After all, the past few years we have seen Disney relenting itself to Pixar, the master of both storytelling and envelope-pushing state-of-the-art visual sophistication.
Thus, the reason why we anxiously anticipate The Princess and the Frog is mostly derived from the nostalgic feeling, longing of the good old days of the old-school animation.
Alas, audiences of my age (25-35) who grew up watching the glory days of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, before questioning the subsequent fiascos Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, are likely those who dwell and highly enjoy the New Orleans-set fairytale.
The expectation came true: we did enjoy the film.
After all, Disney knows how to make its charm works in spinning a classic tale. This time, "The Frog Prince" is transported to 1920s New Orleans, complete with Mardi Grass, old-school street jazz and mythical allegories that serve as the classic battle of good versus evil.
Watching the film now, we cannot help thinking that we see a homage to the glory past works, especially when animals start talking and chanting in dazzling well-choreographed movements. Colors do burst and Randy Newman's familiar yet still marvelous work in scoring is still greatly felt throughout. His numbers are classic of "I am ready to do all it takes to make my dreams come true" that has been told many times before, yet we continue to love them.
This is the first time African-American characters take the center stage in Disney animation. While being confined to practically harmless stereotypes (domestic helpers, voodoo practices to some extent, among many others), The Princess simply aims to please everyone longing for pure entertainment at face value. It shall not leave you thinking. It will leave you grinning and smiling, hardly laughing.
(Watched at Plaza Senayan XXI, Saturday, January 2, 2010. With Dody. Photo is courtesy of Outnow.)
1 comment:
whooaaaa... iya iya... nontonnya bareng saya kok ;-)
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