The Princess and the Frog

Goolphipp Award: 4.5 (No Peanuts Chucked)

Goolsby:
The long awaited black princess. The Princess and the Frog delivered on all levels. It strange to think of new Disney movies as "classic" but that is what happens to all Disney films - they either become classic or fade. Watching this movie as an adult was fun. Disney dropped several throw backs to other films. The first thing I saw in the opening number was the magic carpet. The Little Mermaid characters made several appearances too. This movie was fun to watch. I loved the vivid color palette. They brought the bayou culture to life and it was awesome. I loved the firefly Ray, definitely my favorite. This movie was great, a new princess movie for the masses, but I wasn't blown away - and I can't tell if that's because I'm an adult or something minor in the movie.

Goolsby overall: 4.5
Who doesn't love a frog?

Phipps:
I was excited to see this movie. Who doesn't like a good Disney movie? I know some would call Disney's move to classic hand-drawing risky, but I enjoyed it! The old classics haven't gone out of style because they don't have the Pixar stamp. I appreciated the nods to the other movies too. I want to watch it again so I can catch all the hidden funsies.

The traditional Frog Prince fairytale always makes a fun plot, and the New Orleans twist was inventive. I'll confess that I was a little worried about having a fairytale set in the twentieth century - I was wondering where the magic was going to come from. Voodoo, of course, which I discovered was just as creepy in a cartoon as it is in the Skeleton Key. I'm actually wondering how small children reacted to that aspect of this movie, because the scary shadow spirits rivaled Snow White's Queen-in-ugly-witch-form.

Aside from the voodoo, the rest of the movie was quite fun. It had something for everyone. Talking animals. Humor. Romance. A blind, good witch. Handsome princes. Kisses. Trumpets. Jazz. Firefly tour guides. Good triumphing over evil. Action. Dreams coming true. Happily ever after.

I liked the underlying message too. You have to work toward your dreams - ie, owning a fabulous restaurant, but that shouldn't be your whole life. Love, family, fun should be a part of the equation too.

Cast was wonderful. Animation was great - as Goolsby said, the color palette was unique. I'm not going to say it's going to make it to "classic" status, because it's too early to tell...and I don't want to jinx it.

And one last thing - Tiana's wedding gown? Perfect.

Phipps overall: 4.5
Go on, kiss the frog.

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