MOVIE NEWS: The Princess and the Frog

It’s a good year for the word “princess” on the OWL blog, huh? Just last June, we discussed the movie Princess Protection Program. Then we talked about Brian McLachlan’s web comic, “The Princess Planet,” in July. Now, in December, we’re back on the princess train with The Princess and the Frog. I saw the new Disney movie earlier this week, and I’m here to share some thoughts.

The movie is about a girl from New Orleans named Tiana. She wants to start up her own restaurant, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make her dream come true. The only problem? She needs a lot more money than she has.

When a frog tells her he’s really a prince, she agrees to kiss him to make him human as long as he helps her achieve her goals. But (spoiler alert!) the kiss doesn’t work out like it’s supposed to — in fact, it does the exact opposite and turns her into a frog instead.

In order to become human again, Tiana needs to embrace her newfound frogginess and romp through swamps full of bad guys, good bugs, and big alligators. But can she make it happen? You’ll have to see the movie to find out!

Here are three thoughts on the movie:

1) The Princess and the Frog is a Disney movie. You’re probably thinking, “So what? There are lots of Disney movies.” But this movie is more Disney than anything that’s come out in the past 15 years or so. The animation, the story, the songs, the singing, etc. All very Disney. In fact, it fits right in with the movies Disney is most famous for: modern classics like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin (among others). It feels new and old at the same time. Pretty cool.

2) The setting is perfect. New Orleans is known for its Cajun food, jazz music, and multicultural heritage. But, sadly, it’s also known for getting hit by a hurricane a few years ago. Because of that, so much of the recent news about New Orleans has been bad. But this movie does a great job of celebrating New Orleans’s history while offering a lot of hope for the city’s future. It is going to make a lot of people want to visit New Orleans, and that’s a good thing.

3) The lessons here are stellar. Nobody in this movie gets where they want to go on wishes alone. If they get there at all, it’s because of dreaming big and working hard. The other thing this movie tells us is that success doesn’t mean much if you can’t share it with the people you love. Important life stuff, right? Right!

Overall, I think this movie is fantastically successful. It does exactly what it sets out to do: tell a moving story in a wonderful setting about a down-to-earth girl with big dreams. If you have a well-loved video collection full of classic Disney flicks, this movie is definitely for you.

That’s it for me, guys. If you see this movie (or any movie, really) this weekend, come on back here and let me know what you thought.

Talk to you next week!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com