Princess and the Frog Review

Here's my recently published review of Disney's Princess and the Frog

SHANE





'Princess and the Frog' Nice surprise for a teen
By Shane Weinstein, Special to The Explorer
Published:
January-20-2010

Being 14 years old, I wouldn't normally think about going to see a movie such as Disney's latest picture, "The Princess and the Frog."
But it was what my mom and sister wanted to see as the later part of a double feature on Christmas Day. After arguing persistently about going to see "It's Complicated," I was overruled when my dad stepped in and we took our seats in the theater.
Let me say now that I was wrong for not wanting to see this movie. As a teen-ager, movies like this one don't usually seem enticing, but after 97 minutes of toe-tapping jazz music and family-friendly humor, I left the theater having enjoyed myself.
"The Princess and the Frog" is the classic fairy tale with a twist.
Having dreams of owning a restaurant and serving her late father's recipes, Tiana is finally close to achieving her dream. Meanwhile, Prince Naveen of Maldonia is visiting New Orleans.
On the way to a Mardi Gras party at Tiana's friend Charlotte's house, Naveen and his butler Lawrence have a run-in with a voodoo witch doctor, after which Lawrence becomes Naveen and Naveen becomes a frog. While getting ready for the ball, Naveen sees Tiana, thinks she is a princess, kisses her, and hopes he will become human again like the fair tale says. Exactly the opposite happens, and Tiana becomes a frog.
So begins their quest to become human again. Along the way they encounter a talking fire fly and an alligator who dreams of being playing jazz with "the big boys."
"The Princess and the Frog" was the closest to the original mold of Disney Princess films as they have come in a long time. It had everything the classic films did, lovable characters, humor, and of course, great musical numbers. Although all of the classic Disney films have good music in them, I think the music in this film may just be the best. As the film is set in New Orleans, the sounds of jazz music fill the theater during the musical numbers.
This movie really has something for every age group. For little kids, the characters, story, and music are more than apropos. For adults, the humor is great as well as the music.
Although I don't have a chance to see many of them, I have seen a few family films this year and I think that this just may be the best. With something for every one of all age groups, this film was a very pleasant surprise. Five stars!