THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

Directors: Ron Clements & John Musker
Stars: Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jennifer Cody, Jim Cummings, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, John Goodman
Year: 2009
Rating: G

Best to sum up this review in three words: Welcome Back, Disney!

All love for Pixar and its lesser-quality counterparts aside, there is nothing like the wonderfully drawn, lovingly shot, and eye-popping, candy-like colors of the 2D animation that Disney exemplified in the 1990s. And while The Princess and the Frog - a wonderful and funny story set in New Orleans during the height of the jazz era - might herald the return of the 2D animation Disney does best ... the film also ushers in a new era at the same time, with its first non-Caucasian prince and princess!

Stage star Anika Noni Rose provides the voice of the adult Tiana - who, as the films opens, is a young girl whose mother Eudora (voiced by none other than Oprah Winfrey) works as a professional seamstress for many of New Orleans wealthy white families. The film starts with Eudora telling the story of "The Frog Prince" to little Tiana, and her friend Charlotte (voiced, as an adult, by Jennifer Cody), the young daughter of rich 'Big Daddy' La Bouff (John Goodman), one of Eudora's best customers. As Eudora tells the tale of the young girl who kissed a frog to change him into the prince who would become her true love, all the while working on yet another princess dress for Charlotte, the little girls find themselves wholly entranced with the tale - even as Charlotte loves the romanticized notion of the story, while Tiana is just grossed out at the idea of kissing a frog. That night, after Eudora and Tiana take the long trolley ride back to their section of town (nowhere near as affluent as where the La Bouff mansion is), we also meet Tiana's father, James (Terrence Howard) - one of the hardest-working men alive, whose big dream is to open a restaurant that serves incredible food, called "Tiana's Place" in honor of his daughter.

Flash forward over a dozen years later, and now Tiana is a young woman working just as hard as her daddy (who has since passed away) ever did to realize the dream he never had. Tiana works so hard, she has no time for friends or fun, and this more than worries Eudora, even as Tiana finds herself on the brink of finally having the down payment to buy a property she's been eyeballing for her restaurant. She's become the expert at preparing food her daddy had always been, and is determined to follow in his footsteps.

Then her friend Charlotte comes to visit, with the news that the dashing, rich, and incredibly handsome Prince Naveen of Maldonia is coming to New Orleans. Naveen is a jazz music buff, and Charlotte and her daddy are hosting a reception for him at their home, so Charlotte insists that Tiana prepare one of her best dishes, a sort of sticky bun treat, to impress the prince with. When she throws a stack of daddy's money at Tiana to do so, the girl can hardly refuse.

Meanwhile, Prince Naveen (another treat - a non-traditional Disney prince with an Indian name, voiced by Bruno Campos) has arrived in town, with his manservant Lawrence (Peter Bartlett) in tow. The pair run into the sinister, decidedly villainous Dr. Facilier (Keith David) right off, and Facilier sees this as a golden opportunity to get his hands on the prince's fortune - or the fortune he thinks the prince has, as Naveen has actually been cut off from his family for not taking women, or not finding a wife, more seriously. So instead Facilier, a very powerful voodoo priest, strikes a bargain with Lawrence ...

And at the reception later that night, while the prince and Charlotte are dancing and decidedly liking one another, Tiana has a small accident that ends with her having food spilled all over her. Charlotte rushes her upstairs to clean her up, putting the girl in one of her prettiest dresses and tiara before rushing back down to the prince and party. Melancholy at wondering if her dream will ever come true, Tiana comes across a frog sitting on the balcony outside ... a frog who not only shocks her by being able to speak, but who also claims to be the real Prince Naveen, even as he admits he's unable to remember how he became a frog in the first place. So with the tiara on her head, Naveen - mistaking Tiara for a princess - talks the girl into giving him a kiss to change him back, in exchange for financing her restaurant - but when the kiss finally happens, instead of Naveen turning back into a prince, the lip-lock transforms Tiana into a frog!

Things get even crazier from there, as the two end up on the run from Facilier and his demonic minions. Soon the pair end up in the swamps of the Louisiana bayou, where they meet up with (among other atypical Disney animal sidekicks) a large, trumpet-playing alligator named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley, in a wonderful performance), who tries to get them to Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), an old voodoo priestess who lives way back in the bayou, and may be Tiana and Naveen's only hope to change back into human form.

Their journey is replete with lots of humor, some suspense, and of course a handful of quite catchy musical numbers, courtesy of Randy Newman. There are some true laugh-out-loud moments, and the story is sweet and charming (though note: Dr. Facilier and his creepy voodoo-hoodoo might be a bit intense for the youngest of children), with likable characters and excellent performances. I didn't find myself getting quite as emotionally attached to the characters quite as much as, say, in Beauty and the Beast - but that's a minor negative in what otherwise is a wonderfully original take on a classic fairy tale.

One can only hope The Princess and the Frog is a sign that Disney is far from getting rid of the kind of animation that made them what they are today. This was a real treat to watch, and a definite reminder that "old school" animation is alive and well and should never go away. **** - Reel Awesome