The Princess and the Frog 公主與青蛙

This time around though, there's a twist on the usual formula; the princess is black. She doesn't even start out as a princess, and in the mix of this happily ever after fairytale, she kisses a frog.

Aside from Mowgli, Pocahontas and Mulan (plus a few others), Disney animations have rarely featured non-white central roles, and fewer still that are princesses! Even Aladdin's Princess Jasmine, was more white-looking than Persian. Disney's ethnically simple films are common knowledge, and it's nothing revelatory to say that they have been rather conservative regarding multi-ethnic offerings.

Yet Disney's white traditions are far from surprising, having been the cornerstone of children's entertainment in the United States for decades. After all, how many white stars are there in Bollywood, or Hong Kong cinema for that matter?

Tiana is a beautiful African-American girl, living in New Orleans in the 1930s, whose dream is very different from that of her friend, Charlotte, a southern belle and daughter of a rich businessman.

Played by Anika Noni Rose whose best-known role to date was the hard-faced receptionist, Grace Makutsi, in “The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency,” Tiana dreams of owning a restaurant — one that her father would have always wanted. Charlotte on the other hand, wants to marry a prince, and one duly arrives. When Prince Naveen enters the scene, things take a turn for the worse.

This is the classic story of the princess and the frog. Though in Disney's 2010 offering, when the girl kisses the frog prince it's her who is transformed. It's warts and all this time around.

Naveen is genuine, but lazy. Having never had to lift a finger before, he soon learns to be adept in the kitchen under Tiana's guidance, and you can clearly see the relationship blossoming as the plot thickens. And in the thick of it is Dr. Facilier, the voodoo guy, who by surreptitious means takes advantage of the naïve prince.

Obviously this is a bit of a girl's film. Despite the frogs, voodoo people, and even gators, this is without doubt a romance. When the unwitting couple find themselves looking a little green, any political tension is dispersed in a layer of slime, or as Naveen calls it 'mucous.' There's a sample of offerings for the boys, but these are aside from the main plot. The gator, Louis, is the most amusing of all and his entrance alone is worth the ticket price. From then on, it's purely a love story, of frog meets frog.

The music, by Disney's standards, is fairly tame and it takes until the swamp scene for things to really heat up. All of the voice actors sing their own lines, and as the plot unravels the story becomes more interesting. In places it feels like the Disney of old, plenty of sing-along moments and great quality artistry generate bags full of appeal. The magic is more than just voodoo!

Aligator Louis really stands out as the jazz loving gator, he plays a trumpet and presumably is named Louis after Louis Armstrong. Reminiscent however, of King Louie from the Jungle Book, who wanted to be human “like you,” Louis wishes he could be a man so he can play the river boats, “jammin' with the big boys.”

The artistry is excellent, yet some of the characters look awfully familiar, as if they are ancestors of previous Disney stars. The snake, looks like Sir Hiss in Robin Hood, the dog resembles one from Lady and the Tramp, even Facilier is not dissimilar to Jafar in Aladdin. And there's a musical alligator in The Rescuers also. Whether intentional or not, having similar looking characters is both good and bad, as it reminds people of other cartoons though this also makes it seem a little old. Despite this, it's a worthwhile watch and a fun adventure that will no doubt, like its ancestors, remain timeless.

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