The Princess and the Frog

Set in New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog follows Anika Noni Rose’s Tiana as she and a handsome prince (Bruno Campos’ Naveen) are transformed into frogs by a voodoo sorcerer named Dr. Facilier (Keith David) – with the movie detailing the would-be couple’s inevitable efforts at regaining their human identities. It’s hard to deny that The Princess and the Frog gets off to a thoroughly entertaining start, as directors Ron Clements and John Musker have infused the proceedings with precisely the sort of easygoing, visually-stunning atmosphere one expects from the Disney studio. It’s clear, too, that the movie benefits substantially from Randy Newman’s assortment of impressively memorable songs, while the New Orleans setting paves the way for a number of innovative, original set pieces and sequences (eg a dream sequence unfolds in a striking art deco style). And yet The Princess and the Frog remains unable to wholeheartedly sustain the viewer’s interest during its second half, with the movie suffering from a been-there-done-that feel that slowly-but-surely renders its positive attributes moot. It does, as a result, become virtually impossible to care about the protagonists’ ongoing exploits, and there’s little doubt that the action-oriented climax only exacerbates the movie’s less-than-engrossing vibe. The sweet finale ensures that the whole thing ends on a positive note, admittedly, but it’s simply not enough to compensate for The Princess and the Frog‘s otherwise lackluster, overly familiar sensibilities.

** out of ****