The Princess and The Frog

I first watched this film at the beginning of Spring Break. I hadn't previously seen it, or heard any of the songs or picked up any of the plot-line, so I honestly had no idea what to expect.

Overall I enjoyed "The Princess and The Frog" and found it an interesting notion that we had an obnoxious Prince who could be made an arguably better person by getting to know, and falling in love with, the Princess, Tiana.

I particularly like the song "Almost There" and the notion of hard-work leading to success that this displays. Importantly, the film shows that Tiana works too hard, and is unable to enjoy life because she's too busy working towards the future. This is where Mamma Ottis, and finally the Prince, help Tiana find a better work/life balance...eventually!

Prince Naveen transforms from being a shallow, materialistic bachelor, simply out for a good time, to seeing the value in real relationships, the reward hard work and perseverance can bring and the fulfillment of such a new lifestyle.

Tiana and Naveen are such opposites, who come together and ultimately compliment one another. Before they met, neither of one of them were living a sustainable of fulfilling lifestyle. Naveen was depleting his funds, and Tiana her energy. Naveen worked far too little and Tiana way too much. But together, they work to open Tiana's Place and become successful and happy, fulfilling both of their aspirations.

Again, there's a key Disney message imbedded in this film. Mamma Ottis tried to teach Tiana this in the swamp, but she only truly realizes the lesson as she fights the sorcerer and avoids his illusions by realizing she didn't need her perfect restaurant to fulfill her life, she needed meaningful relationships: "My daddy never did get what he wanted. But he had what he needed. He had love"

A second Disney lesson is that greed is a bad trait, as this lead's to Naveen's man servant succumbing to the Shadow Man, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

A character of particular note to me is Charlotte - or Lottie - who is someone I can only describe as a Southern Belle, complete with large, frilly frocks, the deep Southern accent, and a nice trust-fund to match. Lottie is enthralled with "Princess". She reads fairytales as a young girl, while envisioning her future Prince. She dresses like a Princess. She arguable acts, and is treated by her father, like a Princess. Lottie, however, is not content to WAIT for her Prince. She eagerly drives along this process, having her father host Prince Naveen and throwing an extravagant party for him. She's a girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to make it happen.
Her relationship with Tiana is very special. When Lottie is with Tiana, she is not selfish, but kind and considerate. She seeks to help Tiana and make her happy. She helps her get ready to enjoy the party. She shares her desires. Yet, most beautiful of all, is when she gives up her Prince because she values Tiana's happiness over her childhood dream. She would not marry Naveen just because he's a Prince, as this meant breaking apart Tiana and Naveen's love. There are so many sacrifices people are prepared to make for those they love - Naveen marrying Lottie to be able to fund Tiana's dream, Tiana giving up Naveen because she thinks he and Lottie belong together as the fairytale couple, followed by Lottie giving up her Prince. This shows kindness and consideration in their willingness to sacrifice. But ultimately shows that by being open with one-another, they can achieve harmony. Tiana and Naveen would rather remain frogs, if it mean they could remain together. The magical Disney twist, is that when the frog swamp wedding occurs, Tiana becomes a Princess, by marrying a Prince, and thus, as the two frogs kiss, they are transformed back into humans.

The Shadow Man is a character I haven't quite wrapped my head round yet. He moves the plot forward, but the strange voodoo / demonic twist is a new angle for a Disney Princes movie. I mean yes, in Snow White the evil Queen performed magic, and Malefiscent, Ursula, and other such magical villains have existed. But I can't help but feel that this is a new level and interestingly now a male villain using dark magic.

This film certainly wasn't what I would have imagined it to be. The twist on the Princess and The Frog tale is rather interesting and certainly a modern creation.