The Princess and the Frog

While it’s nice to see the traditional Disney animation machine churning again, this is actually one of their more mediocre efforts. Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) lives in New Orleans and dreams of owning a restaurant. A young prince (Bruno Campos) has an encounter with a voodoo guy (Keith David) that results in him being turned into a frog. Tiana, dressed as a princess for a masquerade ball, is coaxed into kissing him, because that would turn him human again according to all the fairy tales. The plan backfires, Tiana becomes a frog too, and they spend the movie fighting to get back to human form. While some of the animation is breathtaking, the action is often too frantic, and the characters don’t really register. The frogs look a bit boring, and only a big gator is really memorable. Not bad, just not quite up to par with past Disney gems.