Yes I saw it. Almost said “you can go without me”. Glad I went.
A tradition in my family has always been to go see a movie on a holiday – like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s. So we went to see recent Disney release “The Princess and the Frog”.
It was delightful. Especially when you compare it to the stream of movies from Hollywood that basically insult the audience. If you pay attention there are a few welcome “conservative” themes and messages in “The Princess and the Frog”. It will be interesting to see how it fares at the box office compared to the other left-leaning fare.
***WARNING – A FEW MILD SPOILERS***
Prince Naveen is the rich aristocrat who is no longer very rich. All he wants is to avoid work and have fun.
His servant Lawrence is the one who envies what Naveen has. And wants to steal it through trickery and deception.
And Tiana is the one who has a dream. And believes the way to achieve her dream is through hard work and saving every dollar she can.
Imagine that! If you want something – you work for it. Rather than expect the government or *ahem* the forces of evil – represented by the Shadow Man – to give you what you want by taking it someone else.
There may be some subtle commentary on “haves versus have-less”. The film does not appear to criticize Big Daddy for being so wealthy. In fact it recognizes the simple fact that rich people hire and pay other people to do things like make dresses (Tiana’s mother Eudora) for their spoiled daughters or make beignets (Tiana) for a masked Mardi Gras ball. Big Daddy is rich but he is generous and his wealth supports such cultural activities as a Mardi Gras parade.
And – trying not to give away too much here – what happens to Doctor Facilier aka Shadow Man in the end? He plays with the forces of darkness – “friends on the other side” – and ultimately he pays the price. There are consequences for messing with spiritual forces of evil.
This is not to suggest the movie is full of orthodox Christian theology. There are no references to God or Christ or scripture. At most we get “good magic” in the person of Mama Odie versus “bad magic” in the person of Doctor Facilier (whose name oddly enough means “Doctor Make-easy”). And several times characters seem to “pray” to a star in the night sky. This is not a criticism. Just trying to recognize how religion and spirituality are portrayed.
In a way I find refreshing how the film addresses(?) race relations. People of darker skin can have genuine friendship with people of lighter skin. Although it does not ignore altogether that racial tensions can and do exist – such as when the bankers refer to Tiana’s “background”.
What is interesting is that Disney has gone back to old fashioned drawn animation. I thought they had shut down their drawn animation department in order to focus exclusively on computer animation. My argument then as well as now is “it’s not the computer animation – it’s the story stupid”. Disney seems finally to get that point. But drawn animation might strike some as ugly and primitive compared to “Toy Story” or “Up”. The comparison is unfair. But not if you compare it to the work of Hiyao Miyazaki or even the exceptionally beautiful “Snow White”.
Critics often focus on the music – and sure enough characters in the movie often break into song. Are they “memorable” or Oscar-winning? Only time will tell. Some of the songs are quite catchy – such as “Dig A Little Deeper” which my wife used in her sermon this morning.
Finally – Louisiana.
The story is set in New Orleans and the Louisiana bayous. Having lived in the south for a while I am sensitive to how “southern accents” are portrayed – you would think every southerner speaks in a South Carolina drawl. Most of the accents and speech patterns in “The Princess and the Frog” sound correct. Some are not quite right. But in order to establish the setting – New Orleans and Louisiana – one must expect some degree of exaggeration for the sake of emphasis.
One concern(?) is that people who do not live in Louisiana might not appreciate all the inside jokes. Like when Ray the Cajun firefly introduces all the members of his immense extended family. Or when Ray asks Naveen and Tiana where they are from – the answer is perhaps only to Louisianans one of the funniest lines in the entire movie (the audience erupted in laughter). Or how the name of the love of Ray’s life is “Evangeline”.
Overall an animated film I can heartily recommend.
