I was privileged to attend a showing of The Princess and the Frog last night as part of a special engagement at New York City's Zeigfeld theater. This movie exceeded all expectations. It is visually stunning, musically a work of genius, thematically sophisticated, and story-wise told in a refreshingly different way (some actions are pre-motivation) which makes the ride an unpredictable one.
Visually, Disney has gone above and beyond. They have invoked the steamy feeling of the city of New Orleans in shades of gold and lavender, and in the swamp scenes, some of the backgrounds are so expertly rendered it's like you're looking at a photograph. But what stood out the most with this artwork was the colors. They are a study in thematic contrast. In the scenes with the villain, the bright colors of Mardi Gras are used to reveal a darker, sinister side. The effect is wonderfully jarring and creates an appropriate emotional response: rather than hating the villain, we're led to mistrust him. He's pretty on the outside, but there's something awful lurking underneath. It's like that sixth sense you get sometimes with certain people in your life. In Mama Odie's scene, the color scheme is subtle and muted—until she reveals her inner goodness, and the scene explodes with color; another comment on how purity can hide in the most surprising places.
To say that once again Randy Newman has done an expert job with the music would be an understatement. He had a lot to work with here—the musical tapestry of New Orleans is a mix of Dixieland, Zydeco, and Spiritual. He could have easily chosen one of those styles and stuck with it—instead, he blends all three, and the effect is seamless. The musical numbers tend to stay in one vein or the other depending on the character – which also works to help tell the story -- but the underlying score, while you'll instantly recognize Newman's hallmark sound, is a genius integration. To top it off, because this film takes place in the golden age of jazz, he has deftly inserted musical references to Gershwin. Amazing. With so much to work with, it could have easily been a confusing or even chaotic train-wreck. Not in his hands.
Thematically, this film has taken some of Disney's classic themes and examined them more deeply: they are two-sided and complex. The choices these characters make are never easy--more so than in other films--and that updates these themes so that modern audiences can more readily identify. Similarly, Disney's newest princess, Tiana, is the strongest, most interesting princess to date. She is intelligent, complex – and oozes passion, something that, in my opinion, has only been approached (and I do insist, "approached") in Belle and Ariel. Tiana is a princess for today's woman. Little girls of the world have quite an exciting and refreshing new role model.
Disney's writers have chosen to tell this story in a different way, as well. It's not your typical spell-it-all-out up-front story, and some story elements are never even vocalized, they're visual, and back story and motivation are sometimes revealed after the relevant action rather than before. It was really refreshing to see Disney choose a slightly different construction—it leads to keeping the tale unpredictable and much more engaging. But I'm a writer, so I know it's hard to do this well. For the most part, Disney succeeds. However, there is a bit of a downside to this. Constructing a story in this manner can lead to a lot of subtlety in the way the story is told, and because of this, some of the characters' motives are not always clear right away. This seems to happen the most with Dr. Facilier, the villain. When he's on the screen, it's really important to concentrate or you might miss some key story elements.
All in all, don't miss The Princess and the Frog. It's the best 97 minutes I've spent in a theater in a long, long time.
Visually, Disney has gone above and beyond. They have invoked the steamy feeling of the city of New Orleans in shades of gold and lavender, and in the swamp scenes, some of the backgrounds are so expertly rendered it's like you're looking at a photograph. But what stood out the most with this artwork was the colors. They are a study in thematic contrast. In the scenes with the villain, the bright colors of Mardi Gras are used to reveal a darker, sinister side. The effect is wonderfully jarring and creates an appropriate emotional response: rather than hating the villain, we're led to mistrust him. He's pretty on the outside, but there's something awful lurking underneath. It's like that sixth sense you get sometimes with certain people in your life. In Mama Odie's scene, the color scheme is subtle and muted—until she reveals her inner goodness, and the scene explodes with color; another comment on how purity can hide in the most surprising places.
To say that once again Randy Newman has done an expert job with the music would be an understatement. He had a lot to work with here—the musical tapestry of New Orleans is a mix of Dixieland, Zydeco, and Spiritual. He could have easily chosen one of those styles and stuck with it—instead, he blends all three, and the effect is seamless. The musical numbers tend to stay in one vein or the other depending on the character – which also works to help tell the story -- but the underlying score, while you'll instantly recognize Newman's hallmark sound, is a genius integration. To top it off, because this film takes place in the golden age of jazz, he has deftly inserted musical references to Gershwin. Amazing. With so much to work with, it could have easily been a confusing or even chaotic train-wreck. Not in his hands.
Thematically, this film has taken some of Disney's classic themes and examined them more deeply: they are two-sided and complex. The choices these characters make are never easy--more so than in other films--and that updates these themes so that modern audiences can more readily identify. Similarly, Disney's newest princess, Tiana, is the strongest, most interesting princess to date. She is intelligent, complex – and oozes passion, something that, in my opinion, has only been approached (and I do insist, "approached") in Belle and Ariel. Tiana is a princess for today's woman. Little girls of the world have quite an exciting and refreshing new role model.
Disney's writers have chosen to tell this story in a different way, as well. It's not your typical spell-it-all-out up-front story, and some story elements are never even vocalized, they're visual, and back story and motivation are sometimes revealed after the relevant action rather than before. It was really refreshing to see Disney choose a slightly different construction—it leads to keeping the tale unpredictable and much more engaging. But I'm a writer, so I know it's hard to do this well. For the most part, Disney succeeds. However, there is a bit of a downside to this. Constructing a story in this manner can lead to a lot of subtlety in the way the story is told, and because of this, some of the characters' motives are not always clear right away. This seems to happen the most with Dr. Facilier, the villain. When he's on the screen, it's really important to concentrate or you might miss some key story elements.
All in all, don't miss The Princess and the Frog. It's the best 97 minutes I've spent in a theater in a long, long time.