Fabulous. No complaints. Disney, a lightening rod for controversy over the portrayal of gender and race, really outdid itself, gender-wise, in this film. (Race might be another story. I've heard some criticisms. But that, my friends, is a topic for another blog.)
The Princess and the Frog is a fun animated film that reminds us twenty- and thirty-somethings of our childhoods. The filmmakers use old-school hand-drawn animation and incorporate songs the way they did when we were kids (the characters themselves sing, Little Mermaid and Lion King style). The plot goes something like this: Hard-working Tiana lives in New Orleans and dreams of opening her own restaurant. A frogged Prince Naveen mistakes her for a princess and convinces her to kiss him so he can be human again. It doesn't work the way they hoped. Hijinks ensue.
I am notoriously hard to please but have no problems with this film. I got worried at one point that it was going to follow the tired romantic comedy formula in which a highly ambitious but highly stressed female is taught by a cool, laid-back male that her drive is keeping her from being happy.
Nope. Disney flips that narrative on its head and makes the cool guy look pretty pathetic next to the tough, no-nonsense heroine. Tiana has to teach him how to be an adult, and he happily learns. This culminates (spoiler alert) on him following her into the restaurant business - not whisking the new princess away to his kingdom.
After I was satisfied with that, I got nervous that, because of the goofy male animal companions (a required part of any great Disney film, apparently), only guys were going to get to be funny. Tiana, with all of her strengths, isn't exactly a barrel of laughs. But the sweet and hilarious character of Charlotte, Tiana's best friend, solves that problem.
And speaking of Charlotte, I like that her character is used to make fun of the princess obsession caused in large part by the very company that produced this film. :)
I could go on, but my reviews are always too long. Let me just end by pointing out that although this film uses older, less exciting technology, I'll take a good story FREE from silly stereotypes over a disappointing (at least from a gender perspective) but fancy animated flick. (I'm looking to you, Pixar division of Disney.)
Click here to go to the website for The Princess and the Frog.
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Great review! I enjoyed the film as well and appreciate your observation that Charlotte is much the girl that Disney created by its Princess merchandising. It's a subtle jab, but you wonder if Charlotte is treated in the merchandising more like a princess or more like a Pumbaa. So Disney could be teasing itself in the film, but continuing to propagate princess worship by selling Charlotte as a glam doll instead of a puffed up sidekick.
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