I promised a while ago to look at this film, and finally remembered that I had said that!
This is a Disney film that went back to the hand drawn animation that made Disney so loved and appreciated by millions.
This playlist looks at how they went back to the drawing board (literally) and ditched the computers in favour of the feeling of a hand drawn film.
This was a film that was in my wife's section of the Blu-ray collection (that's not to say I don't like Disney, I really do) and we had watched long before my daughter arrived on the scene. When she was born and started to want to watch a bit of TV and then sit for an entire film, we tried her on this one and she loved it and I forgot how much I loved it.
My favourite Disney is still the Jungle Book, it has memories of growing up and my childhood, but that being said this to me is a close second (for Disney animation features).
I will now tell you why.
The cast is phenomenally put together with the mix of "names" and other voice actors you may not realise you know. Keith David plays the evil Dr Facilier and his voice is perfect. I think Keith David is a fine actor and like James Earl Jones has one of those voices that just envelops you and you know it is him (even if you don't know who he is). Jim Cummings, (who is a Disney staple and basically the voice of most characters you know!) is Ray the firefly, and is such a genuine emotional part of the story. John Goodman, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey and others all just give the heart to this wonderful film.
Disney is known for it's sound tracks and usually has famous songs. The Lion King being a great example of this. However I feel this is again my favourite score (by Randy Newman) from a Disney film. While films like Beauty and the Beast have wonderful soundtracks, they are very theatrical pieces. As this film is set in New Orleans and the jazz, blues area of the Southern USA, its music is just that. A mix of gospel, blues, jazz and it just lifts everything. We listen to this soundtrack in the car, mixed with that of Frozen and Beauty and the Beast and it just shows how Disney does music well (even in its own way Frozen although I don't like that film!) but with Princess and the Frog they made songs that don't feel like a soundtrack, they feel like an album of just great songs.
The story is also brilliant. While it has the Disney princess, it makes her much stronger than the traditional Belle or Cinderella type. She is a strong character that drives the story line in her own way through hard work and determination, not being defined by the prince (despite it ending in the traditional fairy tale way).
As a side note, I do appreciate a small bit of Frozen, they basically do Cinderella in the first 15 minutes of the film and call it out dumb and stupid on the part of Cinderella. A Disney princess can seem like a strong role model, but actually looking at the older ones they really are subservient and little women to the main prince despite being the main character.
That aside, Princess and the Frog has a strong princess and weak prince that make the whole film beautiful from start to finish.
If you missed this lesser known Disney classic you need to watch it now. The music is amazing and the animation is both beautiful and touching to see Disney go back to classic hand drawn frames. I don't mind the newer CG Disney but it is nice to see that actually the remember every so often what they were and what made them so popular over just live action films of the time. There is a reason all Disney is listed as classic films and it's because of what they did and the work they put into the story.
Pixar have carried this on and the two are synonymous these days, but Pixar have carried on where Disney kind of left of with their films and that at its core is a story that this film (I know not a Pixar one) carries on perfectly.
