THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG tells us the story of how the princess got changed into the frog, when trying to kiss the cursed prince. This is a version not many of you probably may know. The intro of the movie tells the classic version, where a princess kisses a frog which changes back to a handsome prince. They get married and live happily ever after. This movie however tells the story based upon E.D. Baker’s novel THE FROG PRINCESS, which was inspired by THE FROG PRINCE from the Grimm brothers. So this time when the “princess” kisses the frog (prince) she is turned into a frog herself.

Now from a Disney perspective this version is something different than the classic stories. The company tried to do the same with stories like ENCHANTED and with the more recent ALICE IN WONDERLAND. But does this actually help the genre? And better yet, does this change make THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG still worthy to be another Disney-princess-classic?

The movie is set in New Orleans during the Roaring Twenties and tells the story of Tiana. A hard working girl trying to save up money for her own restaurant, a dream her father also had. So to achieve this, she works like a slave trying to realise her dream. If I stand correct she works double shifts with 2 different jobs and all seems well when she finally is able to make the down payment for a abandoned factory. Only her dream gets shattered when the real-estate men tell her someone else is willing to pay full cash for it…

Of course – this being Disney – it is at this moment that fate brings her prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) in his cursed frog form. This broke ass prince made a deal with the Voodoo doctor Facilier (Keith Davids) only to realise he has been tricked. It is here the adventure really starts when Tiana kisses Naveen, only to be turned into a frog herself. They embark on a journey to restore their body, follow their dreams and to (eventually) fall in love. – You did not see that coming right? They were the only two black people in the entire movie! – During their adventures they also have to escape some hunters, shadow spirits and endure a strong psychological test from Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis). Of course they do not have to do this all by themselves, they get help from a Cajun firefly Ray (Jim Cummings) and a trumpeteering alligator Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley). Put these characters together and you get yourself a diverse and interesting group.

As stated above, the movie is set in New Orleans during the Roaring Twenties, which brings us to the music. The movie is completely shot like a full Broadway musical. This fits perfectly with the way the story is being told. Add the great Jazz music and you got yourself one swinging Disney movie. To understand what I mean, just watch a short song from the movie below:

So this brings us back to our original question: “Is THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG a true Disney classic?”

Well…
- we got a poor girl *check*
- we got a poor girl with big dreams *check*
- we got a charming prince *check*
- we got good vs. evil theme *check*
- we got a movie full of “wise lessons” for young and old *check*
- we got great music *check*

These points deem this movie to be a Disney Princess classic. Also not to forget, with THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG Disney returns to the classic roots of 2D (with their last 2D movie HOME ON THE RANGE dating back to 2004!) and take a great step versus the controversiality with Tiana being the first black princess in the history of Disney story telling.

So a true Disney princess classic? I wholeheartly say yes.

DISTRICT 9 tells the story of “The Prawns” an alien force which appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa in the year 1990. They are welcomed with great expectations, but twenty years later, they have become a pain in the arse for the government and local citizens. A refugee camp has been created underneath the mother ship and all the aliens are forced to live there under strict militarized surveillance. One of the hidden agenda points however is to learn as much from these overgrown shrimps with legs and arms and to be even more specific, to learn how to use their advanced weaponry. Nothing new there pretty much your basic aliens movie. But things are finally getting out of hand, so in 2010 a munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to move the Prawns from District 9 to another “new and better” district. In charge; Wikus van der Merve, played by Sharlto Copley.

Just to state for the record, Wikus rocks because he has an almost Dutch like last name and Dutch people rule.

So the above mentioned part of the story takes place in the first half of the movie. This part is being told quite originally, but you lose the focus during this section because it is boring. Sure aliens are interesting and all, but if you make them look like a bunch of rabid dogs and nothing special happens, these first 30 or so minutes are quite bland. But after these 30 minutes, the movie gets interesting!

The Prawns have a certain hierarchy when it comes to leaders and workers. During the relocation of them, they stumble upon a couple of those leaders. The MNU realise this and immediately start investigation, because their cottage has loads of weapons and other technology. During this search Wikus gets sprayed with some kind of fluid and this is the part things become interesting. This black semen causes Wikus to change bit by bit. First his flesh starts to fall off, then his hand mutates to a hand similar to that of the Prawns and the moment MNU discovers this, Wikus becomes a target. The more knowledgeable Sci-Fi geek already realises that Wikus is now capable of using alien weaponry, something nobody was able to do before.

Wikus finally finds aid from one of the leaders (the place where he found the bottled semen). In return the leader Prawn will help him to return human again, so Wikus can be with his wife once more. What does he have to do? Get back the bottle of semen! Ok I just realised I said semen a bit too much, but be honest; it is what it is right? It creates Prawns!

The fluid actually is a highly concentrated energy source, which will allow the Prawns to go back to their home planet. In the final scene the leader, his kid and Wikus almost make it to the ship. In a brave and cliché moment Wikus sacrifices himself for the leader. The leader manages to get aboard the mother ship and promises Wikus he will one day return to make him human again. But there is a weird catch; Wikus has to wait three (!!!) years for him to return. The leader only escapes with his kid and leaves him and the other Prawns behind.

This ending leaves us with a bunch of questions. The most important one being, will there be a sequel? One can only assume with such an ending, but I am convinced this is how the movie is supposed to end and it is a refreshing one.

So cinema, DVD or TV screening? Well there are a bunch of nice special effects in this movie, but this will not suffice the admission price of a ticket. My suggestion would be to either rent it, when you want to watch a Sci-Fi which brings the genre something different, or catch it on TV.