The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Directed by Ron Clements
A waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the same problem after she kisses him.
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5 films that influenced The Princess and the Frog
What critics say influenced The Princess and the Frog
"Princess and the Frog" isn't the second coming of "Beauty and the Beast" or "The Lion King."
The Princess and the Frog could fit squarely in the resurgence of Disney that happened with The Little Mermaid , Beauty and the Beast , Aladdin , and The Lion King .
Lead females have included an Arab (Jasmine, Aladdin ), a lioness (Nala, The Lion King ), a Native American ( Pocahontas ), and a Chinese girl ( Mulan ).
The Princess and the Frog may not be in the same league as those gems, but it’s the first Disney film since The Lion King that feels like a real heir to this tradition.
Their heyday was undoubtedly 1991-1994, with the incredible combo of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King -- a streak that's unmatched, I dare say, even by Pixar.
Compare that to the marketing surrounding "Tangled" 16 years later as the first classic Disney film to use a fairy tale again, or "The Princess and the Frog" as the first classically-animated film in a similar amount of time and it's obvious what a big change the industry has gone through in a short time.
Under the guidance of Ron Clements and John Musker, who wrote and directed "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin," a variation on the old "Frog Prince" fairy tale was devised, set in 1920s New Orleans and featuring all the old hallmarks of a Disney classic: magic spells, talking animals, princes, princesses, and plenty of singing.
Clements and Musker are pretty much Disney born and raised with two of the studio's best musical showstoppers, "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin," heading their résumés.
Co-directors John Musker and Ron Clements, the men behind Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, resurrect all the reliable tropes in a story that moves at a snappy pace, boasts its share of funny moments and features a distinct New Orleans spirit that sets it apart.
While the songs in The Princess and the Frog generally are not up to the high standard of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, Dr. Facilier's showstopping "Friends on the Other Side" is almost as colorful and bouncy as Aladdin's "A Friend Like Me."
Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker (Aladdin, The Little Mermaid), the movie features vibrant songs by Randy Newman and such voice talents as Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, and Keith David.
But Uncle Walt's nephew, Roy Disney, was not convinced and the following year, The Little Mermaid - directed by Musker and Clements - signalled Disney Animation's return to the big time.
And this being the Disney kingdom under the beneficent creative rule of veteran directors Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin) and composer Randy Newman (Cars, Toy Story), the frolic also includes songs of gumption (''Almost There''), mischief (''Friends on the Other Side''), optimism (''When We're Human''), spiritual uplift (''Dig a Little Deeper''), and the love of something up above in this case, an evening star (''Ma Belle Evangeline'').
Clements and Musker -- with guidance from Disney/Pixar's resident Midas, John Lasseter ("Toy Story, " "A Bug's Life, " "Cars"), a longtime appreciator of New Orleans -- reached for their old copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales for inspiration.
So while it's not Disney's first time at dipping a toe in multicultural waters -- "Aladdin," "Mulan" and " Pocahontas " were there first -- "The Princess and the Frog" still feels like baby steps.
Lead females have included an Arab (Jasmine, Aladdin ), a lioness (Nala, The Lion King ), a Native American ( Pocahontas ), and a Chinese girl ( Mulan ).
Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, who revived the Disney animation tradition (and the company's fortunes) when they created "The Little Mermaid" in 1989, "The Princess and the Frog" is an attempt to re-establish the "princess" brand that has been ignored (on the big screen, if not in Disney merchandise) since "Mulan" in 1998.
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John Silver in particular is worthy of note, for a number of reasons: he was the last character supervised by Glen Keane, who remains with Disney although he did not work on The Princess and the Frog , and appears to have fully transitioned into more of a leadership and directing position than remaining in the animation trenches, as evidenced by his shepherding role in the anticipated 2010 release Rapunzel .
Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, the team that made The Little Mermaid (which kicked off the modern spate of Disney classics) and Aladdin before losing their way with Hercules and Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog adds a decidedly jazzy spin to the venerable fairy tale.
After some experimentation with tepid adventuring (“Treasure Planet,” “Atlantis”) and mild comedy (“Home on the Range”), works that ultimately stuck a fork in the medium, “Princess and the Frog” is a vibrant return to the Eisner/Katzenberg years, putting on an enormous show of song, dance, and colorful characters -- a Broadway matinee riff that exudes joy out of every pore.
In a refreshing re-embrace of colourful hand-drawn animation, directors Ron Clements and John Musker - the Disney duo who gave us The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997) and the unfairly trashed Treasure Planet (2002) - deliver a vibrant, funny, uplifting old-school musical cartoon.
But Ron Clements and John Musker—directing partners on Aladdin, Hercules, and Treasure Planet—put them through their preordained paces with a lot of energy and color.