Watch: The Princess and the Frog

Nostalgic and progressive at the same time

After a long hiatus, Disney is back in the hand-drawn 2D medium and it doesn't disappoint. The Princess and The Frog is another take on the genre of fairy tales in a typical Disney style.

The movie, which is based on the variation of The Frog Princess tale, adds twists to the original story, making changes in the location, the characters, as well as the incidents that take place. These variations added some originality to the story and allowed the smooth insertion of some typical Disney elements.

Early in the movie, a comparison is drawn between Tiana, an African-American, who works hard to fulfill her late father's dream of having a restaurant, and her friend Charlotte, who lives with her rich father a relaxing life. When Prince Naveen, Prince of Maldonia, comes to town after being disinherited by his parents due to his lifestyle, Charlotte expresses her wishes to marry him. Prince Naveen, who lost all his fortune and isn't ready for hard work, is lured by Dr. Facillier, an evil Dr. of voodoo. Dr. Facillier, who is looking to take Charlotte's father wealth, replaces Naveen by his valet and transforms the prince into a frog; a frog which needs a princess' kiss so as to be a man again.

As far as the story goes, I find the Disney take on the classic tale very entertaining. As with most other Disney movies of the same genre, Tiana has her share of goofy friends, funny moments, and lovely adventures. Even the villain, Dr. Facillier, seems destined to take his place deservingly among Disney's most interesting villains -- I think he should have taken a greater role, though.

It would be unfair, however, to compare this movie to Disney classics like The Little Mermaid and The Lion King. It surely follows the same movie making philosophy, but is not as powerful as these classics. But I think this is due to the excellence of these classics, rather than any downside in this movie. This is also evident in the soundtrack, which is very good, but not to be compared with Disney's previous soundtracks -- especially in the two mentioned classics.

The Princess and the Frog brings a nostalgic feeling for all those who were anticipating Disney's departure from the cheap sequels business. It follows a legacy of more than 60 years of film making and it certainly shows that the decision to stop developing 2D movies was a bad one.

A revisit to the concepts of good vs. evil, hard work vs. laziness, love, and friendships, this movie will sure appeal to kids and adults alike, Even if the movie doesn't fair impressively in the box-office, it will hopefully bring back to life a medium that many people thought was all but dead.

Score: 4/5

Official The Princess and the Frog

Pixar is still going UP.

Pixar's finishing of their first decade of movies couldn't have been better. UP has been in theater's for almost two and half weeks and it is doing great. There are even some speculations about it being one of the best performance of Pixar in terms of the box office. One can't help wondering why Pixar keeps going up?!

Having seen many animation movies lately, it is fair to say that Pixar is by far the leader in this industry. It is not hte techniques they use in the animation, it is not the amount of innovation in the way they render their scenes, it is something much more simple and much more appealing to the regular viewers that makes the difference between Pixar and the rest. It is their stories that appeal to all the ages. It is the worlds they create, not only by their stunning visuals, but by their incredible storytelling abilities also.

From a fish looking for it's son to a rat who wants to be a chef, and from those talking toys, to that old guy who wants to fulfill his late wife's dream; each story has something to laugh about, something to learn, and in some cases (especially with UP), something that will almost make you cry.

Pixar is taking 3D animation to a whole new level in a time when this genre began to be dominated by banal movies. It is doing what Disney had been doing with 2D animation until a decade ago. Now, with both companies unified, one can only expect the best to come.