Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) longs to open her own New Orleans Creole restaurant only to be sidetracked by a talking frog who claims to be a visiting prince named Naveen (voiced by Bruce Campos) whom she kisses thinking it will restore his humanity. Unfortunately it does just the opposite and turns Tiana into a fellow frog, the two now compelled to join forces to find a cure for their predicament before the evil Dr. Facilier (Keith David) can finish off his voodoo spell and do the both of them in for good.

CRITIQUE

I’m in love with Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and happy to see the studio returning to the world of hand-drawn animation. That said, I’ve got nothing really new to say that’s any different from my original December 2009 review and so I’m not going to. Instead, I’m just going to reprint a few snippets from it. And so without further ado:

“Things never progress quite the way you think they’re going to in The Princess and the Frog, Walt Disney Pictures’ first hand-drawn animated film since 2004’s Home on the Range. I’m not saying there aren’t happy endings; this is a fairy tale after all. And I’m also not implying that friendships aren’t forged, love isn’t found or that good does not triumph over evil. Again. Fairy tale. Disney movie. ‘Nuff said.

What I do mean is that The Princess and the Frog both celebrates the time-tested conventions of the Disney animated movie while also gleefully subverting them. Its leading lady doesn’t just get turned into a frog, she doesn’t just want to get married and share her life with another man, she also has no wish to become a princess and live that royal version of happily ever after. Not since Belle fell in love with a Beast has a Mouse House heroine been this much her own woman. Even better, watching her evolve is nearly as rapturous, Tiana such an engaging and infatuating character I adored everything about her.

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker were part of the reason for the studio’s hand-drawn rebirth in the 1990’s helming such winning favorites as The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. They were, however, also part of its downfall, and while the mostly second-rate Hercules made money the pair’s terrible Treasure Planet was the nail CGI fanatics and traditional animation naysayers were ready to pound into the art form’s coffin. 

Thankfully Pixar chief and current head of Disney animation John Lasseter wasn’t quite ready to bury this form of filmmaking quite yet, trusting the duo could rise to former heights cementing the studio once again (sorry Hayao Miyazaki) as kings of the hand-drawn jungle. He knew that, not only was the art form itself in jeopardy, so was the studio’s highly cherished legacy, and if Clements and Musker failed the chances they’d be returning to it any time soon were pretty much nil.

Not only does the pair rise to the occasion they arguably exceed expectations to the point their three prior successes pail in comparison. This movie doesn’t just concern itself with magic, it is magic, pure joy and rapturous glee oozing off of every frame. It is beautifully realized on a multitude of levels, that same dedication to character and script development Lasseter perfected with Pixar blissfully on display here. The directors balance everything from comedy to music to drama to romance with grace and sincerity, and when it was over I wasn’t sure if I was crying because I was moved by the story or if I was just that happy the movie was such a marvelous success.

There’s more, much more. I could go on all day about Randy Newman’s (Toy Story) superb music and songs or the outstanding vocal work. I could talk about how the animation ranks as some of the finest the studio has ever produced or how certain scenes cast that same wondrous spell as the “Be My Guest” sequence from Beauty and the Beast or the climactic battle between Maleficent and Charming in Sleeping Beauty. 

I could speak about all that and more but I’m not going to. The truth is that this is one of the few motion pictures that speaks for itself better than I ever could, the simple act of seeing it with one’s own eyes the only way to know just how perfect it truly is. In my opinion The Princess and the Frog isn’t just wonderful, it is instead another in a long line of traditionally animated Disney masterpieces.”

THE VIDEO

The Princess and the Frog is presented in 1080p 1.78:1 Widescreen. Disney has done quite well with their hand-drawn animated fare where it comes to Blu-ray and this film is no exception. Perfection.

THE AUDIO

Available audio tracks include English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and French 5.1 Dolby Digital with optional English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

Lots and lots of extras including:

• Audio Commentary with directors Ron Clements and John Musker
• Deleted Scenes
• The Making of a Princess Featurette
• Conjuring the Villain Featurette
• The Return to Hand-drawn Animation Featurette
• The Disney Legacy Featurette
• Disney’s Newest Princess Featurette
• Bringing Life to Animation Featurette
• Art Galleries
• The Princess Portraits Game
• Music Video by Ne-Yo
• Original Theatrical Trailers
• BDisney Live Enabled
• Standard Definition Disc (with selected bonus features) of The Princess and the Frog
• Digital Copy of The Princess and the Frog 

There’s way too much here to go into so I’m going to keep things relatively brief. The audio commentary is wonderful even if Clements and Musker occasionally get captivated by their own film, the majority of the featurettes (especially The Return to Hand-drawn Animation and Disney’s Newest Princess are strong and the deleted scenes are surprisingly interesting considering this film’s protracted gestation period from concept to finished product. I didn’t play the game and I skipped the music video so I can’t comment on those, and while Disney offers about the best Blu-ray live functionality available I can’t say I took advantage of it this time around.

Overall the special features are extremely solid, and while not up to the same par as say the studio’s Diamond or Platinum releases (not that I’d expect them to be) what’s offered is definitely one step above the usual for family entertainment.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Princess and the Frog is a glorious return by Disney to their classic hand-drawn roots featuring a main character that’s up with the best princesses the studio has ever created. This film is a must-own Blu-ray and as such should be snapped up immediately.