Popbitch At The Movies

The Princess & the Frog

1920’s New Orleans and waitress Tiana dreams of a better life for herself and her mother, of opening her own resturant. Meanwhile visiting Prince Naveen is turned into a frog by evil voodoo practitioner Dr Facilier who has his eye on Naveen’s fortune.

Meeting at a masked ball Naveen asks Tiana for a kiss, assuming it will turn him back into a prince. Unfortunately it turns her into a frog too and the pair embark on a perilous journey to find the mysterious Mama Odie who will hopefully reverse the curse, and help them beat Dr Facilier.

Disney closed down it’s hand-drawn animation department after a string of disasterous movies, wrongly assuming there was no more audience for traditional animation with the arrival of CGI and Pixar. With Pixar being bought out by Disney, they have decided to start making hand-drawn films once more. Pixar’s head honcho, John Lasseter, argued that people don’t care how a story is told as long as it is told well.

Going back to more traditional fairytales for inspiration, after the likes of Atlantis and Lilo & Stitch, The Princess & the Frog is unfortunately one of their more average efforts; everything about it is polished yet nothing really stands out. Especially disappointing are Randy Newman’s songs -- there is nothing as memorable as anything from Disney’s Golden Age in the 40s, let alone The Lion King.

Hopefully though this is Disney dipping their toe in the water as they did with The Little Mermaid, before returning triumphant with their next effort, Beauty & the Beast.

The Princess & the Frog is out now

Also out this weekend:

INVICTUS

Morgan Freeman gets to play Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s story of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Nowhere near as bad as you think it would be. Apart from Matt Damon’s accent.

YOUTH IN REVOLT

Michael Cera yet again plays the geek lusting after an unobtainable girl. In this one he invents a suave alter ego which allows him to act in a way he normally wouldn’t. Apparently girls like creeps. Completely charmless.

Paul Antrobus