Coming up short in the memorability department, this much-anticipated hand-drawn Disney musical never finds much reason to sing beyond the distinction of being the first animated film from the Mouse House to crown a Black Princess. Much misplaced fanfare on this variation of the old Frog Prince (or in this case Princess) story, set in 1920s New Orleans to spice up a tepid romance with jazz, voodoo & eccentric characters. Hard-working Tiana, hoping to honor her late father’s wish by opening her own restaurant, is waylaid by a laid-back visiting Prince who stumbles into her life as a frog. Yikes! Desperate for a kiss of redemption after Voodoo Man tricked him out of his body; only problem . . . Tiani ain’t no Princess! And her kiss has unfortunate consequences. Writer/directors Ron Clements & John Musker seem to know something’s missing, over-compensating with too much of everything else: color, gags, speed, production numbers, rhymed plot reversals, much very good indeed, but too often merely hectic, camouflage for a thin storyline.* And missing the natural theatricality of regular composer Alan Menken on the score, they’re unable to make Randy Newman’s swinging tunes generate plot momentum.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID/DOUBLE-BILL: *Feeling like hand-me-down plotting as well, with a lot of ‘song spotting’ from their own bettered paced/more freshly felt THE LITTLE MERMAID/’89.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: *On the other hand, nice to see Disney willing to kill off a likable character when called for. Something Disney’s fought shy of since THE FOX AND THE HOUND/‘81.
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