The Princess and the Frog

[albinotanuki]

While I'll admit the film isn't perfect, I still enjoy it and the more I watch it, the more I respect it for its efforts. Also, if you watch the film more closely, you'll see the film is more of an allegory about the issues of classism and racism during the Jim Crowe era.

[aokoyui]

I adore that movie! I love it. Easily a Disney classic. I'd like to own it

[malevolentmask]

I also really adore this movie, when I first got it on DVD I watched it seven days straight, its just such a cute and beautifully made movie.

[albinotanuki]

Funny story relating a bit to the film.

I was talking to one of my mom's friends about how the title of the movie Tangled was changed from its original Rapunzel title because Disney thought boys wouldn't go see anything mentioning a girl as the protagonist in their film after Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel outgrossed The Princess and the Frog.

and my mom's friend said "Well that's because its a bad film." and complained about how boring it is.

and I'm like "Really? I thought it was a really GOOD film. I mean, sure it wasn't perfect, but I still thought it was decent."

And then in further discussion, I find out that said friend has never seen the movie Pocahontas and I'm like "Oh, now THAT makes a lot more sense. Go watch Pocahontas; after that, you might not end up liking The Princess and the Frog, but you'll definitely have much more respect for it."

So yeah, random ramblings, but I thought the film was good.

[kinkachu]

Sept 21, 2011 19:13:47 GMT -5 albinotanuki said:

Funny story relating a bit to the film.

I was talking to one of my mom's friends about how the title of the movie Tangled was changed from its original Rapunzel title because Disney thought boys wouldn't go see anything mentioning a girl as the protagonist in their film after Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel outgrossed The Princess and the Frog.

and my mom's friend said "Well that's because its a bad film." and complained about how boring it is.

and I'm like "Really? I thought it was a really GOOD film. I mean, sure it wasn't perfect, but I still thought it was decent."

And then in further discussion, I find out that said friend has never seen the movie Pocahontas and I'm like "Oh, now THAT makes a lot more sense. Go watch Pocahontas; after that, you might not end up liking The Princess and the Frog, but you'll definitely have much more respect for it."

So yeah, random ramblings, but I thought the film was good.

I kinda agree (to an extent) with your friends. Tangled and Princess and the Frog aren't really my top Disney movies. Not saying their the worst (Gives glare to Chicken Little and Home on the Range).

I just don't see how these movies can stand the test of time like how the Little Mermaid has or Beauty and the Beast.

It feels like Disney is following trends rather then making them now-a-days, slapping together the typical cookie cutter story and some pop culture humor and hoping like hell it sells. I understand they want to make a product that everyone will enjoy, but they forget you cant please everyone and in the end they kill what COULD have been great.

[albinotanuki]

Actually, I think both Tangled AND The Princess and the Frog have very good staying power IMO, especially with the allegorical storytelling both films posses and I think both are just as good (if nt better) as the films made during the Disney Renaissance.

Ugh, don't get me started on Chicken Little.

Here's a little Psuedo-essay I wrote on another forum on the deeper meaning behind The Princess and the Frog story:

If you take into account of Tiana's race, the fact that she lives in the south during the 1920s, and the divide between social classes, you'll see that the movie is actually an allegory of the issues involving racism during the Jim Crowe era. You have Tiana, a hard working girl who wants to be able to run her own restaurant so she can fulfill both her dreams and the dreams of her late father, is representative of many Black people today who work all they can so they can achieve the American and be able to have a better life than what their ancestors in the past went through from slavery, segregation, poverty, etc. Her peers around her who dismiss her dreams of owning a restraunt, from the white bankers and even some of her Black friends, represent the people who have accepted the status quo of segregation in their time and see that there is nothing that could really change for them. Dr. Facilier, represent the embittered Black man who feels put down by the white man's power, a.k.a. Big Daddy LaBeuff, that he feels that the only way to succeed is to do away with him and take everything he has. Big Daddy's daughter, Charlotte, represents the rich white girl who receives everything she wants because of her rich status and because her "superior race" allows her to in American 1920s, and Prince Naveen, who's money has been cut-off by his parents, has the dilema of either marrying the rich white girl who can give him anything he wants and the poor Black girl who will gives everything he needs, is allegorical of tensions facing the status quo of marrying within your own race (PS, I know Naveen is suppose to be racially ambiguous, but could be white, or at least part white) and interracial love relationships, which is much frown upon during the Jim Crowe era.

Yeah, I'm kinda obsessive when it comes to looking at allegorical meaning behind Disney films. I'll also post mine on Tangled in its thread.

To be fair though, my mom's friend said he liked the movie Tangled as well.