Writer: Lai Swee Wei

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Watch this if you liked: "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame", "The Little Mermaid", "Aladdin"

Bringing back the true essence of Walt Disney, hand-drawn animation is a pleasant sight for sore eyes in the midst of all 3-D animation hoo-hah. This tedious work of art takes us back to our childhood days of growing up to movies like "Bambi", "Aladdin", "The Little Mermaid", "The Lion King" and so much more. Frankly, audiences will never cease to enjoy this fine art as it has such authenticity, originality and great reminiscence of Disney's past classics.

The film adds a modern twist into the Brothers Grimm's well-known tale "The Frog Prince" and features Disney's first African-American Princess named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), who is by far (for a fun fact) Disney's 9th Princess. She is a hardworking, strong-willed person who dreams of opening the finest restaurant in all of New Orleans. We then see her lifelong friend Charlotte, a flamboyant character who bears heavy comical resemblance to country music star Dolly Parton. Meanwhile, Tiana's inevitable prince charming is the spoiled and irresponsible Prince Naveen of Maldonia (Bruno Campos) whose love for music compliments the musical scene. As the story goes, things go horribly wrong when Tiana is turned into a frog after kissing the mucus-covered amphibian prince. All thanks to the voodoo hocus-pocus by skinny villain Dr Facilier (Keith David), whose money and power hungry attitude leads him execute such a ridiculous scheme.

The villain's motive is too rushed, seemingly placed there just to fulfil his role as an evil character bearing a shallow interior. It all the more makes you scratch your head on the logic behind his intentions. The best developed character here is in fact Tiana, a modern age princess who is a realist that teaches our prince a thing or two about being independent. There's no damsel in distress here, just plain girl power.

As the adventure takes through the bayous of Louisiana, who else would Tiana and Naveen bump into within that territory other than a trumpet-playing alligator named Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and a laid-back, love struck Cajun firefly named Ray (Jim Cummings). Introducing an oh-too-adorable character, Ray is the one to look out for. He is a gap-tooth, goofy-looking little guy with a lovable Southern charm who has his heart in all the right places. He may be tiny, but his colourful nature stands out amongst other supporting characters.

The film bears some catchy tunes but doesn't seem to be memorable enough to remind you of the movie, unlike the famous "Under The Sea" song for "The Little Mermaid". Nonetheless, audiences will still enjoy the jazz and blues songs that keep the story moving along well to the end. The colours are vibrant and the artwork never falls below the bar of creativity. The return to tradition allows audiences to once again experience a happily ever after ending with a good dose of humour with a tad unexpected sorrow thrown in.

Cinema Online, 06 December 2009