SO YEAH, I just got back from seeing "The Princess and the Frog" with Kia and her roomie. :D

The long and short of it: LOVED the film, would gladly go see it again, and would recommend that anyone and everyone go see it. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that I just enjoyed watching so much, and made me leave feeling happy. We were laughing the entire way through; it was just full of good old-fashioned character humor without having to revert to "current" jokes. The music was great fun, and I'm sure after a few more listen-throughs I'll be able to sing through them the way I did old Disney movies.

And most of all, the art and animation were gorgeous. While it wasn't the exact same stuff as the old 2D movies all done on paper, it was its OWN kind of fluid 2D, and it succeeded completely on that level.


And now, thoughts in no particular order:

- I was expecting both of Tiana's parents to survive to the end of the movie, but I'm glad that her mom was alive, actually...little twist on the usual father-and-daughter heroine.
- LOVED the animation in the "Almost There" sequence. It was this nice segway into fantasy/dream realm while playing with a very different kind of animation.
- NEEDS MOAR DR. FACILIER. He was such a FUN character to watch, especially with the way they worked his shadow, so one of my few complaints was that we didn't see more of him. Keith David = VERY YESSSSSSSS. And I'm glad they didn't skimp on making him a scary villain, either...if I was a kid watching that in the theater, I would've been terrified of him! And dammit, that's how good villains should be.
- Naveen was a laugh riot through pretty much the entire film, and you could totally see how him (and Tiana) developed as characters through the course of the story. He may very quickly become my favorite Disney prince, just because he DID go through this change in perspective, discovered the joy you can get from engaging in work, and most of all figured out how to be selfless. Screw Edward Cullen; Naveen is the sort of guy that girls should hope for...a guy that does his best to help his significant other achieve her dreams, because he cares enough about her to think about her happiness, and that HIS happiness can be achieved by them mutually realizing each others' dreams.
- Lou the alligator was awful cute and I loved his animation, but he didn't stick with me as a character as much as the others did.
- Holy crap, Charlotte was a scream. I laughed through pretty much every frame she was on-screen. She seems like a tough character to pull off, because she could have easily come across as a stereotypical, unlikeable harpy, but somehow they made it so that her spoiled-ness just made her charming. She was just SO doggedly enthusiastic in her pursuit of a typical fairytale wedding, it was hard not to like her for it (and all the laughs helped, too!)
- OOOOOMG, Ray. I was expecting not to like this character -the trailers made him look like nothing more than a bad stereotype- and I ended up being a lot fonder of him than I thought. This is PROBABLY because they didn't leave him as a stereotype, but DID make him into a full character, with hopes and insights and fears of his own.
- ...Which made the DEATH scene all the more shocking, OMG. While I didn't cry, I did wibble a lot and was really SHOCKED by it. Talk about subtlety...you don't even see anything, just one implied motion and a sound effect is enough to make your heart drop out. Only Disney can make stepping on a bug seem like a horrific murder. D8 And this was for a character that I was expecting not to like! Just...damn, WOW. And the part where Ray's light goes out...I think I did tear up there.
- Of course, as soon as they showed Ray joining Evangeline, I immediately turned over to Kia and went "They're fireflies! Fireflies, stuck up in that...big...bluish black thing!"
- I feel like I should've seen the ending coming (that him marrying Tiana would make her a princess, and therefore break the curse) but it actually did surprise me. XD
- I was worried that reading too much Unfunnybusiness would make my cynic brain take over, but I was actually able to turn it down too low to hear and just enjoyed the movie instead. I'm sure people will find SOMEthing to complain about it, because people always do, but I personally thought this movie did a good job of ignoring any racial/ethnic stereotypes (except as would apply to historical fiction) and instead just focused on the story and the characters. And at least to me, that's what's most important. There was never this notion that "Tiana is this way because she's black," but instead it was "Tiana is this way because she's a hard worker," or "Tiana is this way because she misses her father." It's about character, not ethnic types.
- I wanna see this movie in KH3. 83 (DR. FACILIER + HEARTLESS = OSHIIII-)

SO YES. Excellent job with this, Disney! I REALLY hope they continue this trend with future movies, and that this movie is a financial success so that they have the motivation to do so (and for other studios to latch onto the idea!)

And also, I really hope that some of the young kids watching this are inspired the way I was inspired by movies like Aladdin and The Lion King when I was a kid. Several times I heard the kids in the audience laughing and clapping at the end of songs, and I think that's what made me the happiest.