New full-length Princess and the Frog trailer

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/princess-and-the-frog/feature-trailer

Cism?

Animation does look dope.

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i was excited, but now this just looks like a terrible script

and i cant get over Randy Newman.

How could you expect them to go with anyone besides Newman?

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But since he was doing "Enchanted" at the same time, and Lasseter didn't want the "all the songs from each movie sound the same" effect that plagued the mid/late 90s Disney films, they gave Newman the job.

>Cism?

...says Wrongthink

Real talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12JJv6yCk7Q

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well I might get it on Blu-Ray. 21 months old...so I don't think she's ready for the theater yet.

She's a BIG Elmo fan.

If it's red it's ELMO. LOL

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>If it's red it's ELMO. LOL

Of course this has proven to be problematic when it comes to the things you call "stop signs"...cuz I just see Elmo.

"Jack of all trades, master of none, though ofttimes better than master of one"-Anonymous


The sharpest sword is a word spoken in wrath;the deadliest poison is covetousness;the fiercest fire is hatred; the darkest night is ignorance.-The Buddha

she scornfully looks at me and says 'ELMO' when I correct her. LOL

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"Jack of all trades, master of none, though ofttimes better than master of one"-Anonymous


The sharpest sword is a word spoken in wrath;the deadliest poison is covetousness;the fiercest fire is hatred; the darkest night is ignorance.-The Buddha

say that while the film, and especially the animation, is nice, the story is, for better or for worse, cookie-cutter Disney.

Is it beneath Lasseter to farm out a few guys or girls from the Pixar story department to run over to the Mouse House and help these folks work some new life out of these films?

L&S was probably the last really strong Disney traditionally animated film.

You'd think one of those Pixar folks would have some 2D project they've always wanted to do, like a live-action director who always wanted to make a black-and-white film or something like that.

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or is it just the drive from Emeryville to Burbank?

so I can't be mad at this.
I think it looks dope and reminds me of those two films...esp the music at the beginning.

i am definitely going to see this when it drops, but really ONLY because it's a black princess. I can't see my grown ass going to see any other disney movies ever in life esp since I don't have kids. so I can use blackness as an excuse this time.

fantasia is ight too.

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Stoicism and chill.
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Stay +.
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I would say Pinocchio is the best of the narrative films. Fantasia is in a class all it's own.

hard to not love lion king for a close second though, but after that... it's a ways. hercules was another good one now that i think abuot it.

-Sig-

“Why didn’t you do this in your own god damn country?"

-All Stah's view on undocumented immigrants wanting to be treated like human beings.

I really don't think this is actually supposed to have been posted. Watch it before it's taken down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrKHRuonD_U

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/watch-the-first-five-minutes-of-princess-and-the-frog

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704746304574508552919095862.html

NOVEMBER 2, 2009
For 'Princess,' Disney Returns To Traditional Animation Style
By ETHAN SMITH

"The Princess and the Frog," Walt Disney Co.'s first hand-animated feature film in nearly six years, is a gamble by the studio that audiences will respond to the traditional medium of Mickey Mouse in an era when animation is dominated by slick computer-generated fare from Pixar Animation and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.

Ironically, it was two of the biggest names in computer animation—Pixar cofounders John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, who have overseen Disney Animation since 2006, when Disney bought their company for $7.4 billion—who were behind the decision to return to the hand-drawn technique, and to rehire filmmakers who use it.

Disney in 2003 announced that it was abandoning traditional animation in favor of computer-generated imagery, after a string of hand-drawn flops that included "Treasure Planet" and "Brother Bear." In the same period, DreamWorks' "Shrek" and Pixar's "Finding Nemo" cleaned up at the box office.

But from Mr. Lasseter's point of view, the real problem wasn't Disney's animation techniques—it was more fundamental elements like characters and plot.

"I've never understood why the studios were saying people don't want to see hand-drawn animation," Mr. Lasseter said at a fan convention earlier this year. "What people don't want to watch is a bad movie."

Disney didn't exactly strike pay dirt with its new all-computers, all-the-time approach. The studio's first fully computer-animated feature, 2005's "Chicken Little," posted a middling $135 million at the domestic box office, and 2008's "Bolt" earned $114 million domestically.

Production costs for films animated by hand or by computer tend to be comparable. The decision to use nearly photorealistic computer imagery, instead of the more impressionistic traditional technique, is mostly a matter of aesthetic calculations. Executives involved in making "Princess" say it cost slightly less than its original budget, which they declined to disclose. Others in the industry estimated the film's cost at around $150 million, a bit less than last year's "Monsters vs. Aliens," by DreamWorks Animation.

The retro production technique isn't the only hurdle facing "Princess." The movie's classic musical form, in which characters break into song, Broadway-style, could feel dated to audiences more accustomed to wisecracking movies like "Monsters."

"Princess" producer Peter Del Vecho said in an interview that the filmmakers consider that a selling point: "There is a whole new generation now that hasn't experienced a great musical, hasn't experienced a big, epic fairy tale."

Disney is aiming to build word-of-mouth buzz for "Princess" ahead of its Dec. 11 opening by holding two and half weeks' worth of premium-priced screenings at single theaters in New York City and Los Angeles. The studio says it has already sold $2.8 million worth of tickets for the unusual showings, which cost $20 to $50 and include a carnival-style event following the movie itself.

But reversing course wasn't simple. Special hand-animation workstations—with backlit, rotating drawing surfaces and pegs designed to create makeshift flipbooks out of stacks of drawings—had been scrapped or mothballed. Disney Animation's Burbank, Calif., headquarters had been turned into a warren of cubicles suited to creating computer-generated, or "CG" imagery. As for the fate of the traditional animators: about 150 were retrained at "CG Boot Camp" while others found work elsewhere, in videogames or commercial production.

Among those laid off were Ron Clements and John Musker, the writer-director team behind "The Princess and the Frog"—and previously, hits like "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin." The men also made the 2002 box-office disaster "Treasure Planet."

Searching for a new gig, the men paid a visit to Pixar in 2005. In an interview, Pixar President Mr. Catmull recalled experiencing "the weirdest feeling" when he realized that Pixar's success had contributed to the men's ouster. "We in no way wanted to be thought of as advocates" of computer graphics only, Mr. Catmull said. "We wanted to make great films; great films are independent of technology."

The Disney-Pixar deal was imminent, but hadn't been finalized. That meant that Pixar essentially would be bringing back to Disney two men who had just been let go. "We had to be super-secret because the talks were confidential," Mr. Catmull said.

A Disney spokeswoman said Messrs. Clements and Musker were unavailable for interviews.

Messrs. Lasseter and Catmull ordered the sprawling second floor at Disney Animation, which houses the production operation, split in two. Half continues to contain the cubicles used for computer-generated films. The other side of the floor has been transformed into a "bullpen" filled with dozens of specialized animation desks retrieved from a studio warehouse.

Still, given the way the hand-animation capacity had been dismantled, parts of the process were outsourced to firms in Canada, Florida and Brazil—all started by ex-Disney animators.

Having won one reprieve for their art form, the reassembled team of animators in Burbank have been wary of giving their bosses another reason to shut down their operation. Mr. Lasseter said: "You have never met a group of artists more dedicated to proving something than the artists who did 'The Princess and the Frog'."

Write to Ethan Smith at ethan.smith@wsj.com

I'm surprised Bolt to hear Bolt made so little.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1196003-princess_and_the_frog/

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941670.html?categoryid=31&cs=1

New U.S. Release
The Princess and the Frog
(Animated)
By JUSTIN CHANG

A Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release of a Walt Disney Pictures presentation. Produced by Peter Del Vecho. Executive producers, John Lasseter, Aghi Koh. Directed by John Musker, Ron Clements. Screenplay, Clements, Musker, Rob Edwards; story, Clements, Musker, Greg Erb, inspired in part by "The Frog Princess" by E.D. Baker.

Voices:
Tiana - Anika Noni Rose
Prince Naveen - Bruno Campos
Dr. Facilier - Keith David
Louis - Michael-Leon Wooley
Charlotte - Jennifer Cody
Ray - Jim Cummings
Lawrence - Peter Bartlett
Mama Odie - Jenifer Lewis
Eudora - Oprah Winfrey
James - Terrence Howard
"Big Daddy" La Bouff - John Goodman

Disney goes back to the drawing board with results more diverting than captivating in "The Princess and the Frog." Conspicuously outfitted with an African-American heroine and a vibrant 1920s New Orleans setting, this cheeky update of a classic fairy tale boasts almost as many talking points as merchandising opportunities, and should enjoy jazzy holiday biz starting with its Thanksgiving weekend bicoastal engagement and extending well past its Dec. 11 wide release. But whatever it accomplishes for Disney's reputation or bottom line, this long-anticipated throwback to a venerable house style never comes within kissing distance of the studio's former glory.
While it will be criticized and defended by op-ed writers with equal vigor, the company's first traditionally animated picture since 2004's "Home on the Range" -- and, coincidentally, its first inhouse toon of the Obama era -- behaves much like any Disney movie. It grafts easy stereotypes and funny accents onto warm, likable supporting characters; it telegraphs its setting via recognizable cultural cliches (in this case, beignets and voodoo); and it revolves around a lovely maiden who, headstrong though she may be, is in the end so blandly honorable that her ethnicity is pretty much beside the point.

But Tiana, unlike Snow White (to say the least), lives not in a castle but in a poor, predominantly black Big Easy neighborhood. In a prologue that immediately establishes the film's hip, self-aware sensibility, we learn why sassy-but-classy Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) has grown up believing not in stars or fairy godmothers, but in ambition and hard work. Devoted to the memory of her late father (because it wouldn't be a Disney movie without at least one dead parent), she's determined to fulfill his long-held dream of opening the finest restaurant in New Orleans.

But Tiana is thwarted when she crosses paths with visiting royalty: handsome, dark-skinned Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), who, through an elaborately silly chain of events, has been transformed into a frog by devious voodoo-peddler Dr. Facilier (Keith David). Mistaking Tiana for a princess, the frog prince begs her to restore him with a kiss, only to have the spell rebound on Tiana and turn her into a frog as well.

Unlike most tales of its type, in which the heroine spends the whole movie in pursuit of Prince Charming, "The Princess and the Frog" follows the modern romantic-comedy template, granting its amphibious duo plenty of shared screen time and making them polar opposites -- he's cocky and lazy, she's uptight and bossy -- who initially can't stand each other.

Of course, it's only a matter of time before Naveen realizes Tiana's his dreamgirl, but not before they leap through the Louisiana swamps to seek the help of wizened priestess Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis). Along the way, they form friendships -- food chain be damned -- with trumpet-playing alligator Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley) and gap-toothed Cajun firefly Ray (Jim Cummings), who do their part to make the picaresque adventure more engaging as it goes along.

All of this is delivered in the usual riotous explosion of color and song. From the mansions of the city's upscale Garden District and the cast-iron balcony railings of the French Quarter, New Orleans clearly offered the animators no shortage of visual inspiration and architectural variety. And whatever one makes of the material -- which sanitizes voodoo for mass moppet consumption and even serves up a G-rated Mardi Gras climax -- it's an unmistakable pleasure to behold an old-school, hand-drawn toon, assembled with pristine craftsmanship and attention to detail, at a time when CG, 3D and even stop-motion animation are all the rage.

Making less of an impression are Randy Newman's score and songs, which, though they encompass an impressive range of Southern musical styles, won't have kids or their parents humming on their way out of the theater. With the exception of the film's strongest tune (Mama Odie's delightfully upbeat hymn to soul-searching, "Dig a Little Deeper"), most of the numbers play like rehashes of past Disney showstoppers, in purpose if not in style: Dr. Facilier's sinister "Friends on the Other Side," for example, recalls Scar's "Be Prepared" from "The Lion King" (while the bad doctor himself resembles "Aladdin's" Jafar with a bared midriff).

That derivative quality pervades the entire production, as directors John Musker and Ron Clements -- who collaborated on such Disney new-wave masterpieces as "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin," but also 2002's poorly received "Treasure Planet" -- seem content to sample the company's back catalog and riff on classic conventions rather than forge an actual classic. Admittedly, Musker and Clements (who scripted with Rob Edwards) are working in a looser, more insouciant mode than the tradition of vintage Disney storytelling; for many viewers, the mere effort will be enough, even if it primes one's appetite for better things to come.

Voicework is expectedly top-notch. Rose makes an eminently appealing lead, while Campos invests his grinning frog prince with real charm; Lewis and Cummings upstage everyone with the pic's most endearing and politically incorrect vocal turns. Jennifer Cody also amuses as Tiana's spoiled-rich-girl chum, Charlotte, who says things like, "Why, aren't you just as pretty as a magnolia in May!" and seems to have been conceived along the lines of a young Blanche Devereaux.

(Deluxe color domestic, Technicolor international); editor, Jeff Draheim; original songs and score, Randy Newman; music supervisor, Tom MacDougall; art director, Ian Gooding; supervising sound editor/sound designer (DTS/Dolby Digital/SDDS), Odin Benitez; re-recording mixers, David E. Fluhr, Dean Zupancic; visual effects supervisor, Kyle Odermatt; technical supervisor, Kimberly W. Keech; associate producer, Craig Sost; casting, Jen Rudin. Reviewed at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, Nov. 14, 2009. MPAA Rating: G. Running time: 95 MIN.

but i really am disappointed in the choice of randy neuman for the soundtrack. i've never liked his songs, and it's really not appropriate for this kind of movie. i don't feel like his writing style was really appropriate for this.

it was made by Turner Feature Animation (a spinoff of Hanna-Barbera) and dropped into the market during the middle of the Time Warner/Turner merger in 1997 (and as a result, went unpromoted and had poor returns).

But Randy Newman wrote the score for that film (it takes place fifteen years after "The Princess and the Frog" but is still heavily influenced by jazz), and the score for that film is absolutely great.

So I wouldn't think of Newman as a poor choice to write for this film. I will need to actually see the film and hear the songs before I pass complete judgment, however.

Existing relationship with Disney. Plenty of songs about New Orleans. Baby boomers love him.

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http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-princess25-2009nov25,0,6472123.story

MOVIE REVIEW
Review: 'The Princess and the Frog'
The hand-drawn animated Disney film set in jazz-soaked 1920s New Orleans is a refreshing, lively version of the fairy tale.

By Betsy Sharkey
November 25, 2009

Go ahead and pucker up. Because long before "The Princess and the Frog" is over you'll want to smooch the charming couple, air kiss a romantic firefly and hug a voodoo queen in this foot-stomping, smile-inducing, heart-warming animated twist on the old Brothers Grimm frog-prince fairy tale.

The filmmakers have brewed up a delicious roots story in every sense of the word. "The Princess and the Frog" is set in the 1920s jazz age in the New Orleans heart of it all.It's the studio's return to the lush, fluid beauty of hand-drawn animation. It's an old-fashioned fairy tale, even though they've had some fun with the story. And it's set to music in the grand tradition of "Beauty and the Beast," which is to say the neoclassic '90s brand of Disney animation.

That might make "The Princess and the Frog" seem like a creature of ancient times, particularly since kids these days are raised on 3-D flash. The effect, though, is the opposite. After being bombarded by so much computer-generated, motion-captured high-and-higher jinks, the film feels fresh -- a discovery, or a rediscovery, depending on your age.

At the keyboards, we have the always flavorful Mr. Randy Newman creating a spicy gumbo of blues, gospel, jazz, Dixieland and, because we are in the Big Easy, a dash or two of zydeco along with the Tobasco (nothing says "now" like product placement).

There's plenty of razzle-dazzle, starting with Anika Noni Rose, the perky third of the "Dreamgirls," who's lending her fabulous pipes to Tiana, the hardworking lovely with big plans at the center of this story. Yes, a prince on the side might be nice, but this career girl from humble beginnings has her eye on an empty warehouse that will make a fine restaurant where the flappers will be hot, the jazz will be cool and the food oh so divine.

Though there are all sorts of barriers to be broken and despite a day job as a maid that has her forever pinching pennies, Tiana is not one to give up. That shouldn't come as a complete surprise since she has the ultimate overachiever in Oprah as her mama, though for some reason directors John Musker and Ron Clements, who wrote the script with Rob Edwards, call her Eudora. No matter.

This being New Orleans, the dark arts are a major factor in the story with Keith David's Dr. Facilier making so many deals with so many devils it will make your head spin and possibly frighten some little ones when those voodoo masks start multiplying and moving.

In keeping with the ethnic blend, the song and dance man with the Hugh Jackman good looks, only darker, is Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), from the mythical kingdom of Maldonia. Whether it's a worry about offending African Americans with "cartoonish" exaggeration, or a desire to make the film palatable for white audiences, or both, the animators have been very careful with their pens when it comes to drawing black characters on the page. Just about everyone here has "good hair," and Tiana could be Halle Berry's kissing cousin. So while it's not Disney's first time at dipping a toe in multicultural waters -- "Aladdin," "Mulan" and " Pocahontas" were there first -- "The Princess and the Frog" still feels like baby steps.

With all of Dr. Facilier's scheming, Naveen is about to be green anyway, which makes him very jumpy, especially since there are gun-toting moonshiners who fancy frying up his legs. He was supposed to be kissed by Charlotte (Jennifer Cody), a rich Southern belle, but in a mistake of monumental proportions, he smooches Tiana instead and we have two frogs, not one, and no happily ever after in sight.

The rest of the film trots out many of the swampy tropes of childhood -- always be good, be careful who you trust, follow your dreams, it's what's inside that counts. But what could be tried as well as true is not, because the filmmakers have done to the bayou what Mardi Gras does to the French Quarter -- put music, magic, light and laughter everywhere.

There are the big Broadway-style numbers we've come to expect from Disney musicals of that only slightly bygone era, the kind that let the animation team go wild. One of "The Princess and the Frog's" best comes when a swarm of fireflies seeks a blind voodoo queen named Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), who might be the only one powerful enough to break Dr. Facilier's curse. Led by a hopeless romantic named Ray (Jim Cummings), a bit of a dim bulb, the bayou turns into a high-kicking extravaganza with singing and dancing swamp critters pulling off complicated choreography while Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a gator with a jazz obsession, blows a really mean trumpet.

Clements and Musker are pretty much Disney born and raised with two of the studio's best musical showstoppers, "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin," heading their résumés. With "The Princess and the Frog" they've gotten just about everything right. The dialogue is fresh-prince clever, the themes are ageless, the rhythms are riotous and the return to a primal animation style is beautifully executed.

So shake a stick at those Grimm Brothers, when it comes to princesses and frogs we now have a beautiful, boisterous sister in charge.

betsy.sharkey@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

i really wanted to take my daughter (even though she talks too much, LOL), but i'm behind on a lot of work.

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The beginning's a bit uneven, but once they move to the bayou, the movie takes off, the best songs start popping up, the most entertaining characters appear, and I had a smile on my face for most of it. And yes, there's a moment at the end that got a tear creeping out (you'll know it when it arrives... it's a great Disney moment).

Are the songs on par of the usual Disney classics? No... but they're the best since Mulan for certain, easily. Some nice laughs, some good dance numbers.

As for the racism? I'll be honest, I went in expecting to cringe at a moment or two, but it never went there. I found it to be full of heart, gorgeous to look at, and terrific family entertainment.

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I was half expecting a trainwreck, but I got a damn good movie instead. I'll do a full review later, but I and the entire theater loved it and applauded for it.

And, honestly, I don't understand the "typical Disney movie" criticisms. Yeah, a lot of the themes and messages are the same, but the story structure of the film is completely revamped (in the best ways possible) from the usual template. You can tell the Pixar folks sat in on the story meetings.

Lol, Ray was off the fuckin chain. I'd be so fuckin poor if I had a daughter right now.

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Yes! She's on the drugs. (c) BoHagon

He really did appeal to my inner romantic.

even if the story was horrible (which it isn't), i'd still recommend it to everyone i know just to experience the AMAZING artistry of this film.

the beautiful background paintings are worth the price of admission alone.

someone earlier in this thread said the songs don't stand up against the best Disney songs of the past. i totally disagree. all of the music is instantly endearing, it sticks with you after the credits roll, and the staging of the performances are fantastic.

the supporting characters are funny as hell and the villain is great, too.

my only real gripe is that Tiana's gumbo looked watery as hell. she needs to step up her rue game.

I think they're all great. The first couple (New Orleans, Almost There) were underwhelming. Once they got to the bayou, the songs were jammin'.

I agree about that art too. Yeesh, really nice.

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"Dawg, this is the greatest case of scorned vaginas in OKS history.."

LegacyNS on OKS AI nuthuggers who hate on Kobe and the Lakers.

He claims that we've been lured in expecting a film about a black princess but...

She is an animal for the duration of the film. This is an indication of Disney's unwillingness to truly embrace the aesthetic value of a black woman. This is even more apparent when you consider that her animated counterparts of color weren't depicted in the same way (Mulan, Pocahontas).

The Prince isn't really black. He appears to have a "generic" foreign-tanned look. So, the object of the Princess' love, by his lack of color, is yet another celebration of a European aesthetic ideal and simultaneously a knock against the beauty of black people.

The film celebrates the Booker T. mantra of bootstrap pulling (this is done supposedly in the words of her father, encouraging her to dream but to work hard); this is a subtle dig at the primary focus of the Civil Rights movement for full social/political equality...not to mention the film "sanitizes" history by failing to address the Jim Crow south conditions that were prevalent during the time of the film?

I haven't seen this film, but did any of you who have get this from it? My first hunch is that Armond is truly a contrarian for the sake of buzz. However, I don't think his ideas seem out of the realm of possibility--he just strikes me as being disingenuous.

I have to wonder, dude ripped Precious, and yet he's praised The Blind Side for it's honesty(in contrast to Precious' deceptiveness)...in his review of the Princess he mentions films like High School Musical and Song of the South that have been more culturally informative/intelligent.

>She is an animal for the duration of the film. This is an
>indication of Disney's unwillingness to truly embrace the
>aesthetic value of a black woman. This is even more apparent
>when you consider that her animated counterparts of color
>weren't depicted in the same way (Mulan, Pocahontas).

She gets a couple of numbers where she is drawn as a gorgeous black woman. Yes, she is an animal for the duration, but it serves the plot. She's a lovely, smart, and kind character, so I in no way felt they were trying to undermine the African American princess-ship by making her a frog. Clearly kids aren't taking this accusation to heart, as I saw three little girls holding Princess Tiana dolls at the film-- not the frog Tiana they've been selling.

>The Prince isn't really black. He appears to have a "generic"
>foreign-tanned look. So, the object of the Princess' love, by
>his lack of color, is yet another celebration of a European
>aesthetic ideal and simultaneously a knock against the beauty
>of black people.

Here, Armond wants it both ways, because yes, he is technically not an African American, but he spends even MORE of the film as a frog. If he'd been traditionally black, wouldn't Armond have been able to complain even more about black people not being allowed to be portrayed as human?

Also, when Tiana meets him, he's a frog already... so she doesn't fall in love with his skin color, she falls in love with his heart. So this point also strikes me as pure bullshit.

>The film celebrates the Booker T. mantra of bootstrap pulling
>(this is done supposedly in the words of her father,
>encouraging her to dream but to work hard); this is a subtle
>dig at the primary focus of the Civil Rights movement for full
>social/political equality...not to mention the film
>"sanitizes" history by failing to address the Jim Crow south
>conditions that were prevalent during the time of the film?

Failing to address? The white people are rich and the black people are poor and work for the white people, who pay them pennies for full days of work. There are also two white men who Tiana tries to buy land from that won't let her, because a woman of her "background" should stick to what she does best-- serving. Now, it doesn't delve into more blatant racism, but I think the racist conditions of the south were made crystal clear.

Also, hating on the character for wanting to work hard since rich white folks weren't going to freely hand them anything seems like the silliest reason in the world to hate the character. It's an admirable trait for a person of any race, and it seems to me that if you're a black woman in the Jim Crow South, and you had a dream of owning a restaurant but you have zero money, you DO have to work extra hard.

>I haven't seen this film, but did any of you who have get this
>from it? My first hunch is that Armond is truly a contrarian
>for the sake of buzz. However, I don't think his ideas seem
>out of the realm of possibility--he just strikes me as being
>disingenuous.

He's just being a dick.

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I think that about covers my response to all of his bullshit.

Damned shame what happened to Ray

I went in expecting to wince or be embarrassed
and I wasn't.
To see little girls come dressed up as princesses
was very heartwarming to me
And to see my own little girl's face light up
a 3 year old actually remembering the lyrics to
'Almost There' after only seeing the movie once?
Having the same 3 year old say "Tiana is beautiful"
I'm sold


I thought the voodoo references were a bit heavy handed
for very young children such as my own, but there's some of
that in every Disney animated film.

I want to see it again, and I am trying very hard not to
fall into the merchandising spell. But I did buy a Tiana
t-shirt from WalMart for only $5 so I'm trying to be strong. lol

__________________________________________

"...Coming Soon..."

wasn't trying to spoil anything, honest.

It's all good.

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One Hundred.

Christmas weekend is is going to boost ticket sales through the roof.
Between this and Avatar its pointless for another film to be released over the next two weekends. Anything remotely good will not make bank. I'm supporting both films by taking the fam and my girl to each. We got to support movies taht portray us in a good tasteful fashion. Down with Soul Plane and I Got The Hook Up...

On The Lookout 4:
some new music. WTF is going on this year?

Anika is a childhood friend, it goes without saying I'll be there.

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One Hundred.

it was ok, for some reason i thought the music was a bit bland. The voice actors were great but i just can't say i would watch it again.
B-

the only gripe i can think of (and its minor) is Tiana's name. just sounds like such a 2009 pander-move and does not feel one iota old-fashioned, deep south to me.

but really, that's just a minor pet peeve and the movie was the first real Disney-feeling Disney movie i've seen since puberty.

it truly has been a lonng time coming with this film. this one finally picks Disney back up where the early 90's left off.

i'm putting it right up there with Little Mermaid, which along with the OG Fantasia, is probably my favorite Disney flick ever (Lion King not far behind, although Lion King feels more like its own genre than "classic Disney" to me).

So many awesome side characters who I could really see legitimately joining the ranks of Sebastian, Flounder, Seven Dwarfs, The Genie in Aladdin, Lumiere, Thumper, Flower, etc.

Disney has been rather cheap and non-Disney-like to me since the mid 90s. This was very very refreshing.

Shouldn't the white girl have been turned into a frog when she kissed the frog/prince after midnight?

I asked the same question. Either Facilier being dead prevented Charlotte form becoming a frog too, or the spell only works on niggas.

and the blame game has already begun:
"It's too retro"
"it doesn't break new ground"
"Disney should leave 2D to the French and Japanese"
"Fuck John Lasseter",
"Laseter's purposely setting up Disney Animation to fail in favor of Pixar"
etc.

http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/richard-corliss-speaks.html

Worse, the nest 2D film in production is "Winnie-the-Pooh". Good luck getting any of us (self included) to see that one in the theater alone.

All 5 of my sister's kids had a ball too.

I thought it was classic Disney. Songs were great. Animation was beautiful. I got a lil' misty at that one scene Longo mentioned. I wanna see it again.



http://twitter.com/collazo
http://www.reverbnation.com/livesociety

drawing event tonight. He did freelance cleanup work (they farmed all the cleanup work for everyone except Tiana all across the world to various studios/freelancers).

He used to work at the Florida studio, and we all had a looooong conversation about animation technique and the animation industry.

We specifically talked about reasons why "Frog" isn't doing as well as we all feel it should be a the box office. The bad trailer was cited as one reason, the backlash over the racial aspects another (most of the racial complaints are by people who didn't see the film, as usually is the case with these things).

great film. the dance numbers when they got to the bayou were awesome, and the animation was simply exquisite.

i almost cried when ray died, such a great side character.

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If life is stupendous one cannot also demand that it should be easy. - Robert Musil

was meh


oh and i loved the lightening bug
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smart dumb niggas i see is the theme of the week on okp (c)esb
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When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
~~~~
You cannot hate people for their own good.

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/academy-rules-princess-votes-will-be-disregarded/


'Princess & Frog' Original Score Ruled Ineligible For Oscar; Votes To Be Ignored
By Nikki Finke | Category: Awards, Music, Oscar | Tuesday January 12, 2010 @ 12:04pm

The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences issued this statement just now regarding the Original Score of Disney's The Princess And The Frog amid voter consternation:

After nominations ballots and reminder lists for the Original Score category were mailed to members of the Academy's Music Branch (on December 28), questions were raised regarding the eligibility of the score of "The Princess and the Frog."

On Monday, January 11, the Music Branch Executive Committee met to discuss the score's status. Based on the committee's interpretation of the rules, it was determined that the film is not eligible in the score category, though four songs from the movie remain eligible for consideration.

The relevant language is contained in Rule 16, Section II, Paragraph E: "...scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible".

The tabulators at PricewaterhouseCoopers have been instructed to disregard any votes cast for the Original Score of "The Princess and the Frog." The movie remains eligible in all other categories for which it qualified.

http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/mid-january-derby.html

Mine should be waiting when I get home.