Prince Naveen and Tiana in The Princess and the Frog
Photo: Walt Disney Pictures

With The Princess and the Frog Disney returns to 2-D hand-drawn animation and before I even saw a frame of this film the fact we are heading back to what I believe to be the truest form of animation was enough to get me in a seat. Unfortunately this latest installment in the Disney Princess franchise isn't the absolute knockout I wanted it to be, but I would still recommend everyone go see it and judge for themselves, if only to make sure Disney continues with 2-D animation as a regular alternative to the onslaught of CGI.

Set in 1920s New Orleans and sporting jazzy musical notes The Princess and the Frog tries much harder to be pretty than it does to tell a story. In fact, the villain in this film, the evil voodoo "shadow man" Dr. Facilier (voiced by Keith David), seems to exist merely out of necessity. Understandably this is something you can say about most any Disney villain, but something about this one did not interest me much as he sets his sights on… Hmmmm… I know he wants to be rich, but I also think he wants to take over New Orleans, but for what purpose I'm still a little confused.

Anyway, to accomplish his goals his attention is turned toward a penniless prince, whom he turns into a frog and uses a stand-in prince to worm his way into the heart of Charlotte, the daughter of the deepest pockets of the city, 'Big Daddy' La Bouff voiced by John Goodman. Things take a turn when the star of the story, Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), stumbles upon Facilier's plot and falls in love with the unlikeliest of "creatures".

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