THERE SHALL BE SPOILERS

Hello and welcome again. Let’s dive right in!

Plot

This one is a twist on the classic tale of course. My friend didn’t like it; she’d wanted a faithful retelling of the old classic. I, however, did not mind. I like the way Disney told this story. For most of the film they’re frogs but it makes sense with the plot.

Tiana was the first African America Princess and she was amazing. I love how they wrote her character. I also loved Prince Naveen’s character. They were both likable.

I think the story flowed well and that the characters developed in a way that made sense. They managed to incorporate New Orleans into everything and I loved it. They included the culture, the music and the feel of New Orleans.

I feel that this movie does not get enough credit. It was well written and was fun to watch. I watched in the cinema and it kept me hooked from start to finish. I don’t have any complaints about the plot.

Tiana worked hard for what she got in the movie and her problems weren’t solved by her marrying the Prince. They were solved by her making friends with an alligator, if Louis hadn’t had scared them they would never have given her her restaurant. I love that she paid for it with her own money too.

The villain was a practitioner of voodoo, sort of, in the movie. Although from reading I’ve found out he was more of a witchdoctor and Mama Odie was a voodoo queen. When I first watched Princess and the Frog I didn’t understand why they included voodoo but as I’ve gotten to know New Orleans better I see now it’s because New Orleans has a history with voodoo, even to this day.

 

Characters

Naveen

He was a true player. He was also irresponsible and carefree. I never understand why his butler or assistant or whatever is British. Why did he take a job in Maldonia?

I love Naveen’s love of music and his joy of life. However he did not treat people very well at the start of the film and he didn’t think about the consequences of his actions.

When he was turned into a frog however we got to learn more about him. His personality came out more when he wasn’t in his human form. I feel like his hotness distracted from his actual personality. (Yes, I think he’s hot. He’s right up there with Shang).

What is his actual personality? His charm hides that he is very blunt and sarcastic. He’s got a good sense of humour and is very self-assured, he’s confident in himself. He’s also however unsure. Naveen actually made me glad I got chores as a kid. Imagine having everything done for you to the point where you grow up and you can’t do anything for yourself. That’s a hard pill to swallow. Naveen showed the realities of growing up royal.

I also like that he’s brown too. True he’s not black and people did have issues with that but I liked that he was brown but another kid of brown. Interracial love between races that aren’t white and black are rarely shown so I appreciated it.

Tiana

She’s so hard working. She could make a doctor feel lazy. She hustles hard but a little too much sometimes. I agreed with her mother and everyone else in the movie, she needed to take some time to enjoy life. I felt like if Naveen had never happened she would have gotten an ulcer or something.

So for me I like that through the events of the movie she learned to enjoy life and what life had to offer. She saw that even though she didn’t have her restaurant she was still truly blessed. I think that’s a valuable lesson to learn. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have it’s better to focus on what we do have.

Ray

They included a Cajun character and I liked that. The scenes in the bayou were honestly some of my favourites. He’s the most genuine character ever! It’s interesting because as they’re all animals there is no animal sidekick technically and I liked that.

He was genuine and gave heart to the movie. He kept the hope alive even when others were despairing. He was a firefly and truly was a light to the world that they inhabit.

He is truly one of my favourite Disney characters and I love the twist at the end that they did for him.

Louis

I like that they named him in honour of Louis Armstrong and that he plays jazz music.

Because he’s a friendly gator they made him look different from the other gators, he’s chubbier. I wonder what it would have been like if he had looked like the other gators or *gasp* if they had reversed it!

He was sweet, a true gentle giant. I wonder if they still understand animals after they turned back. Also why would gators eat something they can understand?

Sorry I went off track there, I liked his character.

New Orleans

New Orleans did a good job in this movie. I think this is where my curiosity for New Orleans began (that and x-men’s Gambit). It seemed so vibrant and cool, plus I love music.

Facilier

He wanted what he couldn’t have, envy was his ruin.

I almost felt bad for him when he got taken at the end of the movie. But then I remembered he killed Raymond and I got over it.

He was an interesting character. Did you notice that even his shadow was scared in the end? It’s a lesson kids, don’t be like Facilier.

Trivia

Did you know that Oprah Winfrey voiced the mom and Terrance Howard voiced the dad of Tiana? I did not, I just found out. The cast that voiced them is quite interesting. They did a good job because I didn’t notice.

 

Songs

I LOVE the songs in this movie.

• Down in New Orleans – I love both versions of this song. I love the one in the beginning sang by Dr John and then the version at the end where it’s sang by Tiana. It’s one of my favourites in this movie because I love the feel of it and it’s really fun to belt out.
• Almost There – This one is an aspirational song. It’s that song you can sing to yourself when you have a dream you’re reaching for and you need hope. I’m glad they made it. Whenever I’m striving for something this song always pops to mind.
• Friends On The Other Side – again kids, don’t have friends on the other side. It’s a good villain song; you feel his sinister nature as he sings.
• Gonna Take You There – *singing* Going down the bayou, going down the bayou! I enjoy this song. I was re watching the movie in bed and this one had me dancing. It’s an underrated number I think.
• Dig a Little Deeper – I like the message of this song although Tiana completely missed it. She tried though. Also Naveen was cute in this song, just watching her and falling for her eek!

Alright, I’m done! This is one of my favourite princess movies like Tangled. I like the message, the songs and the animation. They brought back the hand drawn art and I appreciated it, it was a beautiful movie! There’s something in hand drawn that can’t be captured in computer animation.

That is all from me, until next time, ciao!