The Princess and the Frog (www.the-usher.com)

"Just one Kiss"

Tiana (Noni) has been working towards one dream her whole life, to open a restaurant in New Orleans. Working two waitressing jobs and saving all her tips, Tiana was nearly there. Her best friend Charlotte’s (Cody) dream was also about to come true as Prince Naveen (Campos) was coming to live in city and she had always dreamed of marrying a prince but the Prince’s arrival had been noticed by voodoo witchdoctor Dr. Facilier (David) and he say it has his chance to gain power in the jazz filled city.

Disney animation set the standard when it came to bringing hand drawn cartoons to life but the advent of computer generated imagery put an end to that but the House of the Mouse is about to bring the very best of that forgotten art form back.

When Pixar launched ‘Toy Story’ in 1995, little did it’s former Disney animator turned CGI champion and director John Lasseter that he would be putting the first nail in the coffin for traditional animated movies from the big Hollywood studios and Disney themselves. While CGI movies like ‘Shrek’, ‘Finding Nemo’, ‘Monsters, Inc’, ‘Ice Age’ and ‘Madagascar’ went on to become huge box office hits, traditional 2D animated like ‘The Road to El Dorado’, ‘Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas’, ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’, ‘Atlantic: The Lost Empire’, ‘Treasure Planet’, ‘Brother Bear’ and ‘Home on the Range’ failed to set the box office a light. This led to all of the major Hollywood animation studios dropping the traditional hand-drawn style for CGI but, ironically, it was John Lasseter who has brought back this animated style to Disney and produced a joy of a movie.

After Disney and Pixar became one in 2006, John Lasseter became the Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and Disney Animation Studio and one of his first announcements was that he was going to bring back the Disney classic style of animation. Taking the classic fairytale of the Princess kissing a frog and turning him into a handsome prince, giving it a twist and setting it in New Orleans during the start of the Jazz-era, he did just that. Capturing the essence of the classics like ‘The Lion King’, ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’, Lasseter brought back directors Ron Clements and John Musker, the men who brought us ‘Hercules’, ‘Aladdin’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’ to produce film that is destined to join the Disney classic status.

Taking the basics of ‘The Frog Prince’ story, mixing in Jazz, Voodoo, love and setting it all in New Orleans has given a joy of a film that will remind you why you loved Disney animated movies in the first place. Here we meet Prince Naveen, a young and overly confident member of the European monarchy who comes to New Orleans to sample the music and the atmosphere of Mardi Gras were he meets Tiana, a local waitress who dreams of opening her own restaurant. This appearance also brings him to the attention of Dr. Facilier, the local Voodoo witch doctor who wants to gain power in the city. He casts a spell on the young Prince, turning him into a talking frog and when Naveen finds Tiana, he talks her into kissing him but instead of him turning into this human self, Tiana also turns into a frog. Thus starts the adventure as the pair has the brave the bijou and make friends with the local characters such as Louis, the jazz playing crocodile and Ray, the love filled firefly who will make you believe in true love.

A magical story, mixes with great characters but the film would be nothing with the music driving it along. Just as Disney used to do, they have produced an animated musical that will have you tapping your feet and singing along from the off. With great songs like ‘Down in New Orleans’, ‘Friends on the Other Side’, ‘Almost There’ and many more, all written Disney and Pixar favourite Randy Newman.

‘The Princess and the Frog’ is a joy to watch. It will take you back to your childhood and reintroduce the Disney classic style to youngsters who have known nothing but computer generated animation. This is beautiful animation, story and songs combining to make a wonderful film that all the family can enjoy and treasure.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 1:85 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The Blu-Ray package also includes the DVD and Digital Copies of the movie, making it a great value package.

BONUS FEATURES

Featurettes
Entitled 'The Making Of A Princess', 'Conjuring The Villain', 'The Return To Hand-Drawn Animation', 'The Disney Legacy', 'Disney's Newest Princess', 'Princess Portraits Game', these featurettes cover all aspects of the film's production and the history of the classic Disney hand drawn movies that we have all grown up with.

Commentary
Directors Ron Clements and John Musker and their technical team provide a chatty and fun commentary on bringing back traditional animated movies and the process of making this kind of movie.

Deleted Scenes
Watch the scenes that didn't make the final cut

Princess Portraits Game
Little and big girls will enjoy this interactive game

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for 'The Princess and the Frog' is one that Disney fans will enjoy, making this even better value.

BLU-RAY

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2010