Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 11:02:21

Definitely a Disney Must See

This is absolutely an enjoyable movie and I highly recommend it. Loved everything about it. The first time in a quite some time that Disney has produced a movie equivalent to Beauty and the Beast, etc. There is the good vs. bad and the good guys win as is Disney's theme in their great animated movies. My grandaughter and I have seen it twice and are eagerly awaiting the DVD. Thanks Disney!!!

wwe7961 2012-05-25 01:51:07

Welcome back Disney we really missed ya!

"Disney" is a name that fills people with the happiness of childhood.Scratch that. They used to fill us with happiness. In the early days wemet Micky, Minny, Goofy, Donald, Snow White, Pinocchio, and many othercharacters. Then a time came that "Disney" started losing its status.Then in the the late 1980's Disney started a come back resulting inLittle Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, Huchback,Mulan, and more in just a decade. "Disney had once again become asymbol of excellence in animation again. Unfortunately the next decadewould be that of corruption. In the 2000's "Disney" didn't release many2-D animated films. I loved "Lilo and Stich", and "Emporer's NewGroove" was very funny, but other than that the 2000's had very littleto offer from "Disney". Instead of releasing great 2-D animated filmsthey relied on several things to keep the company alive.1.Disney World-Of course2.The Disney Channel/Awful Music Stars-Extremely unfunny shows, awfulsingers, and terrible shows about the singers.3."Pixar"-An extremely creative company that does all the work on theirmasterpieces. Then "Disney" comes along to take the movie to theaters,stamps its name on it, and takes part of the profit.They went from makers of such classics to sell-outs. The only time Iwould feel happy to see something "Disney" related would be eitherclassics from the good days or something from "Pixar". Now I am happyto say that there are some people left at "Disney" with enough passionin their heart to stop being lazy, and make another movie to be calledclassic. Here it is, and while it doesn't make up completely for howthey have betrayed us it still is a deep breath a fresh air helpingthose poisoned lungs. First thing to say is that I love the setting ofstory. It was about time they added a bit of chocolate to the crackerif you know what I'm saying. The setting of New Orleans in theDeppression Era is filled with life. This brings me to the music whichis very diverse for "Disney". The farthest I have seen Disney go intodifferent forms of music in their musicals is reggae in "The LittleMermaid" . Here we have jazz, ragtime, and country which is somethingthat "Disney" musicals has't gotten into. As for the song themselvesthey are wonderful. The two I would like to pick out are "Almost There"and "Freinds on the Other Side". "Almost There" is an excellent songshowing the feelings of a person in the Deppression who feels liketheir almost at their dreams. The animation in the song sequence iswonderful, and it looks like the cover a jazz album coming to life.Then we have my favorite. "Friend on the Other Side" is a brilliantvillain song that is one of the best of the decade. I love howcharismatic, and cool it is. The animation in the sequence is gorgeous,and filled with strange images. That leads me to the absolute best partabout this thing. The Shadowman. I absolutely adore everything aboutthe character. His image, his charisma, his song, his voice actor. Heis awesome, and in my opinion one of the best "Disney" villains. Isthis film perfect? No. One of the things I didn't like was how clichéit was. "Disney" wanted to make it give the audience the same kind offeel to it that the classics had, but I think I have seen a midnighttime limit a bit to many times. Also I felt the romance was toosporadic. It's like one second they hate each other, and the next the"Disney" love train is on the way. Personally I liked the scenes wherethey were arguing or just having some witty comebacks at each othermore than the romantic stuff. Overall though it is a breath of freshair, and now that Miley is gone I think this the start of a new era for"Disney". A good era.3 and a 1/2 stars out of 4

2012-05-19 15:02:26

First Disney African American Princess, Enough Said

This review is from: The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) My initial Princess and the Frog DVD was broken (it wouldn't play). However, Amazon quickly resolved the problem by sending me another DVD. This is Disney's first African American princess; thus I had to add it to my movie collection. The movie premise follows the same Disney formula of smart, strong-willed heroines who finds and falls in love with guy after several mishaps...happy ending. As I said this is Disney's first African American princess, which hopefully serves as a role model for young black girls.

2012-05-18 23:46:33

Princess and the Frog is a Great Movie girls and boys

This review is from: The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) Even as an adult male I enjoyed seeing this movie with my preschool daughter at the theater, my daughter could not take her eyes off the screen with her short attention span. As my wife braided our daughters (preschooler and toddler) hair even she enjoyed the dvd movie. The movie was made for todays modern black woman. Tiana is a young black girl growing up to believe in her self and to follow her dreams. When times were difficult she focused on the finish line which was becoming a restaurant owner and not her present dilemma. Throughout the movie she did not wait on a handout or a man (Prince) to fulfill her goals but when the prince finally came to his senses he realized this beautiful and independent woman was truly a treasure worth giving his heart and love . Once the prince started acting like a good man Tiana realized there was more to life than business and with a good counterpart they both could love and support each other. Even though I have two girls I would recommend it for boys as well, I would let them know in todays society women are to be respected as a counterpart and not like property such as these tasteless videos. As they get older just being a true gentlemen that cares about others and is willing to work and follow their own dreams they would be sought after for being the person they are. They you Disney for doing this classic the right way.

aaaphotombsc 2012-05-16 19:14:52

Read if your a parent!

I think it was just as good as any other Disney Princess movie. Ireally was afraid it wouldn't be the same as some of the olderclassics... but it was great! right up there with Jasmine and Ariel.Plus the music was some of the best I've ever heard!READ!! IMPORTANT IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN!!!The movie was scary even for me. With Voodoo and witchdoctors and demonlike creatures which is why he is called the shadow man. If your aChristian this is not the movie to watch I didn't know the movie had somuch in it. I don't mind when there is hardly any of the scary things(like Mulan) but this movie was almost all voodoo. And the creaturefrom "the other side" are very scary for children. So please make apersonal decision if you want to see this. If you child gets scared ofthe dark easily do not see. If you do not like voodoo, demons or palmreading do not see. Thanks for reading.

2012-05-16 14:36:26

Princess and the Frog Combo Pack

This review is from: The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) My children love this movie. It is great to see Disney return to the animation and musical styles of old. The blu-ray combo pack is a great way to get all three formats. I have used all three. One for the car, one at home and the digital copy on the ipod. All movies should come out this way. I pre-ordered this item and the price dropped before it was shipped, so I received a credit from Amazon for the difference. Thank you Amazon. Because of this service and the prices, I never purchase movies in retail stores anymore.

zactac 2012-05-11 13:37:42

2D animation has a triumphant return with The Princess and the Frog.

It has been at least ten years since a truly wonderful 2D animatedmovie has come out. Just like how The Little Mermaid brought 2Danimation back when it was almost dead, The Princess and the Frog doesthe same thing. The Little Mermaid began the Disney Renaissance era(which ended with Tarzan) and it seems it begins again with ThePrincess and the Frog.Just like Disney has done with other classic fairy-tales they havere-worked The Princess and the Frog into a different kind of story. Thestory is set in jazz-era New Orleans where we meet Tiana a girl whodreams of owning her own first class restaurant but with constantcriticism and even some racism from almost everyone around her it lookslike her dream won't come true. But then Prince Naveen comes into thepicture. He is some what spoiled, a ladies man, and has no desire tosettle down any time soon. He meets the Shadow Man a witch doctor whojust wants one thing... money. After turning the prince into a frog hereplaces him with a duplicate so he can get his hands on the money ofthe wealthiest man in New Orleans. After he assumes Tiana is a princesshe gets her to kiss him so he could turn back to normal, however it allgoes wrong. Since Tiana isn't really a princess instead of turning himback it turns her into a frog herself. So now they must journey throughthe swamps of Louisiana and find the one person who can turn them backto normal and show them that maybe everything they thought they wantedmay not necessarily be what they need.This movie takes everyone who watches it back to the classics that haveredefined animation. It has unforgettable music, lovable characters,and great animation which shines and sparkles just like some of thebest 2D animation has done in the past. Highly recommended to people ofall ages. Disney has brought 2D animation back and better than everbefore.

The Lawnmower 2012-05-10 23:34:08

Great Family Film. You won't be disappointed :)

This is a perfect film to take the family too during this holidays. Its refreshing to have a film that is entertaining to the whole family and never see any violence or bad words. It's like a classic Disney animated film. The Lawnmower highly recommends this film!

2012-05-08 17:49:17

a wonderful new Disney film!

This review is from: The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray) This movie was a lot of fun! i loved the setting in New Orleans, and i loved the characters. How fun to have something take place in the states for a change. I had to laugh at a lot of the negative reviews...did any of them watch the film? If you dont care for Jazz, then of course you wont be a big fan of the music...but it works wonderfully with the setting, the time period and the movie. Why does all the music have to sound the same from film to film anyways...I thought the songs were fun. Anika Noni Rose has a beautiful voice! I love the hard working Tiana and i was pleased with the friendship between her and the rich girl, Charlotte. I loved that there was no jealousy or bitterness, which seems to be the norm in most films. A warm and wonderful film! Thanks for keeping with the 2D animation...and thanks for another winner Disney!

2012-05-08 14:10:39

Terrible. Dissapointing. Waste of time and money.

This review is from: Princess & The Frog (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray) I cannot begin to describe how unenjoyable and dull this movie was to watch. Even as an adult, I've always loved Disney - Lion King, Aladdin, Hunchback, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, to name but a few - and I was so excited when I heard that Disney were releasing a new movie. I didn't get chance to see this at the theaters, so I pre-ordered this as soon as the blu-ray was announced, and couldn't wait to sit down with my husband to watch it.I really don't understand why the movie has such high praise. Based on the reviews given on Amazon, I was extra excited to see this movie, expecting something enjoyable even if not quite a classic. Perhaps the movie is better suited to children (though I really doubt I would have enjoyed this any more as a kid) but I certainly could not find a single thing to like about this movie.The storyline was promising-I thought that the slightly original twist on the classic "Princess and the Frog" story would be a guaranteed hit, but it was so poorly executed that it all fell flat. The characters were forgettable, and for the most part, I didn't like them (except for the crocodile, who had some funny moments at times).The artwork didn't really appeal to me-I found it a bit drab and boring. The music was forgettable and the songs----awful! A lot of them didn't seem to add much to anything at all, there were far, far too many of them, and not one of them was memorable. I cannot even hum a single line of tune or remember any of the words at all. The songs of this movie are nothing like the classic tunes of Aladdin, Lion King, etc.One thing that really hindered this movie was that there were far too many characters. I felt as though Disney threw in as many characters as possible just to make up for the poor script, weak songs and boring story. A lot of the characters felt pointless, and the whole movie felt crowded. Because there was so many of them, I didn't care for what was happening to any of them. A certain scene at the end, which I believe was meant to be effective and moving, just left me thinking "oh well."This movie was difficult to get through. It had promise at the start, but quickly failed to deliver. I felt as though it were the longest 90-something minutes I've spent all year. In fact, it felt more like 900 minutes. My husband and I cheered when the credits finally came around, and not because the movie was any good at all.Final note: Avoid!

mecassid 2012-05-07 06:41:04

A Beautiful and Magical Film

It was so pleasant to watch a well animated feature. I enjoy the Disney3D presentations, like Up, and other computer animated movies like ToyStory, but for years, I have missed old fashioned animation. This was abeautiful and magical film. The faces of the characters were rich andexpressive, the characterization was well thought out, and the scenerywas lush and precise for both the location and time period.The character of Tiana could have been a flat "Cinderella" typecharacter who works all day hoping for a man to save her. Instead, sheis a wonderfully modern princess—a passionate, intelligent, creativewoman who is concerned with fulfilling her dreams through work andlearns that having a career doesn't mean she has to miss out on havinglove and a family. Charlotte could have become a flat "Ugly Stepsister"type who vies for Naveen's affections and cares more about money thanpeople. Instead, while she is ditzy and cares about finding true love,Charlotte also cares about friendship, and offers to help Naveen andTiana when the time comes. Naveen could have been an empty "PrinceCharming" who the viewer never really gets to see, let alone know.Instead, we watch his slow transformation from a narcissistic playboyto a caring self-sacrificing man. I have been to New Orleans 3 times, and loved the music and scenery thefilm provided. Viewers see the rich Creoles, those who live at theheart of the city, the more indigent African American and Caucasianfamilies living outside of the city, and the Cajun culture of thebayou. Each scene was painstakingly created, and the effort shows. Thefilm could not have been set anywhere else. The setting is integral tothe film.As an adult, I loved this movie. The only thing that parents mightobject to their children seeing are the scenes involving voodoo. For ayoung child, the Shadow Man could be quite scary, particularly a scenein a grave yard where he tries to capture the Frog Prince. People withstrong religious views might also be offended by the scenes with MamaOdie. However, I would urge modern viewers to think of these scenes interms of the fairytale construct—they are meant to be seen in termslike the Evil Queen of Snow White, who also used magic, or like Ursulaof the Little Mermaid, who was also trying to take someone's soul.Similarly, this film doesn't present the Shadow Man and Mama Odie interms of religion, but in terms of magic. They could very easily havebeen an Evil Stepfather and a Fairy Godmother.Overall, I thought that The Princess and the Frog was a fantastic film.The songs were jazzy and had shades of Gershwin, the scenery wasbeautiful and varied, the characters were well thought out, and theplot had enough twists and turns to keep me interested. I haven'tenjoyed an animated film so much since Beauty and the Beast came out in1991.

2012-05-06 13:40:22

Disney pays tribute to New Orleans Jazz

Music has always been a part of Walt Disney cartoons, going way back to Steamboat Mickey in 1928! But Disney never seemed to acknowledge jazz until now. The studio's newest feature film, The Princess and the Frog, has New Orleans jazz all over it! From the jazz based score by Randy Newman, and a jazz-talking alligator named Louis (who has the unmistakable voice of that cat named Satchmo) who plays "Dippermouth Blues" and a tribute to Sidney Bechet, this is one truly delightful film. The story takes place in the 1920s French Quarter and features the high quality hand drawn animation Disney is famous for. For the zydeco and cajun music fan there's a bit of that too, courtesy of Terrance Simien. Dr. John also gets a song and he's on the soundtrack CD too! Okay, there's the pop vocal love song by Ne-Yo to attract the teens, but there's plenty of other great music and a fun story line for adults. This may be my favorite Disney movie in years! Highly recommended for anyone from 8 to 80! Check out the companion Soundtrack on CD too!Steve RammAnything Phonographic

2012-04-30 12:48:08

Cute Movie!

I went to go see the movie today and I really thought it was adorable my 4 year old god-daughter laughed and really enjoyed it. When the DVD comes out I will buy it for sure.

2012-04-30 06:51:24

Daughter loves this movie

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) One of my daughter's favorite movies and it is pretty entertaining for adults. Highly recommend.

liseli1 2012-04-29 09:42:24

one of the best Disney movies since the 90's

I liked this movies as much as I liked Aladdin which was my favoritebefore this. Tiana is definitely the best Disney princess so far she isindependent, hard working and wants more from life than to find a man.This movie is not racist at all that I could tell ( though this being aDisney movie and with their history someone somewhere will findsomething offensive even though nothing seemed like it was meant tobe). But overall two thumbs up. Definitely in the top 5 for favoriteDisney movies.I also liked the villain "the shadow man" is definitelyone of the scarier Disney villains up there with Cruella De Ville ( Icould see Facilier killing puppies no problem) who scared the crap outof me but in a good way. I also liked Mama Odie she was scary but goodof heart underneath it all and Prince Naveen and Tiana's friendCharlotte all turn out to have redeeming qualities. Prince Naveenstarts out as a spoiled lazy flirt but its because he's a spoiled richkid who no one taught any better. And Charlotte's honest desire tosacrifice her dream for her friends dream showed her in a whole newlight. Nobody is just black and white ( despite the historicsignificance of Tiana's heritage) even the villain has some reason forhis evil . I liked that every character was multi-faceted even Tianacame off as too judgmental at times and she learned to loosen up fromNaveen who learned that life is more than one big party.

dbborroughs 2012-04-28 23:41:43

Disappointing by the numbers film

Young woman in New Orleans wants to open a restaurant. She is goodfriends with a rich girl at who's party she ends up meeting prince whohas been turned into a frog. When she kisses the frog she is turnedinto a frog. The pair then has to cross the bayou in the hopes ofbecoming human again. New Disney film is a big to do because its areturn to "hand drawn" animation. I think its a less to do because itsa by the numbers tale that seems to have been assembled in a plug andplay style. Take a classic tale, then add in a lesson, big name starsfor voices, a score by Randy Newman that sound like Randy Newman, haveDr John sing, lift character design from other films, have very fewreal plot twists, change the color of the lead characters and stir. Theresult is less then hoped for, and certainly nowhere near the best filmof the year ala Time Magazine. While I'm not a huge fan of the princessfilms of Disney, I have to say this one just sort of missed for me too.The problem is as I said the plug and play nature of it all. Yes I didlove some things, the trumpet playing alligator and the villainousShadowman, but the rest just sort of laid there. Obviously I'm not thetarget audience, that said, this was still a disappointment for me.

2012-04-24 09:30:02

A Wonderful Movie

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) I saw it in theaters and knew that I had to add it to my collection when it came out on DVD. The whole family loves this movie. I continuously watch it.

simplecry 2012-04-24 04:36:20

A reminder of the Past and an excellent comeback!

Disney has left many of us bitter and skeptical of anything they make.From the disgusting sequels to the crappy CGI films Disney seemed tomiss their mark in successful repetition. The only thing they couldaccomplish was ruining the princess collection and creating straight toDVD films that didn't teach kids anything. The Disney Channel went fromgreatness to crappy shows that are rivaled by Nick and Cartoon Network.Everything about Disney has fallen to a bleak level under the muck ofcrappy children films. No Longer is Disney known for being "FamilyFilms" or "Fun for the Whole Family" instead, they have characters thatare as flat as a sheet of paper, non-existent or bad morals, immaturecomic relief, and very bad songs or none at all. Well, now the company has changed it's executives and they havepromised to end the assault on well made animated films. Disney didn'tseem to deliver on the promise; animated films were still being made inCGI instead of hand drawn. Movies attempted to raise the bar but stillfell short. Don't get me wrong I loved Bolt and Enchanted, but, itstill wasn't up to the standards I knew Disney could produce and thatmade me more skeptical. Upon discovering however, that Disney wasmaking a full length animated (hand drawn) film I was very excited. WasDisney coming out of the disaster it put itself in? That was thequestion raised; and I am proud to say successfully answered.The Princess and the Frog hit the mark and raised the bar for futurefilms. Going back to it's roots and producing a film that the wholefamily can enjoy. With an excellent story, dazzling characters, greatsongs to boot, and a villain that actually poses a threat. No more ofthese villains who are fluffy and boring. No more childish charactersand immature humor. The Princess and the Frog gives us a story thatmakes children and adults think, gave children a hero to look up to, avillain to hate, and morals that they can apply to life. The humor wasfamily friendly while still being able to entertain adults, and thecomic relief was not immature making the story that much better and notwatered down. The best part to me was that Tiana was African-American.Being multi-racial myself I really enjoyed being able to relate to aprincess and to see that children have a princess that isn't afraid towish for her dreams AND work for them. No more sitting on the balconyand wishing for a prince. As romantic and sweet as that is, it doesn'treally teach much. Now don't get me wrong the movie doesn't come without it's problems,but, they are not bad enough for this movie to not receive such aglowing review. Personally I wish that Alen Menken was the composerbecause Randy Newman seems to irritate me in every movie he does. ThePrincess and the Frog's musical score got very tiring VERY fast. Theonly five songs I liked were the opening song, Almost there, my friendson the other side, Ma Belle Evangeline, and dig a little deeper.Everything in that movie was Jazz. By the end of the movie I was readyto stab my ears out. I liked Jazz until now, thats how bad it was forme. Even though it is a movie that takes place in the birth land ofJazz, there wasn't really any traditional Disney songs. Ma BelleEvangeline was close but still came with it's hint of Jazz. They overdid the Jazz and that is one folly. The villain was great, butcomparing him to the other classic villains he was more of a sidekick.His friends from the other side could be viewed as the true villainbut, they still were not menacing. And those two were really the onlyissue I had with the film.Before I finish, I want to state a few of my favorite things that Isaw, and I hope many other appreciate also. As I mentioned earlier itwas neat to have an African American Heroin and being multi-racial itwas even better! I was very worried that they would sugarcoat theracial difference or overdo it and come off as insensitive, but I thinkDisney found a happy medium. The racism was settle and truthful andcould not be avoided to tell an accurate and well rounded story and Iliked that. Even when they say "A little girl of your background" stunga bit but was a necessity and tastefully done. I really enjoyed thehistorical accuracies it had. The best part of the whole thing to me isthey went back to their roots and killed characters. They didn't justkill them, they did it in the open. It wasn't insensitive to kids butas an adult it did make you cringe a little. For me I am excited to seethe things Disney produces and I'm also excited to know that thetradition is coming back. As they say if it's not broke don't fix it.Well Walt Disney had an excellent formula for films that lasted untilthe late 90's until people tried to "fix it". It seems like to mepeople don't take pride in their art anymore and CGI isn't always greatto me. Man was given the ability to tell a story through handmadeartwork and that needs to come back.All in All I am very proud that this has Disney's name on it and ThePrincess and the Frog is a wonderful film that deserves itsrecognition. I give it a ten out of ten and can't wait to see moregreat films in the future.

Carycomic 2012-04-22 17:44:08

Disney has themselves another future classic.

It's loosely based on "The Frog Prince" (which I don't think has been"dramatized" since the 1970's Muppet version). And, it's set inJazz-Age New Orleans, where Tiana--a work-aholic only child--seeks toopen her own restaurant. Enter Naveen, a fun-loving foreign princewho'd prefer to be a jazz musician. If only his royal parents hadn'tcut off his allowance!The two of them would seem to be irreconcilably different. Yet,actually, they balance each other out. And, in the words of wise oldMama Odie, they "just got a dig a little deeper" to see it.Unfortunately, a voodoo sorceror named Dr. Facilier, and Naveen'sturn-coat butler Lawrence, have other plans. How Naveen and Tianathwart them is part of the charm of this newest animated epic. Theother part is the great jazz music (which Walt Disney, himself, used tobe so fond of), plus the nice subtle homages to past Disney classics.The constant wishing on the Evening Star (Ray the Firefly's belovedEvangeline) puts me in mind of the opening number from PINOCCHIO.Charlotte's Mardi Gras gown reminds of the one worn by Cinderella tothe Prince's ball. And, the rousing animated sequence set to "Dig ALittle Deeper" is like a gospel version of "Kiss The Girl" from THELITTLE MERMAID!Add to all that the bonus of Keith David (Goliath from GARGOYLE THESERIES) once more working with WD Studios, and you have a masterpieceof cinematic gumbo. I guar-an-tee!

2012-04-22 09:32:47

Exactly What I Wanted.

This review is from: The Princess and the Frog (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) This is exactly what I wanted...the case was in perfect condition, as was the disc.