over throughout the movie, "more powerful than magic is money." And of course, sagely Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) lets everyone know "Money won't make you happy." And yet, by the end, though she finds true happiness in love, Tiana still gets everything she wants by marrying into money. So much for hard work and sacrifice! If anything, this movie teaches children that if you work hard for a long time, you will fall in love with a prince, but still need his money to get the things you wanted.
All this being said, there are some downright hysterical caricatures. There are plenty of family-friendly stereotypes to write home about, from the Louis Armstrong alligator to the "hard working, gumbo-loving" father. And Raymond (Jim Cummings), the Cajun firefly, is the single best "cute animal sidekick" Disney has ever put onto a film. But this is one of those Disney princess movies that falls under the sub-sub-genre of "zany ensemble piece," where the full development of the main love storyline is not nearly as important (or entertaining) as the hi jinks the ensemble gets into. In that sense, this movie strives more to illicit entertainment out of the specific characters (in this case, caricatures) of a very specific location in time and space: 1920s New Orleans. Like "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," "A Confederacy of Dunces," or "O Brother Where Art Thou?," this film is more about exploring and enjoying the eccentricity of a very specific type of American culture than any type of racial stereotyping for the sake of being overtly racist. I heard a lot of people complaining about how this film was racist in its depiction of the characters, but Disney is still doing business in a country that elected Barack Obama into office. It would seem far-fetched for anyone to believe that they would go so far as to expect some overtly racist film to make money right now, especially since outside the United States, no one will be able to make a lick of sense out of this story.
From the view of technical artistry, the animation is beautiful. It is a return to form to those great Disney musicals people like me remember from our childhood, that seem to have gone missing in this age of computer-generated imagery (ironically, or perhaps appropriately, it was John Lasseter, director of Pixar Animation Studios, who approached Disney and convinced them to go forward with a traditional animation musical). Though there is one moment where Prince Naveen is mincing mushrooms and he isn't moving his index finger that holds the mushroom down. As his thumb disappears inexplicably behind the knife, and winds up back in the same place on top of the mushroom, I couldn't help but wince. If anyone actually did this in real life while chopping any vegetable, they would slice their finger off. Some Key animator should have caught that. But that is an incredibly minor problem in a film that is full of great caricature, fluid motion, and spectacular color compositions.
And the soundtrack is great. With the exception of a few songs meant to sort of update us as to where we are in the story, every song on here is a testament to New Orleans music, albeit an obviously "Disney-ed Up" version. But I'd rather have a Disney soundtrack draw from Jazz, gospel, bayou and zydeco than whatever else. It's a Disney soundtrack I might not be totally embarrassed to be seen blasting on my car stereo.
"The Princess and the Frog" also has plenty of inside jokes and homages for the animation buff to look for. It is a celebration of a seemingly dying art form (or rather, "studio production method") and an update in more ways than just skin tone to the Disney fairytale story (we can no longer just wish upon a star to get what we want, we are also called upon, in a more realistic sense, to work hard for it). I'm not saying it isn't without its faults, racial and otherwise, but analysis of this film calls for something a little deeper than "what a bunch of racist stereotypes." Also, its just fun, fun, FUN all the way through. When you go see it try to imagine yourself as a young girl of whatever skin tone you like, and try not to be swept away by the good times and toe-tapping tunes.
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