The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker
Written by Ron Clements, John Musker, and Rob Edwards. Based on The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker and The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm.
Premiered November 25, 2009
97 minutes
Rated G

Synopsis
Once upon a time (the 1920s) in a far away land (New Orleans) there lived a young woman named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) who wanted very much to own her own restaurant. So she worked several waitressing jobs and cooked for sugar baron Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff (John Goodman) and his spoiled debutante daughter Charlotte (Jennifer Cody). Meanwhile, Prince Naveen of Maldonia (Bruno Campos) has been cut off by his parents, decides to find a rich girl to marry and Charlotte is the perfect candidate. However wicked voodoo man Dr. Facilier (Keith David) is also interested in Big Daddy's fortune so he tricks Naveen, turning him into a frog and makes his valet Lawrence (Peter Bartlett) look like Naveen. At the La Bouff's annual costume party, Naveen mistakes Tiana for a princess and requests a kiss to turn him back to normal. However, the kiss instead turns Tiana into a frog herself. The pair, along with wannabe jazz musician alligator Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and Cajun firefly Ray (Jim Cummings), set out to find Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) who they believe can reverse the spell.

Before We Begin--Part 1
You may have noticed my avatar is that of a brunette white girl, which is a close enough approximation to my coloring in real life. I was raised in a very undiverse part of the country and my ridiculously small town consisted of only white people. In fact, I did not have a full on conversation with a black person until college because I didn't have the opportunity. Up until that point, my exposure to African-American culture was strictly through what I saw on TV and in movies and what I heard on the radio.

I make this statement only because I feel that I am not qualified to talk about The Princess and the Frog's handling of race. Is the movie racially insensitive? I am not the person to ask. But my opinion is: I don't think so.

Before We Begin--Part 2
I was reasonably upset back in 2003 when Disney announced they were giving their 2D animation wing the old heave-ho. How could it be? I mean, I know things had been rough...those sci-fi flicks sucked, but maybe, maybe if they just returned to form--say with a fairy tale--everything would be all right. It was a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

But a mere three years later, John Lasseter became the Chief Executive Officer of Disney and decided to go find that baby in whatever landfill it ended up in and give it a new bath. And not only was he going to bring back 2D animation, he was going to do it with a big bright musical fairy tale love story--the type of movie that started Disney feature animation, brought it back after World War II, and revived it once again after the dark Post-Walt era.

There was much rejoicing.

The fairy tale chosen was "The Frog Prince", a Brothers Grimm tale about a spoiled, selfish princess who eventually kisses a frog who turns out to be a prince. I'm certain an 80 minute animated feature could be made out of that, but Disney thought differently, so they mixed in some stuff about the princess turning into a frog too. Then they set it in 1920s, New Orleans and then they made the heroine African-American.

Do I think Disney decided to create an African-American princess so all the little black girls could actually look like a real Disney princess for Halloween? Yes. Yes I do. Please don't misunderstand me: I am not saying there shouldn't be a black Disney princess. There should. There should be one for every race, but it should come about organically. Unfortunately, by the time Tiana came to be, Disney Princesses were a thing.

"Are you white? Well, what color hair do you have? Brown? Well, you can be Belle! Red? Ariel! Black? Snow White! Blonde!? Why, you can choose between Cinderella and Aurora! Oh, you're not white? Well that's okay too, as long as you're Asian, Middle Eastern, or Native American. Oh...you're black? Well...um...I'll get back to you on that."

It felt very forced, is what I'm saying. And perhaps if The Princess and the Frog were a better movie, it still wouldn't feel that way.

Before We Begin--Part 3
To put it delicately, I was not in a very good mood when I first saw The Princess and the Frog. I viewed the movie through bitter and cynical eyes, much like how Ron Weasley saw the world when he was wearing Salazar Slytherin's locket. And then every time I would think about or watch this movie (which was exceedingly rare), I would get a bad taste in my mouth. That time has past and I am excited to watch The Princess and the Frog again, free of bullshit. That being said, I remember a lot of flaws, but it's important for you to know my negative comments are not coming from an emotional place.

Mötley Müsings
• Our first princess movie! Sort of... All right, so the title is completely misleading. Tiana isn't a princess until (spoilers, but not really, because come on, it's a Disney fairy tale) she marries Prince Naveen. Frankly, the movie should have been called 'The Frog Prince", but I guess "Prince" isn't as marketable a word.

• Guess who gets to watch this on her laptop????

• I am genuinely excited. This feels awesome!

• Wishing on stars... #disneymotif

• I mean, Oprah is in this...that says it all, I think.

• Kitty!

• Charlotte looks so much younger than Tiana, but I think they're supposed to be the same age.

• All right...there was a lot of controversy about Tiana's name. Originally she was named "Maddy" which was deemed inappropriate because it sounded like "Mammy". I call bullshit on that. Maddy, as we know it, is a nickname for Madison, possibly the whitest baby name ever. "Tiana", on the other hand, didn't even show up on the Social Security Administration's list of most popular names until the 1970s...and it sounds a lot like Tiara...which sounds trashy. (Yes, call me up anytime. I will harshly judge your baby name.) "Mattie", however, was a very popular name in the 1900s when our heroine was born. It would have been more accurate.

• Wow, look at all those dresses! Different eras and everything!

• Tiana's dress doesn't look very 1910s. More 1950s.

• And that menu has inaccurate hair if this is supposed to be the 1910s...but I know they call back to it in the "present". Grumble, grumble.

• Heh. Nice frog bit.

• Oh no. Randy Newman. I don't care for Randy Newman. Up until this movie, he had one good song--"When Somebody Loved Me" from Toy Story 2--so I was dreading this soundtrack. I was surprised to not hate any of the song. Some are even good and the others don't grind on me as I expected.

• So here's the thing about the United States...we don't have a tradition of "magic" and "myths" the way European countries do. Nor do we have royalty. This makes the U.S. a rather unromantic setting which is why most Disney movies set in America are also set in the present day. (There are exceptions, but I will discuss those when we get to them.) The United States feels like an "unnatural" setting for a fairy tale.

However, voodoo (at least Hollywood's interpretation) is a great American stand-in for magic and if Disney was hell bent on having a black princess, this was the way it could work. (Or, you know, they could have set the movie in one of the thousands of other places a black princess might live besides the U.S.) But it works. Evil voodoo witch doctor turns prince into frog for...reasons...is a believable set up for a fairy tale. (Do the Brothers Grimm ever explain why the prince was turned into a frog? Revenge against the parents or something?)

BUT, a prince in America? How does that work? Well...he would have to be just visiting. Okay. Fine. But the world was short on princes in the 1920s, so Disney invented a country--Maldonia. This bugs me. You have a real city in a real country in an identifiable time period (the 1920s), but you have a prince coming from a fake country. That doesn't work somehow. At least not for me.

But Disney had their hearts set on "The Frog Prince/Princess" which requires not one but two royal persons. That's a lot of jerry-rigging, as we'll see...

• I like that Tiana and Naveen have that little meeting.

• Mmmmmmm. I had beignets in Disneyland before The Princess and the Frog came out.

• Charlotte is entertaining. And I really like that she and Tiana don't have a toxic relationship ala Mean Girls or Cinderella and her stepsisters. That would be too easy.

• And for some reason I like that Tiana's hair isn't bobbed. I know it's because she will be a princes and princesses always have long hair...except Snow White. Hmmm...well, that's the 1930s for you. Don't like her winged eyeliner though.

• “Almost There” is the best song. And this change of animation style is nice.

• Naveen is pretty dreamy. There was a lot of discussion about his race. It was made clear that he wasn't black which pissed a lot of people off. It bothers me more that we don't know where the hell he's from.

• Head in tuba...Beauty and the Beast. #disneymotifs

• Exposition via tarot cards. Yes.

• “Freedom takes green...when I look into the future, it's the green I see.”

• Fat wife jokes, Disney? Still?

• Costume ball!

• Ha! That dog is still alive.

• “When a woman says later, what she really means is not ever.” I feel like we have a missed opportunity with Charlotte...she isn't black-hearted, just spoiled and misguided. She could benefit from learning to love a "prince in disguise".

• The waist line on Charlotte's dress is very 1920s. :-)

• Damn, that is one ugly peasant dress, Tiana. Even Cinderella had a little blue.

• “Little woman of your background...you're better off where you're at.” It's rated G. This is good enough.

• Old fashion mascara with brush! #historicallyaccurate

• Charlotte's dress is a costume so it can look ridiculous and innaccurate, but Tiana's Cinderella blue strapless number is so 2000s prom. Strapless wasn't a thing until the 40s...at least?

• "Well, back into the fray. Wish me luck!"

• “Kissing would be nice, yes?”

• “All women enjoy the kiss of Prince Naveen.”

• “That's new.”

• So...he's paying her to kiss him...uhhhhhhhhhhhh I can think of another way she could have made money for her restaurant.

• So, for two thirds of the movie, Tiana is in frog form.

• The idea of Naveen marrying a wealthy American heiress is rooted in history; a lot of British noblemen did this very thing in the years leading up to World War II.

• Is this the first eventual Disney couple to dislike each other at first? I mean, Naveen wants Tiana because she's a live, attractive female...but he doesn't like her until later. I guess you could say the same about the Beast...he just wanted someone to break the spell...but it's not like he thought Belle was boring for reading too much...not that he even knew anything about her.

• She can build a raft? Damn.

• Naveen is right, Tiana isn't "fun", but you have to respect her. She works hard. She gets shit done. And if you were a black female in the 1920s, I doubt "fun" was on the menu.

• Louis's cutaway! “It didn't end well.”

• “She is Tiana the waitress...do not kiss her.”

• This song is fine...but not necessary.

• Hmmmm...if they had made Lawrence not so dumpy and silly and old, they could have worked in something between him and Charlotte. Secondary romance, Shakespeare style. Lottie could learn that "prince" is just a title and doesn't equal a good man or good husband. Lawrence could learn that he is wonderful just the way he is, without a title. But I guess they subverted that "Prince and the Pauper" thing...that's refreshing in its own way. And we are pressed for time as it is.

• Tongue-tied. Gnarly.

• “You know what this needs? A sharp stick!”

• Ray...uh...well...he grows on you...

• All right...this song is also unnecessary.

• Creepy shadow ghosts threaten this G rating.

• Uh oh. Hillbillies. Of all the possible minorities this movie could insult, it does its worst with these inbred Deliverance motherfuckers.

• “Pa! Did you hear that suspicious thud?”

• “You are secretly funny.”

• When and where has Louis eaten all these fancy foods? Bananas foster?

• This is a perfect representation of me cooking.

• “If I can mince, you can dance.”

• Ew...Mama Odie is kissing her snake.

• Tabasco. Product placement?

• The songs are short enough to not bug you.

• Naveen has had a change of heart but Tiana still needs work.

• “...Big Daddy's King of the Mardi Gras parade so that makes Lottie...a princess.”
“Does that count?”
Yes...because the movie requires it.

• A midnight deadline. #disneymotifs

• Naveen changed fast.

• “Thank you, Beau.” heh.

• It gets very whiplash here: Naveen wants to propose to Tiana, but knowing how badly she wants her restaurant, he decides he will marry Charlotte and make good on his original deal. But then Ray tells Tiana about Naveen's plan and Tiana wants to stop him. THEN she sees Lawrence-as-Naveen about to marry Charlotte and she gets all bitter. Ray sets out to prove that something fishy is going on and discovers Dr. Facilier's blood amulet thingy.

• Someone posing as another at a wedding. #disneymotifs

• I totally did not think Ray was going to die...

• “Come on, Tiana...you're almost there.”

• Fuck, creepy voodoo dolls playing the drums.

• Crying.

• "All my life, I read about true love and fairytales, and... Tia, you found it!" More crying.

• “Congratulations!”

• And they're back to humans.

• I love Tiana's lilypad dress....my wedding dress is going to be green too! But not strapless. I cannot wait for that trend to die. I had hoped Kate Middleton's sleeved dress would have the effect on bridal fashion that Princess Di's did...but I was wrong.

• And she gets two wedding dresses because that swamp wedding wasn't legal.

• So even though they're royalty, they still run a restaurant. I guess they have to do something while they wait for Naveen's dad to kick the bucket. Or I guess he could abdicate like Edward VIII of England...I mean, Naveen's parents seem more accepting of Tiana than the Windsors were of Wallis Simpson.

• And she didn't bob her hair!

• I love this song. Best superfluous end credits song ever.

• Seriously...this is me at the end of this movie:

Final Thoughts
When I sit down to write these "reviews", I fill in all the stats, write the synopsis, write the Before We Begin section and THEN I watch the movie. Even with my new, positive attitude, I was still quite skeptical about much of The Princess and the Frog. And even though the things that have always bugged me about this movie still sort of bugged me, it was to a much lesser degree. I am absolutely relieved to like this movie. It will be bumped up to the Fondness category, FYI.

To paraphrase myself, I said that Disney just wanted a black princess, which was all well and good, but said Black Princess deserved a better movie than The Princess and the Frog. I take that back. The Princess and the Frog is a perfectly acceptable vehicle for a black princess. The movie, however, deserved a better princess than Tiana.

Now, Tiana is attractively designed and well-performed by Anika-Noni Rose. But it's her personality that is...well, unsatisfying.

Tiana is a hard worker. She has a dream and she puts all of her energy into achieving that dream. To that I say "You go, girl!" But...that's kind of all there is to her. Hard working, determined, to a fault. True, she has a great relationship with her mother and she has those friends who want her to go dancing, and the La Bouffs seems to genuinely like her too. You have no reason to dislike Tiana. However, you have every right to get bored with her.

Tiana's struggles are all external: she wants to own a restaurant, but being a black woman in the 1920s American south makes that difficult...to say the least. That's a pretty big conflict and one that will be a doozy to resolve realistically. It would be easy--and understandable--if Tiana lashed out at the system at this point. But she doesn't do that. She doesn't even have much time to mope before she kisses Naveen and her adventure begins.

What I'm saying is...Tiana is so well put together, so confident, so strong and self-assured that there is not much room for growth. We should all aspire to be like Tiana in real life. But it doesn't make for a very interesting character arc. On the other hand, we have Naveen, who has an important, albeit clichéd lesson to learn: money doesn't bring happiness, money can't buy you love. He needs to be brought down a peg or two. Being turned into a frog is a humbling experience. Realizing there are people in this world that haven't lived a privileged life and learning to respect Tiana for being his opposite is all pure Disney gold.

There is nothing wrong with Tiana.

The movie, however, tries to make there be something wrong with her--she's losing sight of what really matters: love. Um...yeah...I'm aware this movie is set in the 1920s when women were still expected to have a career as a wife and mother but we are viewing this in the 21st century when we need to show girls that having a career--if that's what they want--can be the most fulfilling part of your life. And there's nothing wrong with that. Tiana shows absolutely no interest in romance, which is great for all those little girls who want to take a different path.

But when Disney says "What about love? Don't you want someone to care about you?", it's sending a mixed message. "Be independent! Live your dream! But don't forget, life isn't worth living if you don't have a boyfriend..." Now, if Tiana already had a boyfriend or she was neglecting her mother, then we could wag our fingers at her and say "get your priorities in order, if you want to be in a relationship, you need to make some sacrifices, compromise, etc."...But her mom seems fine and there is no boyfriend. There is no problem.

...Except that she's a little too mature for a Disney heroine who has something to learn about life. Some of my favorite Tiana moments are when she is showing her rather silly weakness of being grossed out by frogs. It's when she's most relatable.

BUT the good news is, Tiana's dream is fulfilled AND she gets a man. Romance is a bonus, not the end all and be all as it was with Snow White. That's pretty progressive. Naveen loves Tiana and wants her to be happy which is why he "conforms" to her life plan instead of saying, "well, you're a princess now. Time to fulfill your royal duty and pop out an heir." Again, this is why the royalty angle doesn't work here--even in the modern day, princesses are expected to have babies, not jobs. Do you think Kate Middleton could run a chip shop if she fancied? Hell no. Even the spouse of the President of the United States is expected to devote all there time to government business. I have my doubts about Tiana and Naveen's happily ever after.

Whew! I'm getting tired and I have other movies to watch today, so let me conclude. There was a lot of hype surrounding The Princess and the Frog and it was just never going to live up to my high and mighty raised-in-the-Disney-Renaissance expectations. I admit folly. Mea culpa, mea culpa. But it is a new era and I can appreciate this movie for what it is--a dazzling musical fairy tale that makes me happy.

Favorite Character

Charlotte La Bouff

Favorite Moment -- Dr. Facilier shows Tiana her possible future.
Favorite Song -- "Never Knew I Needed" performed by Ne-Yo