CityLife

The Princess and the Frog

By Damon Smith

WALT Disney redefined the boundaries of hand-drawn animation. Disney collected 26 Oscars for his pioneering efforts and today, his legacy lives on in the studio which bears his name.

Now the studio casts its first ever African-American princess in this enchanting reworking of the Grimm brothers’ fairytale, set in New Orleans around the time of the First World War.

Restaurant owner James (voiced by Howard) cooks the best gumbo in the city, while his seamstress wife Eudora (Winfrey) tends to their daughter Tiana (Rose).

When the old man goes off to war and never returns, Tiana has to make her own way in the world, dreaming of the day she might open a restaurant and serve up her father’s gumbo.

Those dreams are put on hold when Tiana is approached by a smooth-talking frog, who claims to be Prince Naveen of Malvonia (Campos).

He asks for one kiss to break the spell that has been placed on him and she obliges, only to be transformed into a frog herself.

Trapped in their amphibious state and pursued by scheming voodoo man Dr Facilier (David), Tiana and Naveen must track down queen of the bayou, Mama Odie (Lewis), aided by a music-loving alligator (Wooley) and a crazy firefly (Cummings).

Rose and Campos relish their characters constant bickering, while David hams it up a treat as the witch doctor.

This colourful tale of female empowerment buoys the soul as it introduces a menagerie of cute and cuddly critters.

Walt would be very proud.

Reviewed: Fri, 05 February, 2010

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