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The Princess and the Frog

edited July 2008 in Movies
I posted this over in the Things of the Day thread, but I felt that it could possibly start a discussion:
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Do you guys think that Disney can actually pull off a good animated film again without the direct help of Pixar?
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Comments

  • Sure why not. Besides it's been long overdue for black woman to be a princess in a Disney film.
  • I was hopping to see this frog fight for his princess :D
  • GeoGeo
    edited July 2008
    Sure why not. Besides it's been long overdue for black woman to be a princess in a Disney film.
    I wasn't aware there WAS a black Disney princess!? Is there?
    Post edited by Geo on
  • None that I can think of, that's why I said it's long overdue.
  • Never before until now. I heard of this project at least over a year ago. I'm glad to finally see a trailer for it.
  • I wasn't aware there WAS a black Disney princess!? Is there?
    None that I can think of, that's why I said it's long overdue.
    Depends on what you allow to be called 'princess'. Pocahontas was the daughter of the village chief, no? And has a darker skin. As for classic princesses, none that I know of no.

  • Do you guys think that Disney can actually pull off a good animated film again without the direct help of Pixar?
    The trailer looks quite good, but isn't John Lasseter, the head creative guy of Pixar, at the head of this project? If that's the case, then Disney can't make a good animated film without Pixar's help.
  • I heard about this movie awhile back, and I expected everyone to be surprised and happy about the first black princess, but I keep seeing people complain about it every now and then. "Oh of course they pick this fairy tale to have a black princess- the frog princess! That is so mean! They are saying only a black princess is worthy of a frog." etc. What would they have said if Cinderella was black? Gee. People complained about Aladdin being insensitive to Arabs, and I didn't even notice anything insensitive until I read about it. It makes me sad that fairy tales can't just be fairy tales without thinking too much about being politically correct about race. :-\
  • edited August 2008
    Depends on what you allow to be called 'princess'. Pocahontas was the daughter of the village chief, no? And has a darker skin. As for classic princesses, none that I know of no.
    As far as I know, any girl who is officially included in the Disney Princess branded line of merchandise and advertising is considered (wait for it) a Disney Princess. Currently, that line-up includes Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan. It is confirmed that the princess in this upcoming movie, Tiana, will become an official part of the line once the movie comes out.

    Also, the Wikipedia article about this movie is an interesting read, especially the "Controversy" section.
    Post edited by Eryn on
  • Oh, the trailer is out! Sweet!
  • edited August 2008
    John Lasseter is the head of feature animation (and was instrumental in the creation of the first new Disney animated short in a long time!), Walt Disney Imagineering, and Pixar. He is now a very busy man, and I thank him greatly for it.

    Oh, and I personally think that they can do it. Lasseter has great respect for the Disney classics and is trying his hardest to bring the animated films back to their golden age. He even kicked Chris Sanders off of Bolt, as the movie wasn't looking like it would meet Lasseter's standards.
    Post edited by Li_Akahi on
  • I like that firefly, he's just like Cletus the slack jawed yokel.
  • He even kicked Chris Sanders off of Bolt, as the movie wasn't looking like it would meet Lasseter's standards.
    And thus American Dog turned from a really surreal interesting movie musing on celebrity into the same ol' talking animals flick. Chris Sanders is just too weird for Disney, but he's crazy in the way I like.
  • And thus American Dog turned from a really surreal interesting movie musing on celebrity into the same ol' talking animals flick. Chris Sanders is just too weird for Disney, but he's crazy in the way I like.
    I didn't actually hear too much about the movie besides the story, John Travolta in a starring role, and that Chris Sanders was kicked off. I had no idea that it was intended to be what you described. Though I must say, when I saw the trailer for it before Wall-E, it was the first time in a while that I actually wanted to see a Disney animated film.

    On a whole other note, was Meet the Robinsons any good?
  • On a whole other note, was Meet the Robinsons any good?
    It was alright. The previews for it had the best parts, especially with the T-Rex saying he has little arms.
  • I really liked Meet the Robinsons myself.
  • I like that firefly, he's just like Cletus the slack jawed yokel.
    Some fokel never eat a skunk, but then again some fokel like Cletus the slack jawed yokel ^_^.
  • edited May 2009
    It's bad quality, but some new footage from the movie was shown on TV recently and someone captured it:

    Post edited by Eryn on
  • I dunno about this...It looks kinda doofy. The firefly's butt? Come on!
  • Also, theWikipedia article about this movieis an interesting read, especially the "Controversy" section.
    There is only one way to describe that section.
    image
  • I dunno about this...It looks kinda doofy. The firefly's butt? Come on!
    Yeah, it does seem like that a little bit, especially with some of Naveen's lines and mannerisms there. Overall it feels like they're trying a little too hard to recapture the feel of the Disney Renaissance films with this one, but I'm still holding out hope that it'll be a good film in the end.

    Also, yeah, that controversy section? I totally agree with that picture. People were being entirely too sensitive. *headdesk* I guess I wasn't clear back when I posted that, but I meant "interesting" in the "uhhh, that's . . . interesting . . ." sense of the word.
  • Chris Sanders is just too weird for Disney, but he's crazy in the way I like.
    I like Chris Sanders. He's got cute down to a science. And he draws women with some thick-ass legs.
  • I like Chris Sanders. He's got cute down to a science. And he draws women with some thick-ass legs.
    I know, right? His girls have some hips on them. It's great!

  • This looks a lot better than the leaked footage.
  • That prince...He's something else... XD
  • This movie hasn't even begun yet, and it's controversial. Why? Because the hero is Black. Because she's Black in the South before Brown vs. Board of Ed. Because some people are racist, and because others are overly sensitive and easily offended. What does this say about our society, that a Black hero has to create so much drama? It shouldn't make any difference, and if anything, should be seen as a positive thing!
    I have a friend who has gone so far as to boycott the movie because she's offended by the Cajun firefly. I'm Cajun too and I'm not all upset that he has a thick accent and a silly appearance. We can spout all these Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes, but can't take a firefly? This is why painstakingly non-offensive crap like Highschool Musical is the status-quo!

    This is Disney's first 2D animated movie in years. They shut down their 2D department the year Judith graduated with her animation degree because they thought there was no market for it. Their most recent 2d films had not done well. They didn't realize that it was because the movies' writing sucked-- not because of the medium. I mean, does anybody even remember that cow movie? Yet, everybody remembers Beauty and the Beast much more fondly than any of the forgettable CGI films they've done.
    Despite whatever quality this movie may turn out to be, I'm afraid that overly sensitive and overly racist people will hurt the movie's financial performance. I'm also afraid that Disney will, yet again, ax their 2D department as a result.
  • I have high hopes for this movie, and the biggest reason my hopes ride so high is because I want so desperately to see Disney's 2D department return for good. No offense Emily, but I think that 3D is still eons away from the artistry of traditional animation, especially in Disney's case.

    On a smaller note, those fuckers were never "too cool" for musical style songs in their movies. Fuck them for ever ditching that for the sake of Phil Collins mediocre assbaggery. I welcome back the musical format with open arms.
  • edited November 2009
    *Blows a big 3D raspberry at you.*

    The thing is, they are good at different things. They are are not mutually exclusive. I think the textures and color pallet in Ratatouille are excellent and really add a lot of atmosphere to the film. On the other hand, some stories are just a better idea to animate in 2D.

    Also, I don't care for the repeated musicals. In a way, I am both excited and depressed about this film. Back when I took Disney 2D features for granted, I was frustrated because they seemed stuck in the same old rut and kept making the same sort of fairytale musical genre movie. That's part of what drew me to anime in the first place: The fact that some of the Japanese films I saw were not musicals, and were not afraid to step outside the genre I associated with animation. I would often regret when other studios aped this formula (Anastasia would have been a better movie if it hadn't tried to do things the Disney way, with songs, an animal sidekick, and an ugly villain) and hope that Disney would try something different. Lilo and Stitch was one of my favorite recent Disney films, and that was because stylistically, musically, and in its script it deviated from the norm. Now, I am happy that they are back to where they started, doing what they do best, because no forward progress is better than nothing at all. Hooray? I'm sure I will enjoy this movie, and be happy at new Disney, but I'm not sure it will move me, the way Nausicaa did when I first saw it.

    Pah. Animation needs to stop spinning it's wheels or we will be stuck in the Hollywood ghetto forever.
    Post edited by gomidog on
  • edited November 2009
    Although one aspect of Disney's attempt to be politically correct is leading to controvery, the other choice they've made is probably the best possible choice they could have made. The story of the Princess and the Frog is one that lends itself very well to a strong female character. And honestly, how many Disney princesses can really be objectively identified as strong or independant? Mulan for sure, and one could make an argument for Alice, but neither of them really count as princesses. I had an English teacher last year who wouldn't let her daughter watch many of the "classic" Disney movies for this reason. I predict that, once this movie comes out and people actually see it, the racial controversy will go away. I think most people can recognize that the importance of the issues at hand trump any other superficial aspects. After all, we have a black president now ;)
    Post edited by Sail on
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