Momnesia

The Princess & the Frog: A Review

Augusta, Ga. - I was excited about taking Emerson to see "The Princess & The Frog." She loves her some princesses, and I remember in high school when some girls were happy that Disney was finally showing a princess with brown hair and brown eyes in "Beauty & the Beast." While Emmie has the blonde hair and blue eyes that Disney has traditionally used (Not forgetting about you, Snow White), it's never too early to teach her the value of different forms of beauty. Besides, it's long past time for Disney to put out a story with an African-American princess.

But I was surprised that they chose this fairy tale. The story of the princess and the frog lacks the sparkle of most of the Disney princess back stories; I thought perhaps that they might have written something original, like they did with "The Lion King," or choose something quasi-historical, as they did with "Mulan."

And, at first, I was chagrined to find that this new character, Tiana, isn't even a princess. "Oh, a black woman can't be a princess?" I thought. But I gave the movie a shot, and I was VERY happy with this newest addition to the Disney universe.

I have a four-year-old, so I've watched enough "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to make even the least feminist among us want to get a Ph.D. But my favorite Disney movies aren't the classics. They're the movies made in the last 20 years - like "Enchanted."


These modern Disney princesses all seem to push a certain value - almost as though Disney chooses a character word to focus on. Belle, from "Beauty & the Beast," pushed intellectualism and confidence; Giselle, from "Enchanted," both taught and learned important lessons about not giving up on your ideals, trusting others, and standing up for yourself, and for others, when it counts; and Mulan was brave and resourceful. In this new film, Tiana is a goal-oriented hard worker whose dreams are professional - rather than romantic - in nature.

This princess - whom Disney has placed not in some quasi-European castle, but in 1920s New Orleans - hopes to open her own restaurant, and she has saved enough for a down-payment. But she is sidetracked by the appearance of a royal playboy, a Voodoo priest with evil plans, and a transformation into a frog. A very cute frog, but still... who wants to eat at a restaurant with an owner who drips slime? (Oh, sorry: mucus)

Of course there's a love story. But the romance is between a philandering prince and a serious-minded waitress. And the moral of the love story focuses on finding balance in life. Prince Naveen needs to grow up, and Tiana needs to soften up. Together, they can have everything they ever wanted - but especially, everything they'll ever need.

The message here is that balance is the key to happiness. All work and no play makes Tiana a very unhappy girl. But all play and no work don't do that much for Naveen, either. The film doesn't address what adults will recognize as the giant alligators in the room: class and race.


 No one goes to a Disney film for a lecture on the socioeconomic conditions in the French Quarter during the Roaring Twenties. And I guess it's historically accurate to have Tiana straighten her hair, but why couldn't her hair be more ethnic?




And, also, why does the prince in the film have to be some ambiguous nationality (Prince Naveen is from the fictional country of Maldonia)? What's wrong with an African prince? Eddie Murphy managed to capture crossover audiences in "Coming to America" with such a character, and I don't think that even the most virulent racist would find a cartoon drawing threatening.


Still, again, people don't go see Disney movies for things like those details. They go for humor, fun, and songs.

So, about for the music: The songs are cute - and "Dreamgirl" Anika Noni Rose certainly gives Disney its due - but Oscar-winner Randy Newman doesn't usually write the kind of hook-heavy pop hits that you find in a lot of Disney cartoons. What I mean is this: kids walked out of "The Lion King" singing "Hakuna Matata." I just left the theater 15 minutes ago, and I can't recall a single line from the film's many songs. Neither can my daughter.

But she is singing her own song, "Da sad star song," she calls it, inspired by the movie. It goes like this: "I wish I had a staaaar, I wish I had a staaaar. I really, really, really, really wiiiish I had a staaaaar..." I think you get the idea.


It might be that, along with this singularly American princess, the film focused on music that was also particularly American, like jazz and zydeco. Those musical forms are probably much less familiar to children and adults alike, and they may not pick up those rhythms as well.

I do recommend this film for everyone. It's laugh-out-loud funny in parts - even though I recoiled from some of the stereotypical backwoods hick characterizations that Southerners recognize well. But I don't know if "The Princess & the Frog" will resonate with audiences all over the world, like previous Disney films have done.

But Princess Tiana - and by the end of the film she is a princess - will resonate for women. I hope Disney churns out more princesses like her. But stick with catchier music, next time. These are kids' films, after all. And I expect to be annoyed all to death by the soundtrack!