Comments on: Film Review: The Princess and the Frog (2009) http://nloding.com/blog/2010/01/03/film-review-the-princess-and-the-frog-2009/ random thoughts about random things Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:43:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Elizabeth http://nloding.com/blog/2010/01/03/film-review-the-princess-and-the-frog-2009/comment-page-1/#comment-851 Elizabeth Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:43:37 +0000 http://nloding.com/blog/?p=65#comment-851 @ Erin: Agreed, sister! I will say from my perspective they did a good job creating characters and not just caricatures. Except for of course Charlotte and Big Daddy (was anyone else TOTALLY creeped out by that?). Even Charlotte shows some depth as a human with feelings. Good for Disney, good for us! Only one mild disagreement. Disney has featured the "hard-working heroine" before in: Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, Pocahontas... You hit the nail on the head with the goal though - none of the previous ones I can recall had a goal besides snaring a prince - and most of them fell into that as well! @ Erin: Agreed, sister! I will say from my perspective they did a good job creating characters and not just caricatures. Except for of course Charlotte and Big Daddy (was anyone else TOTALLY creeped out by that?).

Even Charlotte shows some depth as a human with feelings. Good for Disney, good for us!

Only one mild disagreement. Disney has featured the “hard-working heroine” before in: Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, Pocahontas… You hit the nail on the head with the goal though – none of the previous ones I can recall had a goal besides snaring a prince – and most of them fell into that as well!

]]> By: Nathan http://nloding.com/blog/2010/01/03/film-review-the-princess-and-the-frog-2009/comment-page-1/#comment-848 Nathan Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:43:34 +0000 http://nloding.com/blog/?p=65#comment-848 @Elizabeth: Disney's last animated effort was "Home on the Range," at least according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Disney_theatrical_animated_features). Don't get me wrong, I do think it's a great children's movie, and did have a line in the review about "Don't let this stop you from taking your kids! They'll love !" I took it out for a reason that I can't remember though. I guess I should maybe put it back in. @Erin: I'll leave such in depth analysis to a longer review, which, unfortunately, I will probably never write for this movie. (That's code for I didn't actually think about it like that.) @Elizabeth: Disney’s last animated effort was “Home on the Range,” at least according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Disney_theatrical_animated_features). Don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s a great children’s movie, and did have a line in the review about “Don’t let this stop you from taking your kids! They’ll love !” I took it out for a reason that I can’t remember though. I guess I should maybe put it back in.

@Erin: I’ll leave such in depth analysis to a longer review, which, unfortunately, I will probably never write for this movie. (That’s code for I didn’t actually think about it like that.)

]]> By: Erin http://nloding.com/blog/2010/01/03/film-review-the-princess-and-the-frog-2009/comment-page-1/#comment-847 Erin Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:15:37 +0000 http://nloding.com/blog/?p=65#comment-847 You're leaving out the broad social statements that are being made by the characterizations. What about the fact that this is not ONLY the first black disney princess, but also the first Disney princess I can think of who had a goal and worked for it. Most princess stories include the "favored" child who has everything taken from her by the villain, and the story is about her rightful place being restored. Many of them are already princesses, whether they know it or not. This princess is working for everything, earning everything herself. Her bout with the villain is not a tool to take everything away, it is instead a method of showing her the lesson she missed, that it isn't necessary for her to sacrifice everything, that she can have a complete life...professional and personal. In a new era of absentee parenting and letting technology or the TV babysit the kids, Disney made a movie where their stereotypical "dead parent" raises a stronger, more productive, driven, and successful woman than we could hope for in a princess! Not only that, but she teaches her prince the very values that so many spoiled children have lost along the way. This is a story with a real moral for modern times. Not just a "good wins, believe in yourself" bull**** moral that we get from traditional fairy tales, but a multi-dimensional message that should be taken to heart by children with tangible dreams that were never taught how to get to them (wishing on stars is not enough!), children with no real goals or drive who need to find something to believe in, and the parents who have failed to give their children real, tangible, and unique skills that will help them to survive in the real world. ...You left all that out...haha. You’re leaving out the broad social statements that are being made by the characterizations. What about the fact that this is not ONLY the first black disney princess, but also the first Disney princess I can think of who had a goal and worked for it. Most princess stories include the “favored” child who has everything taken from her by the villain, and the story is about her rightful place being restored. Many of them are already princesses, whether they know it or not. This princess is working for everything, earning everything herself. Her bout with the villain is not a tool to take everything away, it is instead a method of showing her the lesson she missed, that it isn’t necessary for her to sacrifice everything, that she can have a complete life…professional and personal.

In a new era of absentee parenting and letting technology or the TV babysit the kids, Disney made a movie where their stereotypical “dead parent” raises a stronger, more productive, driven, and successful woman than we could hope for in a princess! Not only that, but she teaches her prince the very values that so many spoiled children have lost along the way.

This is a story with a real moral for modern times. Not just a “good wins, believe in yourself” bull**** moral that we get from traditional fairy tales, but a multi-dimensional message that should be taken to heart by children with tangible dreams that were never taught how to get to them (wishing on stars is not enough!), children with no real goals or drive who need to find something to believe in, and the parents who have failed to give their children real, tangible, and unique skills that will help them to survive in the real world.

…You left all that out…haha.

]]> By: Elizabeth http://nloding.com/blog/2010/01/03/film-review-the-princess-and-the-frog-2009/comment-page-1/#comment-845 Elizabeth Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:11:46 +0000 http://nloding.com/blog/?p=65#comment-845 I might be inclined to give it 4 stars as a triumphant return to hand-drawn animation (what was the last one...Treasure Planet?). They made characters children will love, and the story had more heart than hard-working-Tiana meets playboy-Naveen. It's a children's classic, we just aren't children anymore. Case in point - I watched Pinocchio last night...yikes is it different from my childhood memories. I might be inclined to give it 4 stars as a triumphant return to hand-drawn animation (what was the last one…Treasure Planet?). They made characters children will love, and the story had more heart than hard-working-Tiana meets playboy-Naveen.

It’s a children’s classic, we just aren’t children anymore.

Case in point – I watched Pinocchio last night…yikes is it different from my childhood memories.

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