The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Everyone everywhere seems to have found some excuse to hate this movie. During production some were upset that the princess, the first black Disney princess, was going to be named Maddy which they argued sounded uncomfortably too much like Mammy and that Mammy is a derogatory term. Okay. So Disney changed it to Tiana. Then people were upset that Tiana was a maid since being a maid, they argued, is intrinsically offensive if the character in question is black. Okay. So Disney changed it. Then people were upset that the Prince wasn’t also black, just like Tiana (some people still oppose interracial marriage I guess) but by this point, I suppose, Disney either had enough or were too far along in production and they stopped changing their movie. But this wasn’t all. When the movie finally came out people complained that the New Orleans setting was offensive, somehow, “because of Hurricane Katrina” and that it was offensive that the villain was black, like 75% of the other characters in the movie. Christian groups were irate that the villain used Voodoo magic. Supposed Voodoo practitioners were upset at the depiction of their religion and Cajuns, which as a living group comprises exactly twenty-four people in a Baton Rouge trailer park, complained that the movie portrayed a harmful depiction of their people since the little Cajun bug had “funny teeth”. Never mind the fact that the same character is the most heroically virtuous individual in the movie.

These are just a few of the pissed off clusters of people that found fault with this movie. However, I am inclined to think that, in reality, fewer people were pissed off than the written record seems to indicate. I think that just because this movie was doing something of a racially conscious nature, introducing the first black Disney princess, that reporters were simply looking for discord and controversy to capitalize on what is an otherwise wholly unremarkable event. Indeed, “unremarkable” was the other adjective used to Describe this movie, long after people were done with “offensive”, once it was finally released. But if the former charge is ridiculous does the latter hold up?

I say, no. This is actually one of the very best Disney movies ever made. Visually the Princess and the Frog is as good as anything done in the 90s though it has to be given extra credit for the cool art deco musical sequence and the way they succeeded in conveying so much of the atmosphere of New Orleans. It’s one thing to create private impressions about fantasy world’s like Atlantica but it’s another entirely to capture real places that people have actually experienced first hand. And I should know, I’ve been to Disneyland’s New Orleans square like 50 times. The soundtrack is also highly underrated. While admittedly the songs aren’t nearly as memorable as the Howard Ashman broadway stuff from the Disney renaissance, this isn’t so much because the songs themselves are subpar but that the Princess and the Frog, almost by necessity, was restricted to particular genres of music that are less amenable for Disnification. Specifically, I mean the jazz inspired songs by Randy Newman and two others inspired by gospel and cajun music. All of these genres have a rather limited audience to begin with. Yet, at the same time, the soundtrack does have some memorable moments and at the very least fits the story and setting perfectly.

The story itself is also much better than I think it’s given credit for. Loosely based on a book called the Frog Princess, the Princess and the Frog takes the Frog Prince fairytale, places it in a cool, jazzy historical setting and then adds the spin of having the princess turn into a frog herself when she goes to kiss the prince, you know, as opposed to making him a human again. This is because Tiana is not actually a princess but only dressed like one, in fact, she’s a poor waitress who has been working overtime, at the expense of really living, in order to save up enough money to open her own restaurant. The frog, the irresponsibly carefree and music loving Prince Naveen of Maldonia, a fictional country that was probably offended in some way by this movie, on the other hand has been cursed by the totally awesome voodoo practitioner named Dr. Facilier as part of a complicated plot to trick a rich woman into marriage and out of her wealth. Now sharing in Prince Naveen’s curse, Tiana must learn to cooperate with the Prince to find a way to break the curse, which ultimately means that both of their characters must grow in virtue in the course of the narrative. Oh, and of course they fall in love.

I love the setting, I love the story, and I think the characters are really great too. Jennifer Cody as Tiana’s wealthy socialite friend is one the funniest Disney characters of all time. Check out the ironic expression on her face as she’s putting on makeup for the ball and talks about how she always thought fairy tale endings were for “crazy people”. The villain is one of the most inventive ever, and least annoying (no stupid Iago the parrot or cackling hyena sidekicks to pull him down). It’s got John freaking Goodman. I think the Big-O is in there somewhere. That Cajun lightning bug, or whatever he was, made me laugh and almost made me cry which is a really good thing for any movie. Oh, and I really like the love story that ensues and the lessons that are learned in the end. I am going to go out on a limb say that I applaud the Christian virtues that are emphasized therein.

It’s one of my favorite Disney movies. I’m just sad I didn’t see it in theaters and everyone who hates it for some stupid political reason just needs to find something else to do or think about. Like how great it would be if an alligator really could play the trumpet that well.

  I give it 4.4 man catching New Orleans style beignets (in powdered sugar)