Fresh: Review of The Princess And The Frog
Feb 8 2010 by Mike OConnell, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Restaurant owner James (voiced by Terrence Howard) cooks the best gumbo in the city, while his seamstress wife Eudora (Oprah Winfrey) tends to their daughter Tiana (Anika Noni Rose).
When the old man goes off to war and never returns, Tiana is forced to make her own way in the world, dreaming of the day she might open her own restaurant and serve up her father’s signature dish.
Those dreams are put on hold when Tiana is approached by a smooth-talking frog, who claims to be Prince Naveen of Malvonia (Bruno Campos).
He asks for one kiss to break the spell that has been placed on him and she obliges, only to be transformed into a frog herself.
The Princess And The Frog is classic Disney fare, pitting two mismatched souls on a great adventure that ultimately brings them together.
Trapped in their amphibious state and pursued by scheming voodoo man Dr Facilier (David), Tiana and Naveen must track down queen of the bayou, Mama Odie (Lewis), aided by a music-loving alligator (Wooley) and a crazy firefly (Cummings).
The Princess And The Frog is classic Disney fare, pitting two mismatched souls on a great adventure that ultimately brings them together.
Rose and Campos relish their characters constant bickering, while David hams it up a treat as the witch doctor who unleashes dark spirits to do his bidding.
Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, who previously made The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, effortlessly meld romance, comedy and rousing musical numbers with old-fashioned family values that have become a staple of the Disney brand.
Most importantly, this colourful tale of female empowerment buoys the soul as it introduces a menagerie of cute and cuddly critters, who - like the plucky heroine - prove that anything is possible.
The soundtrack composed by Randy Newman swings effortlessly from Tiana’s heartfelt ballad "Almost There", sung as she imagines owning her restaurant, to Mama Odie’s barnstorming "Dig A Little Deeper" complete with a gospel choir, and everything in between.
Walt Disney would be very proud.
