Froggy Went a-Courtin'

I wanted to be more supportive of Disney's most recent "traditional animation" film, The Princess and the Frog, and get out to see it in the theater. I do not subscribe to the notion that the hand-drawn cel format is a relic of the past. It is not the computer animation technique that makes the the newer crop of animated movies a triumph; it's the genius of the work done by the people at Pixar studios. (Other studios have both hits and misses, depending on the strength of the writing, acting, directing, and other elements of any given film.)

In any case, it was only recently, when The Princess and the Frog arrived on DVD, that I finally got to see the movie. And it's really a very good one -- but not quite a masterpiece quite on par with the films of the so-called "Disney Renaissance" of the 1990s.

But again, it's not the fault of the technique. The hand-drawn animation in this film is really excellent. Yes, they use some computer cheats from time to time (but then, so did those films of the 90s), but the artists really are producing the bulk of this film in the classic technique, and it looks great. The structure of the story also really takes advantage of the medium; there are a lot of ideas -- both in the narrative and the visuals -- that could only really be expressed in this way, as opposed to live action.

The story is rather clever too. Rather than purporting to be THE telling of THE Princess and the Frog, this movie is set in New Orleans of the past, involving characters who are actually aware of the old fairy tale. Events transpire that make them live the story themselves. And those characters are entertaining. There's a strong modern-day Disney heroine, likable sidekicks, a menacing villain... all the elements, and working together well.

Two things don't quite fit. One is the song writing of Randy Newman. During that 90s Renaissance, much of the soundtrack was provided by the brilliant pair of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken; later, other lyricists such as Tim Rice came in after the death of Ashman; later still, other skillful people like Phil Collins. I have never really liked Randy Newman. In my opinion, the man has only ever really written one song, and every other composition in his career has simply mined the space closely on either side of that one idea. Every song of his sounds like every other song.

What's worse is, Newman doesn't even have to be performing the song himself (as he often does; see Toy Story) for this unfortunate quality in his composing to push through. The songs of this film are arranged for full orchestra. They're performed by half a dozen different people. And yet they all sound like the same one Randy Newman song. It's a frustratingly narrow palette for a movie that's so visually rich and colorful.

The second problem I have is with the writing. Actually, it's quite clever and entertaining overall, but there is one particular point in the plot that feels a bit out of step. Out of date, actually. The heroine has aspirations to open her own restaurant, a goal she's pursued all her life with dogged determination. But when she's caught up in the events of this movie and ultimately comes to seek advice from a mysterious old magical woman in the bayou, she's given essentially this guidance: "you don't know what you want, girl; you need to settle down and find someone to love."

This seems a pretty backwards notion to me for a modern film. Sure, "love conquers all" will always be a relevant narrative theme, and this movie is hardly the only place espousing the notion that "you're nobody 'til somebody loves you." But there's a strange undercurrent in the way this plot point unfolds that doesn't quite seem so innocent. It really comes across: "that's great, kid; but you'd better think about finding a man who loves you." That note rings more sour than any of Randy Newman's.

I'm probably not spoiling much when I say that in the end, the young woman actually gets everything -- both what she's advised to pursue, and what she originally wanted -- thus taking the edge off this a bit. And everything else about the writing helps further mute the impact of this element: it's funny, clever, well-paced, and more. By the time I average everything up, I'd still give the movie a B, and a recommendation. Nevertheless, it's a shame that such a large bite was taken out of an otherwise very satisfying meal.