New Disney Animated Classic?

[sandie]

Disney's 2009 Animated Release 'The Frog Princess' Brings the Music and Culture of New Orleans to the Big Screen

The Walt Disney Studios will continue its fairy tale legacy in animation by taking moviegoers on an all-new "once upon a time" musical adventure with its 2009 release of "The Frog Princess," according to Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. A musical set in the legendary birthplace of jazz -- New Orleans -- "The Frog Princess" will introduce the newest Disney princess, Maddy, a young African- American girl living amid the charming elegance and grandeur of the fabled French Quarter. From the heart of Louisiana's mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a soulful singing crocodile, voodoo spells and Cajun charm at every turn.

"The Frog Princess" is based on an original story written by Disney's acclaimed filmmaking duo John Musker & Ron Clements ("The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," "Hercules"), who will also direct. Oscar(R)-winning songwriter/composer and New Orleans native Randy Newman ("Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc." and "Cars") will write songs and the score for this project. Peter Del Vecho, a 12-year Disney animation veteran, will produce.

Commenting on the announcement from The Walt Disney Company's 2007 Annual Meeting of shareholders, Cook said, "We're pleased to be here in the heart of New Orleans to announce 'The Frog Princess,' a great story with all the ingredients that go into making an extraordinary motion picture experience. Like many of Disney's most popular fairy tales, it has elements of magic, fantasy, adventure, heart, humor, and music. The film's New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture."

Maddy, the animated heroine in "The Frog Princess," will also join The Walt Disney Company's venerable court of beloved Disney princesses as they continue to enjoy the royal treatment at Disney's theme parks, consumer products, publishing, Internet and other businesses worldwide.

[mushu mama]

I'm loving the sound of this movie.
I love frogs.
I love Jazz.
I love the idea of the mysterious bayou and the tiniest bit of Voodoo thrown in.
I love the 'back to grass roots' animation theory ( especially as so much is being done with CG these days).

Not so sure how a crocodile is going to sing soulfully - convincingly! But with the people they have running the show, its likely they will pull it off.

I am imagining the Voodoo will be the tame variety - can't see little voodoo dolls complete with pins turning up for sale at DL. And am sure no chickens will be harmed in the making of this film

Heres a thought, maybe the voodoo dolls will have 'disney pins' (as in the badge variety) instead of the 'straight through a limb' variety.....

And I'd kill (figuratively speaking ) to hear that one jazz song that is finished already.....

Yep, so far, I'm really liking the sound of this one - if we have to have another Princess, let it be one sprinkled with a liberal dose of spice. Cajun spice.

One things for sure, the music will be magic.

Whats everyone else think so far?

*~Lisa~*

[KeithS]

Hey Lisa - this does have me excited too. Although I am not a huge jazz fan (remember, I was the one who thought Jungle Book was over rated ) I am a big fan of Randy Newman.

It is still early days - and story is going to be a big thing here. We really need to see this movie succeed and get Disney back on top with traditional animation.

It still seems like a long way off though - my focus right now is on "Enchanted "- I think this movie is going to be great - what we've seen so far looks awesome, I just can't wait for a proper trailer.

Anyway - my confidence is pretty high that the "new" Disney is moving in the right direction with its film program (live action and animation).

Gotta go. (and I like frogs too)

[mushu mama]

my focus right now is on "Enchanted "- I think this movie is going to be great - what we've seen so far looks awesome, I just can't wait for a proper trailer.

Yep that does seem like it could be good. From what I've read and seen I like it, but the themes in the Frog Princess appeal to me more. As you know, I'm not the biggest Princess fan but I like that Maddy might be a bit more 'worldly'. I wonder with Disney starting to put some focus on the 'grown up princesses' with their growing line of adult princess stuff, will the target market for this spicer princess be the grown ups as well as the little princesses? Particularly with the Voodoo ( generally considered darker magic) in the movie, and the growing worldwide trend of all things mystical and magical holding fascination for the 20 - 30 somethings.

Anyway - my confidence is pretty high that the "new" Disney is moving in the right direction with its film program

yep agree there. Is it just me, or is there much more 'razzle dazzle' going on in the new Disney direction? maybe I just wasn't taking much notice before, but it seems to me that each new announcement these days seems bigger and flashier.

(and I like frogs too)

Who doesn't right?

[ajp]

I'm like that Disney under the direction of PIXAR management is looking to get back to tradition with the hand drawn animation. PIXAR is CGI and Disney is animation - simple as that. Jazz music, well I'm a big fan of jazz. Not so much a fan of Randy Newman's stuff but if he's gone traditional jazz, then I'm willing to give him a break. As for the "modern" princess stuff. You just have to watch some of the modern live action interpretation of princess movies to get a new appreciation of what princess is all about. And having teenage and near teenage daughters definitely puts things into perspective. Princess Diaries and a Cinderella Story to name but 2 are what I'm talking about.

Overall I'm looking forward to this new animated princess movie and hope that it is a dawning of a new era for Disney animation that will see the start of new classics like Lion King and Beauty & the Beast in the 80's and 90s. If Disney are able to successfully get back to basics, that overall is a good thing.

Oh, and by the way, I was waiting till I had a decent post to get off 13!

[mushu mama]

PIXAR is CGI and Disney is animation - simple as that.

yep, thats how I see it. I don't really like it when they blur the line between the two. I'm not a fan of the combined offerings, so while I'm liking what I see about 'Enchanted' I will reserve judgement till I at least see a trailer.

As for the "modern" princess stuff. having teenage and near teenage daughters definitely puts things into perspective. Princess Diaries and a Cinderella Story to name but 2 are what I'm talking about.

I have an almost teen daughter so I have seen the Princess Diaries multiple times. I haven't seen Cinderella Story, but my daughter has. She loves these movies. I think Disney cater well to this age group (High School Musical etc) but I was getting at the demographic that have moved on from that and aren't quite at the 'watching stuff with their kids' stage. Hence the new Wedding dress lines that are Disney Princess inspired. I wonder if they are trying to appeal to the 'actually grown up' rather than the 'think they are grown up' age group. A lot of people 'rediscover' Disney when they have kids they need to entertain. I could be wrong, but it does seem that this 'older tween' age group ( for want of a better description) hasn't had much traditional Disney aimed at them and with their incomes, they could be a lucrative market.
It was just a random thought.

hope that it is a dawning of a new era for Disney animation that will see the start of new classics like Lion King and Beauty & the Beast in the 80's and 90s.

Wow... big shoes to fill.
I really hope this one is well crafted too. I'd like to see another epic animated movie I can watch over and over. The elements sound intriguing, it will be interesting to see how they put them all into the mix.


~Lisa~

[ajp]

"I wonder if they are trying to appeal to the 'actually grown up' rather than the 'think they are grown up' age group. A lot of people 'rediscover' Disney when they have kids they need to entertain. I could be wrong, but it does seem that this 'older tween' age group ( for want of a better description) hasn't had much traditional Disney aimed at them and with their incomes, they could be a lucrative market. "

Lisa I see your point and I do agree. I for one am one of those that "re-discovered" Disney with kids. The age group you refer to does tend to be a missed market and by reaching out to them would bridge that gap. The obvious short and long term economic return would be very lucrative as a result.

[mushu mama]

Was interested to read that Disney are doing damage control already with this movie and it doesn't even get released for another 2 1/2 years!

The PC crowd got all fired up about any perceived links to slavery - even thought the movie hasn't even been animated yet.

'Maddy' has been supposedly changed to 'Tiana" ( I like Maddy better); and the name of the movie has changed from 'The Frog Princess' to " The Princess and the frog" (which is more in keeping with the original story anyway) which is interesting seeing as they have already release the logo for 'the frog princess', which was really good.

I'm pretty sure thats not the response they were hoping for. I hope the critics don't cause the movie to lose its magic because they had to overly PC it. I'd really like to see the hand drawn animation rise again. But it will only work if Disney are allowed to develop it without having to second guess themselves every step.

~ Lisa ~

[KeithS]

Hey Mushu, I was about to post comments on the same thing - you beat me to it. Jim Hill's website has a good editorial on this very subject today:
http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/ ... -frog.aspx

I personally questioned Disney's decision to create an African-American princess, fearful that there would be some sort of backlash from the community. Disney stories are generally simple in their nature, and consist of using stereotypical characters to minimise exposition and get on with the story. This stereotyping may lead to some African-American people being offended - despite Disney's best intentions. You only need a small number of people protesting for it to become a national media event in the US.

The fact they have already changed her name and the title of the film just weeks after such a high-profile launch in front of the national media, shareholders and other investors at the AGM worries me. Outside influence on this project will have a detrimental effect on the quality of the story - and we know that the story is what keeps people going to see animated movies.

This movie has a lot going for it and Disney has a lot riding on its success at the box-office. I only hope they end up making the movie they really wanted.

[mushu mama]

Hey Mushu, I was about to post comments on the same thing - you beat me to it.

yep... but I had to post it at 4am to do it.

you know... I just wish that all those PC people would pull their heads in and leave them to at least finish the story before they hack it to bits.
I tend to have a fairly naive veiw of all this but every country has stuff in its past that its not proud of - ours included - and the animosity spreads through the generations and the grudges get deeper. But in and around all that trauma there were triumphs and in many cases the culture that was being downtrodden often thrived despite that. I'd love for Disney to be able to showcase just such a triumph - to be able to show the strenghth and courage of that culture rather than dwell on the atrocities that no doubt occured. I think it was a great move to try and tackle this subject and I doubt anyone but Disney could handle it with as much sensitivity as it will require.

I've read on other Disney boards lots of mothers (either African-American or not) saying that they were excited by the prospect of an African-American princess so their children can either identify more closely or appreciate more readily the way things were then ( in a Disney sort of way). The feelings I've come across have been overwhelmingly positive. And if that is the 'after taste' that the movie ultimately leaves then thats a good thing, right?

I could be wrong but I think that this movie could (if allowed) be a great vehicle for a little extra insight and acceptance rather than a stereotypical tale. Its going to be hard to avoid some stereotypes in the story because you can't change the history only the way you percieve it.

Ok.. I've had my rave now

~ Lisa ~

[ajp]

It does make you wonder what the PC set are thinking sometimes. My view is that this whole issue is somewhat pathetic. How can anyone perceive anything Disney does as being in any way negative in regard to their animated movies. Disney have openly said they are aiming for this to be a new classic. Surely the notion of an African-American becoming a Princess should be enough for the do-gooders to realise that there is nothing untoward going to go down.

Having read these and other comments on boards, there isn't much more to be said. But the fact remains, that whatever happened in history cannot be changed, and no-one should run from it. We still talk about the world wars and the holocaust because it's history. The slave trade in America is their history, and is what has shaped the nation to what it is today as the land of the free. I think mushu summed it up, they should just pull their head in.

Lets hope that the production of this movie is not jeopardised, or worse changed to suit the squeaky wheel minority. I also hope that they continue with plans to release song of the south. I can't recall having seen this (I did as a wee kiddy, but was too young to remember), and would so much like to.

[KeithS]

I also hope that they continue with plans to release song of the south.

Yeah - I'd like to see this released too - not because I have an interest in the film (I've never seen it, and by most accounts, it is not a great film) but I know there are a lot of fans who do want to see it and should be allowed. It seems incongruous that they were able to build one of the most popular rides at Disneyland based on the stories from this film, but we cannot go to the shops and actually buy the film itself.

I believe it will eventually get re-released - the tide of public pressure is heading that way, and Disney have some nice Legacy/Treasures DVD brands that could support its release as a historic collector's item, rather than just a general release.

[mushu mama]

I haven't seen Song of the South either. I'd love to though.
I remember seeing snippets of it printed somewhere when I was a kid....in Disney comics maybe? And it never really made sense to me as a kid - not having much knowledge of the 'south' and its history.

But I'd love to see the movie.

The talk has been about testing the waters with a smaller release in the Treasures tins and then a general release depending on the response. Lots and lots of Disney fans WANT to see it. Probably because most people my age haven't had the opportunity.

I haven't ridden Splash Mountain -
A) your hair gets wet &
B) that drop gives me the heebie Jeebies.....
same with the ride with a smaller drop in Seaworld. Not any other ride - just that one.

maybe if I saw the movie I might be more inclined.
~ Lisa ~

[KeithS]

I haven't ridden Splash Mountain

I promise you that you won't be disappointed For a simple flume ride, Splash is an amazing event. The first time I rode it - I got the front seat at Disneyland, and yes - the big drop gave me the heebie-jeebies! I also got a little wet, but it isn't too bad, even in the front seat - it is more shock value...

Grizzly River Rapids in DCA however is a different story - just ask Della

[Loomis]

I haven't ridden Splash Mountain

I promise you that you won't be disappointed For a simple flume ride, Splash is an amazing event. The first time I rode it - I got the front seat at Disneyland, and yes - the big drop gave me the heebie-jeebies! I also got a little wet, but it isn't too bad, even in the front seat - it is more shock value...

Grizzly River Rapids in DCA however is a different story - just ask Della

I admit to avoiding GRR, but I did ride Splash Mountain with a very reluctant girlfriend. She may not have forgiven me, although she is marrying me, but Splash Mountain is much more than just a sheer drop. It has some fine audio animatronic work throughout it, and of course, that famous song.

Now if only we could get the Song of the South DVD at the exit, it would be perfect.