The Princess and the the Frog: Movie Review

In the past few months, 3D has become huge. Just compare the local cinema scene a year ago and you will know what we mean. Before, when we want to watch in 3D, we need to go to an IMAX theater to get the experience. Now, almost every cinema house in the vicinity of the Metro has a digital cinema capable of recreating the 3D experience. Part of 3D's evolution probably started off with animation moving from the traditional hand-drawn one to utilizing 3D computer-animation as a medium. Just look at all the animated films we have right now - aren't the majority made with computer graphics? Sadly, we miss the good old days of cartoons being 2D and all. So when we saw the trailer for "The Princess and the Frog", we saw hope. If Disney retracted their decision six year ago (that "Home on the Range" will be their last hand-drawn cartoon film), maybe other publishers will see that the magic of the 2D, hand-drawn cartoons can never be replaced. Read on to find out if "The Princess and the Frog" is a good start to re-envision an old, misunderstood craft.

In 1912 at New Orleans, two young girls are talking about the fairytale of "The Frog Prince". One dreams to someday marry a prince while one vows that she will never kiss a frog. The latter child is Tiana and her only dream is to fulfill her father's dream of owning their own restaurant. Moving forward to the Twenties, Tiana is now a young woman and we discover that her father has already died. This makes Tiana more desperate to fulfill her late father's wish - so desperate in fact that she is already working double shifts just to save money for the downpayment of the building she wants to buy. When a certain Prince Naveen arrives at New Orleans, the whole town is abuzz especially Tiana's childhood friend Charlotte. Charlotte decides that Tiana could serve beignets at the ball so Charlotte could impress the Prince with good food. Before the Prince could get to the ball, he is lured by a man who calls himself Doctor Facilier and he in turn morphs him into a frog. Everything falls apart further when Tiana kisses the frog prince and instead of turning Naveen human, Tiana also turns into a frog.

What we can say for "The Princess and the Frog" is that it was almost there but it missed perfection by a small fraction. What we liked about the film is that it never strayed away from the old Disney formula which can almost mean sure success. It was also not bad that it was in 2D and hand-drawn in the style of late Eighties and Early Nineties Disney animated films(which in our opinion is the best style we have seen when it comes to film cartoons). It was not all visual though as the movie had a great story and even better songs to sing along with. We guess the biggest disappointment for the movie is that the characters are not memorable at all. Also, the whole film did not meet our standards when it comes to Disney films. Although that is the case, this is still a wonderful film to watch and definitely a must-see for everyone. We think 2D films just made a comeback with this one.

Rating: 4 and a half reels

Why you should watch it:
- this is the traditional Disney cartoon film at its core - which is not a bad thing at all
- 2D and hand-drawn makes the experience nostalgic, worthwhile and even refreshing

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- not as good as some of the Disney classics we have seen before
- characters are not memorable at all

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