Princess and the Frog First Images
Ron Clements, John Musker Write and Direct Disney Animated Film
Aug 11, 2008
There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to opinions on Disney's upcoming animated film, The Princess and the Frog.
Some praised the Mouse House's return to traditional cel animation, quarterbacked by The Little Mermaid and Aladdin writer/director team of Ron Clement and John Musker. Also, Disney made a big deal of introducing their first ever "black princess" for the flick, named Princess Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose).
However, others claimed the film was merely exploitation, and sneered that introducing a black Disney princess was "too little too late." That caused the Mouse House do some serious backtracking in order to quiet the skeptics. However, some of those skeptics are still staring askance at this flick.
Princess and the Frog Images
Now the Disney Animation website has released several images from the film in order to get fans drooling and haters howling. Do they look freaking stunning? Are you kidding?! This is Disney we're talking about here. Besides which, it is Ron Clements and John Musker on the case, which has the best case scenario of The Little Mermaid, or the worst case scenario: Treasure Planet.
The first image shows Tiana communing with a frog, possibly voiced by Jim Cummings. Fans of Disney's early 1990's work will recognize the design elements, which also hearken back to the studio's Golden Age. Yeah, it looks amazing and you gotta love Tiana's distaste for the frog's desire to re-enact the classic Grimm Brothers fairy tale.
The second image shows a New Orleans swamp, with two frogs in the foreground, while the third depicts the villainous Dr. Duvalier's office (as a side note, this image was either created before Dr. Duvalier was renamed Dr. Facilier, or they've changed the name back subsequent to last year's controversy). However he's named, Keith David will voice the character.
The fourth image is of a 1920's New Orleans street scene, with a marching band going through their paces. This is in direct contrast to the next piece, which shows an old boat in the clutches of a large, looming tree. Given the overall menace in the image, it's not hard to imagine that this could be Dr. Duvalier (or Facilier)'s secret lair deep in the Louisiana swamp.
The final images are of a parade scene, and a garden party at a stately mansion respectively. Both are night scenes with a great deal of colour and detail.
However The Princess and the Frog turns out, rest assured that this film will look extremely good. Disney has a lot to live up to, and the artists in their animation unit are stepping up their game in response.
Will The Princess and the Frog Succeed?
So, will The Princess and the Frog be Disney's triumphant return to cel animation, or will it be a failed attempt to recapture the studio's lost luster?
When it comes to animation, the Disney name is bulletproof: if Clement and Musker have done their jobs, and the studio executives have stayed out of the creative process, then this should be a great flick in The Little Mermaid/Aladdin mold. However, no one should discount the stupidity of movie executives, especially when they decide that they know more about films than the directors or writers.
The Princess and the Frog opens on December 25, 2009.
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