Overview: A prince has been turned to a frog, and a young woman named Tiana gets turned into a frog while trying to help him return to a human. Tiana dreams of starting a restaurant, but now she first has to worry about turning back into a human, as does Prince Naveen.
20091217:
Anika Noni Rose is the voice for Tiana, and she also does the singing. Oprah Winfrey is the voice for Tiana's mother Eudora, and John Goodman is the voice for Eli 'Big Daddy' La Bouff. When I saw Oprah Winfrey in the credits, I didn't remember who Eudora was. After I found out that she was Tiana's mother, I still couldn't recognize Oprah's voice, perhaps because of the Southern accent. I didn't know John Goodman lended his voice until after getting home, but after I found out, I could hear it. Speaking of Goodman, on the ride home, Daniel and I were thinking about celebrities who've done voice acting in Pixar films, e.g., (Daniel named) Tom Hanks and (I named) Tim Allen in Toy Story, and at one point Daniel named John Goodman for his role as Sulley in Monsters, Inc.. I also named Ellen DeGeneres for her role as Dory in Finding Nemo.
Anyways, after we noted how Anika also performed the songs, we figured this would be less likely if the movie casted a celebrity to voice the character. However, celeberities appearing in movie versions of musicals are probably the exception, e.g., Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Chicago.
On the topic of songs, it turns the voice actors all provided their own singing voices: Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Keith David (Doctor Facilier), Michael-Leon Wooley (Louis), Bruno Campos (Prince Naveen), Jim Cummings (Ray), and Jenifer Lewis (Mama Odie). While my first impression is that the music was good, I had no intuition on which of the tracks might be memorable. These songs certainly don't catch on as quickly as those in films from my childhood, e.g., The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Hercules. I'd say the first candidate for most memorable is "Dig a Little Deeper," and the runner-up would be "Almost There."
I'm also happy to see a 2D animation done by Disney. There is a section in the Wiki page summarizing the animation process for this movie; it's a short and interesting read. All those 3D movies really spoil the kids. I don't think they enjoy the classics as much when they grow up with so many 3D movies and cartoons. Of course those are great, but 2D animation is its own form of art that, while it might cost more to produce, adds to the magic of the film. Plus, a person in a classic Disney 2D film looks "real" compared to a person in any 3D film. Note: It's been five years since the last Disney hand-drawn animation: Home on the Range (2004).
I loved all the references to past Disney movies.
Disney references I noticed:
- Obviously all the Disney princesses at the beginning sitting on the shelf. I'm pretty sure I saw Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle.
- There were also many other references in that room. One that I saw, but forgot was the teapot set, a reference to Beauty and the Beast. [20211225: Looking at the screenshot, the colors don't match, so it's more likely just a standard tea set]
- Since Disney animals tend to be drawn consistently across movies, Charlotte's white cat looks like Marie from Aristocats.
- There's the ribbon on the dress frame that resembles that of Cinderella's dress.
- King Triton as a parade float.
- One of the characters (I can't remember who) split something in two as a reference to Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone. [Louis takes some leaves and parts them, just like Madam Mim did with her own hair in one of the scenes from The Sword in the Stone]
- "Prince Naveen" and Charlotte standing on top of the wedding cake, like the cake in The Little Mermaid.
- The house that can be seen at the beginning of the Pirates of the Caribbean, or from the Blue Bayou restaurant, at Disneyland.
References that I missed:
- Apparently a reference that I don't remember is someone shaking out Magic Carpet (Aladdin).
- I also don't remember Aladdin's lamp as Mama Odie is searching for something.
- I totally didn't realize that when looking at the stars, Timon says "Easy, they're fireflies... Fireflies that got stuck up there in that bluish-black thing."
- Apparently Big Daddy was dressed as Hercules during the masquerade ball and there was a couple dressed as Aladdin and Jasmine.
- The riverboat being based on Mark Twain's Steamboat at Disneyland.
- Apparently Tiana had Pocahontas's necklace.
By no means is the above meant to be an exhaustive list. All these references are a call to Disney fans to go back and watch this movie and all the classics over again. I certainly want to! What great marketing by Disney!
[20091218 8:47 AM][20211225 Edit]
20101125:
I needed to start studying, but I already watched three other movies today. As such, I put this movie on in the background, because I had seen it before.
[20211225 Edit]
Instant Comments: 2: Toys in Charlotte's room.
2: Stella!
2: Louis (Armstrong): During the song that soon follows he says, "I ain't no Louis Armstrong..."
2: Haha, Madam Mim.
2: "If I can mince, you can dance."
2: "I'm six and a half."
2: I had forgotten the credits were done so beautifully.
2: Though it's a beautiful song for the credits, I suddenly thought how funny it was when a movie plays a pop song of some sort during the credits which is totally different from the music composed for the main movie. You get a little of the New Orleans type music after the song ends, but yeah... sometimes a movie does that and it takes me by surprise.
2=20101125
Released 20091211.
Watched 20091217 Theatre. AMC Downtown Disney 12 [PRINCESS &] 12:45pm $8.00
Watched 20101125 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched 20210131 (Netflix, Instant)
The Princess and the Frog (2009) Ron Clements and John Musker. 97 min [botn The Frog Princess (2002) by E. D. Baker which is bot story The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm]
Relevant Links:
Check out the The Princess and the Frog page at IMDb.com.
Check out the The Princess and the Frog page at RottenTomatoes.com.
 |
| Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) |
20091217:
Anika Noni Rose is the voice for Tiana, and she also does the singing. Oprah Winfrey is the voice for Tiana's mother Eudora, and John Goodman is the voice for Eli 'Big Daddy' La Bouff. When I saw Oprah Winfrey in the credits, I didn't remember who Eudora was. After I found out that she was Tiana's mother, I still couldn't recognize Oprah's voice, perhaps because of the Southern accent. I didn't know John Goodman lended his voice until after getting home, but after I found out, I could hear it. Speaking of Goodman, on the ride home, Daniel and I were thinking about celebrities who've done voice acting in Pixar films, e.g., (Daniel named) Tom Hanks and (I named) Tim Allen in Toy Story, and at one point Daniel named John Goodman for his role as Sulley in Monsters, Inc.. I also named Ellen DeGeneres for her role as Dory in Finding Nemo.
 |
| Dr. Facilier (Keith David) |
Anyways, after we noted how Anika also performed the songs, we figured this would be less likely if the movie casted a celebrity to voice the character. However, celeberities appearing in movie versions of musicals are probably the exception, e.g., Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Chicago.
On the topic of songs, it turns the voice actors all provided their own singing voices: Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Keith David (Doctor Facilier), Michael-Leon Wooley (Louis), Bruno Campos (Prince Naveen), Jim Cummings (Ray), and Jenifer Lewis (Mama Odie). While my first impression is that the music was good, I had no intuition on which of the tracks might be memorable. These songs certainly don't catch on as quickly as those in films from my childhood, e.g., The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Hercules. I'd say the first candidate for most memorable is "Dig a Little Deeper," and the runner-up would be "Almost There."
 |
| Prince Naveen (Brunos Campos) and Tiana |
I'm also happy to see a 2D animation done by Disney. There is a section in the Wiki page summarizing the animation process for this movie; it's a short and interesting read. All those 3D movies really spoil the kids. I don't think they enjoy the classics as much when they grow up with so many 3D movies and cartoons. Of course those are great, but 2D animation is its own form of art that, while it might cost more to produce, adds to the magic of the film. Plus, a person in a classic Disney 2D film looks "real" compared to a person in any 3D film. Note: It's been five years since the last Disney hand-drawn animation: Home on the Range (2004).
I loved all the references to past Disney movies.
 |
Disney references I noticed:
- Obviously all the Disney princesses at the beginning sitting on the shelf. I'm pretty sure I saw Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle.
- There were also many other references in that room. One that I saw, but forgot was the teapot set, a reference to Beauty and the Beast. [20211225: Looking at the screenshot, the colors don't match, so it's more likely just a standard tea set]
- Since Disney animals tend to be drawn consistently across movies, Charlotte's white cat looks like Marie from Aristocats.
- There's the ribbon on the dress frame that resembles that of Cinderella's dress.
- King Triton as a parade float.
- One of the characters (I can't remember who) split something in two as a reference to Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone. [Louis takes some leaves and parts them, just like Madam Mim did with her own hair in one of the scenes from The Sword in the Stone]
- "Prince Naveen" and Charlotte standing on top of the wedding cake, like the cake in The Little Mermaid.
- The house that can be seen at the beginning of the Pirates of the Caribbean, or from the Blue Bayou restaurant, at Disneyland.
References that I missed:
- Apparently a reference that I don't remember is someone shaking out Magic Carpet (Aladdin).
- I also don't remember Aladdin's lamp as Mama Odie is searching for something.
- I totally didn't realize that when looking at the stars, Timon says "Easy, they're fireflies... Fireflies that got stuck up there in that bluish-black thing."
- Apparently Big Daddy was dressed as Hercules during the masquerade ball and there was a couple dressed as Aladdin and Jasmine.
 |
| Ray (Jim Cummings) |
- The riverboat being based on Mark Twain's Steamboat at Disneyland.
- Apparently Tiana had Pocahontas's necklace.
By no means is the above meant to be an exhaustive list. All these references are a call to Disney fans to go back and watch this movie and all the classics over again. I certainly want to! What great marketing by Disney!
[20091218 8:47 AM][20211225 Edit]
20101125:
I needed to start studying, but I already watched three other movies today. As such, I put this movie on in the background, because I had seen it before.
 |
| Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) |
[20211225 Edit]
Instant Comments: 2: Toys in Charlotte's room.
2: Stella!
2: Louis (Armstrong): During the song that soon follows he says, "I ain't no Louis Armstrong..."
2: Haha, Madam Mim.
2: "If I can mince, you can dance."
2: "I'm six and a half."
2: I had forgotten the credits were done so beautifully.
 |
| Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) |
2: Though it's a beautiful song for the credits, I suddenly thought how funny it was when a movie plays a pop song of some sort during the credits which is totally different from the music composed for the main movie. You get a little of the New Orleans type music after the song ends, but yeah... sometimes a movie does that and it takes me by surprise.
2=20101125
Released 20091211.
Watched 20091217 Theatre. AMC Downtown Disney 12 [PRINCESS &] 12:45pm $8.00
Watched 20101125 (Netflix, Instant)
Watched 20210131 (Netflix, Instant)
The Princess and the Frog (2009) Ron Clements and John Musker. 97 min [botn The Frog Princess (2002) by E. D. Baker which is bot story The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm]
Relevant Links:
Check out the The Princess and the Frog page at IMDb.com.
Check out the The Princess and the Frog page at RottenTomatoes.com.
Date/Time
Thursday, December 17, 2009
@
08:11
Labels
2D animation
,
animation
,
Disney
,
fantasy
,
female protagonist
,
Jim Cummings
,
musical
,
romantic comedy
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