Cartoon Corner- The Princess and the Frog

Originally posted at the DL August 2015

Here we are, the launch of the current era of Disney.  Because the last time around was a lot of fun for me, we're going to make this a regular element of Disney Musicals (well and if anything else is a proper musical they'll get that treatment too but if they exist I don't know them)



Down in New Orleans- Well not really a musical number but hey, as a pure mood setter it's pretty good, historical setting and all.

Almost There- Adore the art shift.  Bit dry musically though, and as a song it just emphasizes one emotion without really advancing the story or detailing the characters much more.

Friends on the Other Side- The whole song's kinda done almost recitative, which works well enough considering the purpose of the song.  God damn Keith David sells the hell outta this.  But duh, it's Keith David.  In general though Dr. Facilier is one of Disney's better villains, and a lot of it is what you see in this song.  Showy, manipulative, but under all that you can see the anger and frustration that lead him to be the villain.  Working out of a run down alley, dismissed out of hand by some stuffy ass servant, seeing people raised above him by circumstances of birth.  It's right there.

When We're Human- "We Haven't Learned Anything Yet!"  the song.  Really fun song though.

Gonna Take You There- Mmm.  Not really a hugely impactful song.  Catchy but short and just kinda "hey we need to introduce each character in song."

Ma Belle Evangeline- ;_;

Dig a Little Deeper- "... well one of us learned something."  Actually though this brings up an interesting thought for me; EVERY song in this movie involves either a full art shift or a complete lapse into Disney Song Acid Sequence territory.  Correction, every song but Ma Belle Evangeline.  Interesting really, each song is really more about quirky side characters than the main cast doing something.  Odd.

Down in New Orleans (Reprise)- Perfect little outro song.

Other thoughts.  I'm surprised that Charlotte doesn't have a song, because she's already the biggest cartoon character in the film and her every moment on screen is  pure joy.  Actually she's basically Pinkie Pie.

A lot of Disney movies are at their strongest in the first half, setting up, establishing the characters, front-loading all the best music.  The Princess and the Frog instead has its absolute best scene, Tiana's last temptation, at the climax.  Actually in general the musical aspects are a bit weaker than the renaissance films it's reviving, but the film has plenty of flavor and casting and characterization the equal of any of them so it's certainly worthy of its position as the lead in for what... okay if this isn't called the Disney Revival or something pithy like that it NEEDS to be.

Grade- 8/10