A triumphant return to form for Disney!

So, I’m a sappy guy. I love Disney films; especially the animated ones during the 90’s. The music was always peppy, memorable, and the story was usually compelling. Drama was always something Disney did well, when they wanted to. And then came the new millennium and somewhere along the road, Disney stopped making quality films. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they’ve ever made a bad film. Just, some that are of much lower quality then some.

The most recent stand-outs have been Meet the Robinsons and Bolt. Two films which I felt were wonderful efforts from Disney. Unfortunately, then CEO of the creative department Michael Eisner announced that Disney would no longer be producing hand animated feature films after Enchanted (and that was for about a quarter of the film anyway) in favor of computer animation.

Luckily, one of the greats in animated movies was named head of that department in 2006, John Lasseter (head of Pixar and director of Toy Story)! With this stupendous arrangement came news that Disney would begin making hand animated movies again, in the same vain as the classics. Wonderful.

So, how was their first effort into the classic realm of 2D? In a word, terrific.

The animation is beautiful. Stunningly so. If you have a theater with digital displays, see it in high def. It’s truly remarkable where hand animation has come in terms of quality. Good hi definition hand animation is probably my favorite animation to see. There’s just something organic about it.

Set in New Orleans in the Jazz Age, Tiana is an enterprising young African-American woman. She desires to fulfill her father’s dream of opening a high class restaurant. She works several jobs but finds it hard to get close to the down payment on a building. Her best friend, however, is the daughter of a wealthy business man.

Prince Naveen has come from across the sea. He’s a slacker and his parents have cut him off from the family coffers. The solution lies in marrying a rich young woman. Before he can, he meets the “shadow man” Dr. Facilier. When Naveen accepts his offer to perform some black magic everything is turned upside down.

The story isn’t quite as great as some of the offerings in the 90’s, but it is still a triumph. And much to my surprise, it wasn’t racially charge. I expected the big bad guys to be the oppressive “white folk” and how terrible they were. But props to Disney for straying from that path. It also doesn’t make a big deal out of Tiana being black (not like a lot of people have – “Oh! The first black princess!”). A lesser studio would have failed in this area and allowed the drama to easily fall back on racism. Thanks Disney for not doing that!

All of the voice cast is superb. Anika Noni Rose plays (and sings) the lead, Tiana. She plays her with a strong confidence very apt of her character. Her singing voice is wonderful also. Bruno Campos plays Prince Naveen with a great suave mock-sophistication. His accents slips at some points, but only if you’re really listening for it.

I was surprised by John Goodman’s presence as the wealthy father of Tiana’s friend. His part if much too short for the awesomeness that is John Goodman. My favorite voice actors have to be Keith David as the Shadow Man and Jim Cummings as Ray.

Keith David has a truly amazing song titled “Friends on the Other Side” that has some great animation to go along. But the absolute best is Jim Cummings as the very hick firefly Ray. Jim is given several songs for us to enjoy.

 

Speaking of the music, it’s all done by Randy Newman, longtime Pixar vet. He has a magical ability when it comes to animated movie music. Simply put, its awesome. That jazzy feel of New Orleans is kept very much intact, also throwing in some old school bluegrass when the characters are out of the city in the bayou. Not all of the vocal songs are as memorable as the others, but that’s ok. The ones that are, are great. You’ll definitely want to purchase the soundtrack.

So, I highly recommend this film. It’s the best thing out of the 2D department at Disney since the 90’s. Let’s hope John Lasseter and Disney keep up the tradition! I greatly look forward to their next offering.