Princess and Frog First Look
Disney Animated Movie Comes Out In 2009
Here's a first look at Walt Disney's upcoming animated movie, The Princess and the Frog. Movie hits theatres sometime in 2009.
It's not much, but after the flurry of news regarding The Princess and the Frog (formerly known as The Frog Princess) that happened last year, it's nice to see that the project is going ahead, and we get more tidbits of information on the flick.
Tucked into Disney CEO Robert Iger's year end letter to shareholders was the first real image we've seen of Tiana, the heroine of the animated flick. You can check it out in its original state by clicking here.
What's So Special About The Princess and the Frog?
The Princess and the Frog will be Disney's first cel animated film since 2004's Home on the Range, and the studio's first real attempt to bring back its once-legendary animation division. Animated movies like Snow White and Peter Pan, and animated characters like Mickey Mouse, pretty much built the Walt Disney Company (hence its nick-name The Mouse House) but a combination of artistic neglect and executive interference just about killed the animation division back in the 1970's and again in the 1990's after the studio's "animation renaissance."
The Mouse House is taking no chances with The Princess and the Frog. Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin) will sit in the directors' chairs, while composer Randy Newman (Toy Story, Cars) writes the tunes. Five writers, including Musker and Clements, are on the script: Rob Edwards (Treasure Planet), Greg Erb (Rocket Man), and new writer Jason Oremland. That many writers on a script usually spells trouble; hopefully these guys can overcome that stigma.
Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls) voices Tiana, Keith David (Crash) voices the film's villain Dr. Facilier, Jenifer Lewis (Cars) voices voodoo priestess Mama Odie, Ritchie Montgomery (The Mist) voices Reggie, and Jennifer Cody voices spoiled debutante Charlotte.
There's no real release date for The Princess and the Frog, but the official word still has the film coming out in 2009. There's a concern about it conflicting with ImageMovers Digital's motion capture production of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey, that is supposed to come out around the same time. Since Disney seems committed to putting out The Princess and the Frog in '09, A Christmas Carol will either come out at another time of the year or will get shuffled to 2010.
Stay tuned for more information as it develops.
