Princesses are cool, but technology sucks

[secondlina]

I went to see the Princess and the Frog. Here is my (mostly spoiler free, hence no cut) review:

It was good. Really good. It had the classic Golden Age Disney feels while still having a little magical originality. Which may have been caused by the fact that the prince had personality. He was actually the main sidekick. No prince ever got to be a sidekick before! And he's funny too!

The female characters are very strong and Tiana reminds me of Mulan (and no, it's not because they are both ethnic - it's the character itself). The songs are beautiful, of course, but none of them really hit me as "Amazing!" The animation is extraordinary and the ending has a nice few twists. All and all, a good Disney movie, sure to become a classic and to create a ton of merchandise. I found that it explored metamorphosis and acceptance much better then the animated feature "The Swan Princess" which is not a Disney film, but has a lot of themes in common with the Princess and the Frog.

People who see the Princess and the Frog obviously have access to the internet and on said internet you can find two major complaints. One: Permanent character death. I'm not gonna say who, but yeah, a few people kick it in the movie, which apparently shocked audiences who are used to only villains dying in Disney movies. I found it was a nice touch and added to the message of the film. It wasn't senseless, children-traumatizing killings. I was very amused by a parent's lament on a forum saying that she never wanted her child exposed to (and I quote) : "An obvious display of christian values by killing a character and giving him a funeral!" I'm not really sure which is associated to christian values, the death or the funeral, but i'm fairly sure this comment reminded me that forums are bad, bad places for brain cell development.

The second internet wank over the Princess and the frog is, obviously, the fact that most of the cast is black/ethnic. Ethnic groups complaint that the ethnic portrayal is all wrong and white people are complaining that the white cast is full of asswipes. OKay, we get two villains in this movie, one is white and the other black. And the two other main white characters, Mister "Big Daddy" Lebouff and his hyperactive, Glinda-lookalike daughter Charlotte, are the sweetest sidekicks i've ever seen. Disney wasn't trying to do a racial film, I know, but having a blond, spoiled rich kid, in the 1920's, be Best Friends Forever with a black girl really came off to me as beautiful and sweet. The friendship between Charlotte and Tiana did not drive the film, but it added this little layer of self-sacrifice and it was darn cute. It deserves a drawing.

Behold:



The ethnic portrayals seemed very good to me. Everything flowed and felt natural. Then again, i'm white, so I might not notice something extremely offensive to another ethnic group. But in general, the movie focused on the characters and created an atmosphere that did not focus on their backgrounds while still reminding us that it's the 1920's and that life can be hard for someone like Tiana. Which only makes her happy ending seem better. Besides, be they white, black, chinese or native american, all Disney heroins had social problems. People are making a big Deal out of Tiana's because of america's mixed past with black people. But generally, this seems pretty standard, respect and development wise. Good job Disney!

** In an unrelated note, my PC computer fully died. I now rely on my macbook and link's computer. And I work techsupport all day. And do extra website building contracts by night. And my internet still sucks. God I'm starting to hate technology.

-Isa

Comments

[gullwhacker.livejournal.com]

I just want to chime in on that character death.

I loved the character.

And I salute the villain for being smart enough to kill him/her/it/avoiding spoilers here.

Because frankly, that character was a serious, direct threat to the villain. And the villain is smart. (Just not smart enough!)

So yeah. I liked it too.

[auriga]

People are pretty quick to rant and rave about the oddest things, aren't they? The "character death + funeral = Christian values" both kind of amuses me and makes me headdesk.

Internet wank aside, the movie sounds really good! I'll hopefully get around to seeing it one day.

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

It was a great movie! It has a great cast of characters and I found to be more focus on the plot than the character's backgrounds. I loved Big Daddy and Charlotte, it's nice to see a rich girl who isn't a mean for once. (I've seen that WAY too often in other series/movies.)

I'm thinking people are complaining about the "character death" because no one was expecting it and it was a big surprise. I think that last time a major character was..Mufasa I think. However, I think think it fit the plot and that character did go down fighting. ^_~

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

Apparently people don't know their Disney movies. Characters that are not villains have died before. Most of them happen before the movie takes place (Aladdin, Snow White, Pocahontas, the Little Mermaid, etc.) but some happened at the start (Cinderella) and even during the movie! Did people really forget about Bambi's mother? What about Mufasa? Mufasa especially since he did die at the hands (okay, paws) of the villain!

Viewers are so stupid...

I've yet to see the movie, but hopefully I'll see it this next week when I'm back home for a bit. I think Idaho is trying to kill me.

That's really lame about the PC. I guess it gave you fair warning at least... Have you decided what sort of computer you'll get to replace it?

(Okay, and the funeral = Christian values thing...seriously? Because only Christians hold funerals? Must stink literally for all those other religions to just let their dead lay rotting on the ground. Oh wait, that's right, they don't. :P In fact in many religions and societies throughout time the worst thing to happen to someone after death was for there never to be a proper funeral or burial. But then people would have to actually learn about the world to know that. Far easier to assume everything is Christian.)

[rose.livejournal.com]

Well, to be fair, the woman going into the theater should have been prepared for *catholic and voodoo/gris-gris* influences upon the movie, not "Christian". I mean, c'mon - it's setting is 1920s New Orleans. My head is spinning here.

[rose.livejournal.com]

I will be seeing this movie soon. Although I've held back alot of judgment I still wish Disney had gone with the original premise they had instead of flip flopping over the PC police. It would have been... a more inspirational step, I think. But... it's Disney, hahaha, and I'll still watch.

[elfgrove.livejournal.com]

I have the same opinion as you on the movie. ♥

I loved that it not only pushed hard work alongside dreams, but that it also pushged balance in your life. Good updated message.

The songs weren't as stand out as past Disney films, but they improved on my second viewing. Plus, I'm partial to Peter David's singing, so i loved Dr. Facilier's songs from the get-go. That man has a set of lungs-- MmmMmm!

Also, the Lottie/Tia BFF thing needs more love.
Lottie was a bit of a silly personality-type, but a good and adorable girl. And Tia and her were a nice work in contrasts. (Also, Tia's other friends did seem to care about her when she couldn't make time to go out and do clubbing [which costs money], while when stuff got screwed up at the party, Lottie didn't throw a hissy, she was just concerned about Tia being okay and getting her in clean clothes before she got embarrassed. ♥)

[elfgrove.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I'm ignoring people with the whining about religion in the movie based on a funeral. Pfft. I was more disappointed that they didn't go with a full out Jazz funeral. Exuberant celebration of life, and would've allowed another song number.

[amelia-seyroon.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love the friendship between Charlotte and Tiana. A wonderful example of BBF's!

Charlotte may be spoiled, but she still remains a strong and supportive friend to Tiana, and the scenes with her big daddy are just hilarious.

It isn't everyday you have a spoiled character who isn't selfish or arrogant.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the movie, but the comments you describe sound like they're not about the color of someone's skin, but more about the thinness of someone's skin.

[spankingfemme.livejournal.com]

I do want to see this now! And nice fan art my sweet ;)

[comicaddict.livejournal.com]

Looks like I'm going to be putting another movie in between my wanting to see Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. Love the fan art. :)

[gullwhacker.livejournal.com]

Some have referred to someone who's dead. It's rare that one is murdered /during/ the plot, though.

I'll admit that I did forget about Bambi's mother - apparently I have no soul - but I did remember Mufasa.

I think I made a comment at one point about Dr. Facilier being what you'd get if you mixed together Malificent and Scar in the Black Cauldron.

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

He wasn't murdered (so much as sacrificed his life to save his brothers), but if you saw Disney's Brother Bear, the eldest brother was killed off fairly early in the movie as well. In fact, it was a major plot hook.

(You have no soul! Horrors!)

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

To be fair, Catholics are Christian, but still, yeah, the viewer should have been expecting to see some form of religious content, even if it's not advertised openly. Just because there are groups currently trying to remove all traces of religion from the country doesn't mean it's always been that way, or is it even right. But that's another rant for another time.

People are kind of funny though. If you ever saw 101 Dalmations, specifially when Roger and Anita get married, every bit of religious reference they could strip out was removed so as not to offend anyone, but it sure made it an extremely boring if not vague ceremony.

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

If anything, it's probably another case of someone wanting to be offended, so they jump on whatever they can.

[rose.livejournal.com]

No, I agree. I'm Catholic, but whenever I referred to myself as Christian growing up the "true Christians" would correct me. So, thus began the habit of differentiating that has continued throughout the years and been further ingrained by Sociology classes. I might be going out on a limb here, but I bet the forum woman was assuming they were all Baptist just because it was down South.

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

I get it too, being LDS, but people forget that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is Christian, so those "true Christians" can...well, maybe go educate themselves. But yeah, I'd be wondering just what the woman was thinking when she thought she was being subjected to a religious funeral.

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

That character was not only a direct threat to the minions, he was handing them their asses.

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

It's excellent. Story-wise, one of the best Disneys in my opinion (without counting Pixar-Disney ones)

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

Not just Mufasa! Many others also kicked the bucket in the past, Disney style. Mostly parents though (hey, a parent died in this movie too.)

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

I hope you do see it. Knowing how much you liked "Golden Age" Disney, it would be ashame for you not to see this movie.

I'm gonna try to fix the computer (with....ducttape?) because I don't really have the money for a new one. At least, I still have the macbook and Link's computer.

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

Seriously. It's like she didn't even see the trailer or something.

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

I loved how "Find your balance" was the main message of the movie.

Lottie was an 100% good character. If they wanted, they could have turned her into a rich bitch. They could have given her a smidgen of regret when her food is ruined, or when she looses her prince. But no. She immediately goes into a completly kiddish and honest "TIA I HELP YOU!!!!" mode and that's why I think she's as much of a princess as Tia (and she might become a real one one day!) I liked the fact that the friendship was there better then just having a black cast. They don't focus on one ethnicity. They focus on relations (including one sexy inter-ethnic relation, Naveen is from imaginary country of french speaking hawtness....)

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

Hence why I say Charlotte is just as amazing as Tiana!

I was sad that Tiana had almost no bad character flaws (aside from being a workaholic). Her flaws are actually good things turned to flaws because she pushes too hard. Otherwise, she's 100% good. I think one of the reasons she's like that is too avoid offending ethnic groups... Still, she showed desperation and greed towards the end. It made her seem more human.

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

Indeed!

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

Go! Go! (Also, there's snake bondage of a hawt guy but you didn't hear that from me....)

[secondlina.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Go check out "Lovely bones" if you can too. It's great.

[amelia-seyroon.livejournal.com]

'Greed'? I thought she was just desperate to make her father's dream come true. D:

[snapdragon76.livejournal.com]

Totally plan on seeing this over Christmas...

Is that one lady saying that only Christians have funerals? WTF?!?!

[earthstar-moon.livejournal.com]

Point, although A LOT of the parents deaths, (except for Bambi's mom, Mufasa, Kida's father) seemed to be off screen. (Examples: Belle's mom, Tiana's dad, Dumbo's dad, etc.)

[ichiban-victory.livejournal.com]

Oh trust me, I will see it. I have seen every Disney animated movie in the theatre, someway, somehow. I'll most likely be able to find a friend (or my dad) to drag to the cinema while I am home. I'd not be a devoted Disney fan otherwise! O:)

(Laaaame, but at least you do have a backup computer. Time for Artemis to shine!)

[gullwhacker.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It's like they say. If you're going to kill off a character, make it their Crowning Moment of Awesome.

On another note: Would you want to see Dr. Facilier vs. Jafar? I would.

Or maybe make it a three-way brawl and bring in Malificent to represent European magic.

[spankingfemme.livejournal.com]

Snake bondage! 0o Really! LOL! Now I MUST see it! XD

[kokumi009.livejournal.com]

I'm going to watch that tomorrow! SQUEEE!
that character death will surely force tears from me. i never did like character deaths, but that doesn't mean i can't appreciate their value to the story.