Fresh: Review of The Princess And The Frog

Feb 8 2010 by Mike OConnell, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (U, 97 mins) Comedy. Featuring the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Terrence Howard, Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings. Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker.

Released: February 5 (UK & Ireland)

IN an extraordinary career, producer Walt Disney redefined the boundaries of hand-drawn animation, initially on television and later, and more prominently, on the big screen.

In 1928, he released Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon with synchronised sound, and in 1937, the world whistled along to Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length animated film in history.

Disney collected an astonishing 26 Oscars for his pioneering efforts and today, his legacy lives on in the studio which bears his name.

Since his death in 1966, Disney’s animation division has continued to redefine the art of animation, reaching a peak in 1992 when Beauty And The Beast became the first animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Now, in 2010, the studio casts its first ever African-American princess in this enchanting reworking of the Grimm brothers’ fairytale, set in New Orleans around the time of the First World War.