DISNEY don’t make bad films. Bold statement, not quite true. Disney don’t make bad animations. Look at recent years; Up, Bolt, Meet the Robinsons.
Take a trip back in time, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast. And what Disney do very well is fairytale adventures.
Admittedly you know what’s coming, it’s all a little predictable, but so what.... take a ‘princess’ and a poor girl, a few frogs, a prince, a baddie, someone wanting to better themselves, someone learning that love is more important than money, a few talking animals and a happy ending.
Hurl them into the Disney cauldron and you’re got another film from the production line.
The Princess and the Frog is a classic Disney fairytale. Okay so it lacks the originality of The Lion King, and the humour of Bolt. You know what you’re going to get from the moment you see the title with this one.
It’s a re-telling of a classic fairytale – The Frog Princess – and it’s very watchable. Put yourself into the position of a primary school age girl, and it’s probably the highlight of their month.
There’s studios churning out films which are perhaps more original (Kung Fu Panda) funny (Happy Feet), ambitious and even successful.
But Disney films always have that certain magic. Something you can’t put your finger on that makes children just absolutely adore them.
What lifts The Princess and the Frog is the one thing that Disney do better than any studio. The soundtrack. Set in New Orleans, its brought to life by a Creole Jazz Mardi Gras musical backdrop.
Lest we forget, there is a story here. Tiana is the poor waitress who dreams of owning her own restaurant, Charlotte is the young rich kid who dreams of marrying a prince. Prince Naveen is supposed to marry Charlotte. Naveen and Tiana end up as frogs, and I bet you can’t guess what happens next can you?
So why do they turn into frogs? Well this is Louisiana – home of voodoo and the mysterious shadowman voodoo king Dr Facilier.
Perhaps one word of warning here. The shadowman – and in particular the shadows he sends out to hunt down the frogs – might be a little much for very young children. They do, as you might expect with black magic, have a real sinister appearance – a menacing side.
But that aside, it’s full or characters that children will love – Ray the Cajun firefly, Louie – a trumpet-playing alligator – and the wonderful Bayou queen of the voodoo, Mama Odie.
An interesting extra fact for you – the Barack Obama factor has even landed in Disney’s ivory towers. Tiana is the first ever African American princess in a Disney film....
If it rains next weekend and you’ve kids to keep occupied, take them to see this, they won’t be disappointed.
3/5 (5/5 if you're a girl aged between four and nine)
(tickets: Cineworld, Shrewsbury)