The Princess and the Frog (2009)

4/5

Because of some middling comments I had overheard about the movie, I was not expecting to love Disney's classically animated The Princess and the Frog as much as I did, but it is an extraordinary film and a pleasure to watch. The plot follows a young girl in New Orleans named Tiana who wants to turn her dream of running her own restaurant into a reality. Prince Naveen, who was recently cut off from his rich parents, visits New Orleans and is intoxicated by the voodoo doctor's fortunes of wealth. He accepts the shadow man's offer of a future of "green," only later realizing that it meant he would be turned into a frog. He hops on over to Tiana, mistakes her for a princess, and kisses her. Unfortunately, it causes her to turn into a frog as well, instead of turning him back into a prince. The rest of the movie details their quest to turn human again and stop the witch doctor from taking over the town and sucking out everyone's souls.

The movie is visually breathtaking. The 2D animation is sharp and smooth--and quite a refreshing departure from the typical animated film of the late 2000's. The story is captivating from beginning to end. There are scares and triumphs, thrills and laughs, in the perfected proportions that can only come from years of cartooning experience. Granted, there are a few unnecessary scenes/side plots (e.g., the three frog hunters), but they add in some fun, excitement, and drama. The characters are intriguing and charismatic; they draw you close with their friendliness, warmth, and emotion. And the story unfolds like a puzzle that gets slowly put together into an awesome tapestry. The plot is not without a few predictabilities and the music is not without some repetitive or forced dynamics, but on the whole this movie has all the elements you remembered and loved about the best Disney movies of the 1990's.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780521/

Aladdin (1992)

4/5

Aladdin is a Disney classic, well-loved by all. Watching it again brought me back to when I first saw it as a child. I could remember all the times I laughed, sang along, and got scared. It's a remarkable whirlwind of an experience. Robin Williams is incredible as Genie, as is Gilbert Gottfried as Iago. The rest of the acting, enh. Acceptable. I was surprised to see the use of CGI in the movie, forgetting it had been there. It was actually quite seamlessly interwoven with the drawn animation for its time and to the untrained eye (but not so much for me now). The music is just plain unforgettable. The plot is a bit simple and contrived; there's not much there except to propel the characters to do the next thing on the Disney to do list. The jokes were very kid-oriented, with a couple lines thrown in there for the adults. I think there is a shift though in modern animation, with movies like The Incredibles and Shrek having a much greater percentage of adult jokes than previously. But there are also almost no songs to sing along to anymore, which saddens me. Perhaps it is for this reason that Aladdin is one of those treasures you always remember. They just don't make 'em like they used to.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0103639/