The Princess and the Frog

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The Princess and the Frog

Official Poster.
Directed by Ron Clements
John Musker
Produced by Peter Del Vecho
John Lasseter
Written by Ron Clements
John Musker
Rob Edwards
Starring Anika Noni Rose
Oprah Winfrey
Keith David
Jenifer Lewis
Jim Cummings
John Goodman
Bruno Campos
Michael-Leon Wooley
Peter Bartlett
Terrence Howard
Music by Randy Newman
Editing by Jeff Draheim
Studio Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s) November 25, 2009[1] (limited)
December 11, 2009[2] (wide)
Country United States
Language English
Budget $105 million

The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated family feature film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, which is loosely based on E.D. Baker's novel The Frog Princess, which was in turn inspired by the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "The Frog Prince".[3] It is the 49th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics line, and the first of these films to be traditionally (2d) animated since 2004's Home on the Range. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, directors of The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, and Treasure Planet, with songs and score composed by Randy Newman and featuring the voices of Anika Noni Rose (as Princess Tiana), Oprah Winfrey,[4] Keith David, Jim Cummings, John Goodman, Jenifer Lewis, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Peter Bartlett and Terrence Howard.[5]

The film, which began production under the working title The Frog Princess, is an American fairy tale, Broadway-style musical set in the French Quarter of New Orleans. A prince named Naveen (Bruno Campos) from the land of Maldonia[6] is transformed into a frog by the evil scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier (Keith David). The frog prince mistakes a girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) for a princess and has her kiss him to break the spell. However, the kiss doesn't break the spell, but instead turns Tiana into a frog as well. Together, the two of them must reach the good voodoo priestess of the Bayou, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), while befriending a trumpet-playing alligator and a hopelessly romantic firefly along the way. The film opened in limited release in New York and Los Angeles on November 25, 2009, and will expand into wide release on December 11, 2009.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

A press release describes the story as follows:

When the free-spirited, jazz-loving Prince Naveen of Maldonia (Bruno Campos) comes to town, a deal with a shady voodoo doctor (Keith David) goes bad and the once suave royal is turned into a frog. In a desperate attempt to be human again, a favor in exchange for a fateful kiss on the lips from the beautiful girl, Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), takes an unexpected turn and leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana to the banks of the almighty Mississippi and back in time for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. An unforgettable tale filled with music, humor and heart where two frogs—along with the help of a 197-year-old voodoo priestess, a love-sick Cajun firefly, and a trumpet-playing alligator—discover that what they want isn’t as important as what they need.[7]

In the official trailer it is revealed that once Tiana kisses the frog prince, she herself becomes a frog, and they must journey together to change themselves back to humans.[8]

According to Anika Noni Rose, this will be the first Disney film with a black princess.She has said that the "scope and the significance" of that "is larger than people even realize."[9]

[edit] Cast

  • Anika Noni Rose as Tiana, a 19-year-old waitress and aspiring chef who dreams of owning her own restaurant one day.[10] She is the heroine of the film.
  • Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen, an early-twenty-something, gregarious, smooth-talking, and fun-loving prince who comes to the French Quarter for the jazz scene and with whom Tiana and Charlotte both fall in love. Due to being new in the city, he is persuaded by the shady Dr. Facilier into taking a tour of his office, which results in a curse transforming him into a frog. He was originally named "Harry."
  • Jennifer Cody as Charlotte La Bouff, an 18-year-old spoiled southern débutante, diva, and Tiana's best friend.
  • Keith David as Doctor Facilier, the main villain of the film. He was originally named "Doctor Duvalier" and was a voodoo magician and fortune teller. In a recently updated script, he is both a palm reader and a voodoo practitioner who tricks Naveen into making a deal with him that turns the prince into a frog (he ironically asks Naveen if the "green" [which Naveen thought was money] was what he wanted). Keith David describes Doctor Facilier as "A schemer, a conjurer and a sorcerer of sorts."
  • Jenifer Lewis as Mama Odie, a 197-year-old blind voodoo priestess who serves as the film's Fairy Godmother. She owns a pet snake named JuJu.
  • Jim Cummings as Ray, a lovesick Cajun firefly who knows Mama Odie and offers to help the frogs get to her. He is in love with the Evening Star he named "Evangeline" and thinks it's another firefly.
  • Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis, a jazz-singing alligator who is comical, manic, high-strung and plays the trumpet. His dream is to become human so he can join a jazz band.
  • JuJu, Mama Odie's pet snake and apprentice.
  • Peter Bartlett as Lawrence, Prince Naveen's pompous and jaded valet who is clearly annoyed with the carefree prince's antics. He eventually becomes an ally to Dr. Facilier and is transformed into a Naveen look-a-like (while the real Naveen has been turned into a frog). He will serve as a secondary villain in the film.
  • John Goodman as Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff, a wealthy and friendly Southern sugar mill owner and father of Charlotte La Bouff.
  • Oprah Winfrey as Eudora, Tiana's mother.[4]
  • Terrence Howard as James, Tiana's father.
  • Don Hall as Darnell, a frog hunter.[11]

[edit] Production

[edit] Animation

Disney had once announced that Home on the Range would be the studio's last 2D animated film entry to their animated features canon, but after the company's acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, it was reported that Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, new leaders of the animation department, had decided to re-open the door to Disney's tradition of handdrawn animation.[12] Ron Clements and John Musker, directors of successful 2D Disney films The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules, will be writing and directing.[13][14]

The film promises to return to the Broadway-style musical in the style of the successful Disney films like Walt's classics, and the musical renaissance of the late-1980s and all of the 1990s.[15] Rhett Wickham also reported that John Lasseter had personally asked Ron Clements and John Musker to direct and write the film, and had let them choose in what form (either traditional animation or CGI) they wanted the film to be made. Toon Boom Animation's Toon Boom Harmony software is being used in the digital processing of the film, as the old CAPS system Disney developed with Pixar in the 1980s is now outdated.[16]

While the Goofy short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater experimented with paperless animation, the artists on The Princess and the Frog will use traditional pencil and paper that is scanned into the computers. Although a new pipeline for hand-drawn animation using Toon Boom Harmony has been developed at the studio, the actual animation process remains the same.[17] The visual effects on the other hand, as well as lot of the backgrounds, will be created digitally using tools such as Wacom Cintiq tablet displays.[18] Marlon West, one of Disney's veteran animation visual effects supervisors, says about the production; “Those guys had this bright idea to bring back hand-drawn animation, but everything had to be started again from the ground up. One of the first things we did was focus on producing shorts, to help us re-introduce the 2D pipeline. I worked as vfx supervisor on the Goofy short, How to Hook Up Your Home Theater. It was a real plus for the effects department, so we went paperless for The Princess and the Frog.”[19]

The former trend in Disney's hand-drawn features where the characters were influenced by a CGI-look has been abandoned. Andreas Deja says "I always thought that maybe we should distinguish ourselves to go back to what 2D is good at, which is focusing on what the line can do rather than volume, which is a CG kind of thing. So we are doing less extravagant Treasure Planet kind of treatments. You have to create a world but [we're doing it more simply]. What we're trying to do with Princess and the Frog is hook up with things that the old guys did earlier. It's not going to be graphic…". He also mentions that Lasseter is aiming for the Disney sculptural and dimensional look of the '50s. "He quoted all those things that were non graphic, which means go easy on the straight lines and have one volume flow into the other -- an organic feel to the drawing."[17]

[edit] Music

On November 13, 2006, it was revealed that Randy Newman, who is responsible for the music of five Pixar films, would be in charge of the music in the film instead of Alan Menken and his new lyricist Glenn Slater. This change was due to John Lasseter not wanting the public to feel Disney being repetitive, as Menken was also working on another Disney fairy tale film, Enchanted.

During the Walt Disney Company's annual shareholder meeting in March 2007, Randy Newman and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band performed a song from the film called "Down in New Orleans", while slides of pre-production art from the film played on a screen. Other songs include "Almost There" (a solo for Tiana), "Dig a Little Deeper" (a song for Mama Odie), "When We're Human" (a song for Louis, Tiana & Naveen [as frogs]), "Friends on the Other Side" (a solo for Doctor Facilier), and "Gonna Take You There" and "Ma Belle Evangeline" (two solos for Ray). An end credit song called "Never Knew I Needed" performed by Ne-Yo. [20]

[edit] Voice cast

On December 1, 2006, a detailed casting call was announced for the film at the Manhattan Theatre Source forum.[21] The casting call states the film as being an American fairy tale musical set in New Orleans during the 1920s Jazz Age, and provides a detailed list of the film's major characters, including the leading character, who at that point was to be called Maddy. Disney later officially confirmed this.[20]

In February 2007, it was reported that Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose were top contenders for the voice of the princess, and that Alicia Keys directly contacted Disney's studio chief Dick Cook, telling him that she wanted the role very much.[22] It was later revealed that Tyra Banks was considered for the role as well.[23] On April 19, 2007, it was confirmed that Anika Noni Rose would be voicing Princess Tiana.[24] On July 5, 2007, it was reported that Keith David would be doing the voice of Dr. Facilier, the villain of the film.[25]

[edit] Promotion and release

On April 20, 2007, E! reported that the title of the film could possibly be changed from The Frog Princess to The Princess and the Frog, and that the lead character Maddy may be getting a name change as well.[26]

On May 4, 2007, USA Today published an article regarding the film in which they referred to it under the aforementioned title, The Princess and the Frog, and referred to the lead character as "Tiana" rather than Maddy, supporting the earlier reported name change possibilities.[27]

On May 8, 2007, BET and other online sites reported that Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta stated that some of the original release information was incorrect, and confirmed the USA Today names "Princess Tiana" and The Princess and the Frog to be correct. Trotta stated "Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney’s rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity."[28]

On August 4, 2008, the official website was launched with the first teaser trailer of the movie. On May 9, 2009, the official trailer was premiered on The Disney Channel. The Blu-Ray Disc edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which was released on October 6, 2009 included a six minute preview of the film.

The film will premiere in theaters with a limited run in New York and Los Angeles starting on November 25, 2009, followed by a wide release on December 11, 2009.[29] The film was originally set to be released on Christmas Day in 2009, but was changed due to the competitive nature of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel being released the same day.[30]

[edit] Reception

Early reviews of the movie have been mostly positive. Based on 24 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating from critics of 88% with an average score of 7.1/10. [31] Among Rotten Tomatoes' Cream of the Crop, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television, and radio programs,the film holds an overall approval rating of 82%. [32] Another review aggretator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 66%, based on 11 reviews. [33]

So far, Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A and wrote in her review that "the creative team behind The Princess and the Frog upholds the great tradition of classic Disney animation." [34] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote in his review that "The narrative behind The Princess and the Frog is that Walt Disney Animation has rediscovered its traditional hand-drawn animation, which has been supplanted by computer-generated cartoons." Honeycutt also praised the film for "a thing called story." [35] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review claiming "With The Princess and the Frog they've gotten just about everything right. The dialogue is fresh-prince clever, the themes are ageless, the rhythms are riotous and the return to a primal animation style is beautifully executed." [36] David Germain of the Associated Press wrote that "Princess and the Frog isn't the second coming of Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King. It's just plain pleasant, an old-fashioned little charmer that's not straining to be the next glib animated compendium of pop-culture flotsam." [37]

Mixed reviews include Justin Chang of Variety being less receptive of the film stating "this long-anticipated throwback to a venerable house style never comes within kissing distance of the studio's former glory." [38] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave the film 3/5 stars claimed "'The Princess and the Frog' breaks the color barrier for Disney princesses, but is a throwback to traditional animation and her story is a retread." [39] Village Voice’s Scott Foundas’s response towards the film is that "the movie as a whole never approaches the wit, cleverness, and storytelling brio of the studio's early-1990s animation renaissance (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King) or pretty much anything by Pixar." [40]

[edit] Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack album, The Princess and the Frog: Original Songs and Score, contains ten original songs and seven instrumental pieces. The music, a mixture of jazz, zydeco, blues and gospel sounds, was composed, conducted and arranged by Academy Award-winning composer Randy Newman. The soundtrack was released on November 23, 2009, the day before the limited release of the film in New York and Los Angeles. The songs are performed by various artists, most of which lend their voices to the characters in the movie.[41]

[edit] Marketing

"The Princess and the Frog" will be supported by a wide array of merchandise leading up to and following the film's release. Although Disney's main marketing push wasn't set to begin until November 2009, positive word-of-mouth promotion (notably from African-American mothers) created demand for merchandise well in advance of the film.[42] Princess Tiana costumes were selling out prior to Halloween 2009, and a gift set of Tiana-themed hair care products from Carol's Daughter sold out in seven hours on the company's website.[42] Other planned merchandise includes a cookbook for children and even a wedding gown.[42] Princess Tiana was also featured a few months prior in the Disney on Ice: Celebrations show.

[edit] Video-game

Disney announced on June 4, 2009 that they will release a video game inspired by the film and it was released on November 2009 exclusively for Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. It will be an "adventure through the exciting world of New Orleans in a family-oriented video game," and will feature favorite moments from the film and challenges for Princess Tiana.[43]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "The Princess and the Frog". http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=19253. Retrieved 2009-07-09. 
  2. ^ "Disney moves up 'Princess' release". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001033.html?categoryid=1050&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-03-10 2009. 
  3. ^ "The Princess and The Frog Panel Discussion with Ron Clements & John Musker – D23 Expo.". NERDSociety. http://www.nerdsociety.com/2009/09/23/the-princess-and-the-frog-panel-discussion-featuring-ron-clements-and-john-musker-d23-expo/. 
  4. ^ a b "BREAKING: Oprah Winfrey Joins Voice Cast Of ‘The Princess and the Frog’". 2008-09-24. http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/09/24/breaking-oprah-winfrey-joins-voice-cast-of-the-princess-and-the-frog/. 
  5. ^ http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/princessandthefrog/
  6. ^ "Major Disney Exhibition Going to New Orleans in November". Art Daily Website. 2009-01-22. http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=28481. Retrieved 2009-01-31. 
  7. ^ Art Daily
  8. ^ "Official The Princess and the Frog website: Trailers". Disney.com. http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/princessandthefrog/. 
  9. ^ Thompson, Paul (March 18, 2009). "Disney to feature its first black princess... but critics complain as she falls in love with a WHITE prince". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1162718/Disney-feature-black-princess--critics-complain-falls-love-WHITE-prince.html#ixzz0XSrrj3rq. Retrieved November 21, 2009. 
  10. ^ "A Fairy Tale Beginning: Snow White, She's Not. Among Disney's Royal Ladies, Tiana Is a Notable First.". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/16/AR2009041603139.html. 
  11. ^ "Lights, Camera, Saute: Culinary Dean Cooks Up Acting Career". The Nicholls Worth. http://media.www.thenichollsworth.com/media/storage/paper262/news/2007/09/20/Lagniappe/Lights.Camera.Saute.Culinary.Dean.Cooks.Up.Acting.Career-3006398.shtml. 
  12. ^ "Disney Goes Traditional For "Princess"". Dark Horizons. 2006-07-27. http://www.darkhorizons.com/news06/060727d.php. Retrieved 2006-07-29. 
  13. ^ "Rhett Wickham: It's Baaack!". LaughingPlace.com. 2006-06-23. http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID510530.asp. Retrieved 2006-06-23. 
  14. ^ "Comic-Con Sees Stars, 2D Officially Back at Disney". AWN Headline News. 2006-07-23. http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=17512. Retrieved 2006-07-29. 
  15. ^ "Hand-Drawn Animation Returning to Disney". The Internet Movie Database. 2006-07-27. http://imdb.com/news/sb/2006-07-27/. Retrieved 2006-07-29. 
  16. ^ "It's Baaack!". LaughingPlace.com. 2006-06-23. http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID510530.asp. Retrieved 2006-08-10. 
  17. ^ a b Insights From ADAPT 2008
  18. ^ http://www.latinoreview.com/news/interview-princess-and-the-frog-directors-john-musker-and-ron-clements-plus-7-brand-new-images-8310
  19. ^ Red Stick’s Peek at Disney’s Princess & the Frog
  20. ^ a b "New Orleans the site of new Disney film". Yahoo News. 2007-03-08. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070308/ap_en_mo/film_new_orleans_2;_ylt=AlzYANL3i9hU29QXkk5J2urBaMYA. Retrieved 2007-03-09. 
  21. ^ "Frog Princess Casting Call". Animated-News.com. 2006-12-01. http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00005815.html. Retrieved 2006-12-04. 
  22. ^ "Alicia Keys into Next Movie Role". E! Planet Gossip Blog. 2007-02-05. http://www.eonline.com/gossip/planetgossip/blog/index.jsp?uuid=d21d0e39-9f0d-4b01-b81d-3989932f34ab. Retrieved 2007-03-09. 
  23. ^ "Princess Anika and the Frog". E! Online. 2007-04-20. http://www.eonline.com/gossip/planetgossip/detail/index.jsp?uuid=32acc85e-a531-4ba2-93d6-650ee3432d89. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
  24. ^ "Disney Crowns Its Frog Princess". E! Online. 2007-04-19. http://www.eonline.com/gossip/planetgossip/detail/index.jsp?uuid=781c7854-fddc-4433-8b02-c295bc4899f1. Retrieved 2007-04-20. 
  25. ^ "David hops aboard 'Frog'". The Hollywood Reporter. 2007-07-05. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ib1ebc09603fb86d273ed37cc3efda00b. Retrieved 2007-07-05. 
  26. ^ E Online's Planet Gossip article
  27. ^ USAToday article mentioning name change
  28. ^ Movie & TV News @ IMDb.com - Studio Briefing - May 11, 2007
  29. ^ "High-res Photos of Disney's The Princess and the Frog". /FILM.com. http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/06/09/high-res-photos-disneys-the-princess-and-the-frog/. 
  30. ^ "Fox finesses release schedule". Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117994572.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. 
  31. ^ "The Princess and the Frog Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1196003-princess_and_the_frog/. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  32. ^ "The Princess and the Frog (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1196003-princess_and_the_frog/?critic=creamcrop. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  33. ^ "Princess & the Frog, The (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/princessandthefrog. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  34. ^ "The Princess and the Frog Movie Review". Entertainment Weekly. 2009-11-24. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20322455,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  35. ^ "The Princess and the Frog -- Film Review". Hollywood Reporter. 2009-11-24. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/the-princess-and-the-frog-film-review-1004047951.story. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  36. ^ "Review: 'The Princess and the Frog'". Los Angeles Times. 2009-11-25. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-princess25-2009nov25,0,6472123.story. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  37. ^ "Review: `Princess and the Frog' is a hearty hop". Associated Press. SFGate. 2009-11-24. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/11/24/entertainment/e055115S91.DTL#ixzz0Y6Ing2G9. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  38. ^ "The Princess and the Frog Movie Review". Variety. 2009-11-24. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941670.html?categoryid=31&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  39. ^ "Disney’s first black princess mark the studio’s return to old-style animation". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2009/11/24/2009-11-24_the_princess_and_the_frog_review_disneys_first_black_princess_marks_return_to_cl.html. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  40. ^ "Disney's Princess and the Frog Can't Escape the Ghetto". Village Voice. 2009-11-24. http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-11-24/film/disney-s-princess-and-the-frog-can-t-escape-the-ghetto/. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  41. ^ http://disneymusic.disney.go.com/albums/theprincessandfrog.html
  42. ^ a b c Nedra Rhone (2009-10-30). "Princess Tiana 'already sold out'". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/lifestyle/princess-tiana-already-sold-177616.html. Retrieved 2009-11-01. 
  43. ^ "Disney Interactive Studios Announces The Princess and the Frog Video Game". CNBC.com. http://www.cnbc.com/id/31103324/. 

[edit] External links