Disney Returns to Form With Princess

Classic Disney animation makes a triumphant return with The Princess and the Frog. Critics agree the film is beautiful, and most—but not all—were charmed by the story:

• The movie, set in New Orleans, is “the sweetest, most sincere romantic comedy to come along in ages, and a luminous love letter to a great American city,” writes Mary Elizabeth Williams in Salon.

• The filmmakers got “just about everything right," writes Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times. "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.”
• The movie “marks Disney's rediscovery of a strong narrative loaded with vibrant characters and mind-bending, hilarious situations,” writes Kirk Honeycutt in the Hollywood Reporter.
• Justin Chang found the film “more diverting than captivating,” and it “boasts almost as many talking points as merchandising opportunities,” he writes in Variety. The filmmakers “seem content to sample the company's back catalog and riff on classic conventions rather than forge an actual classic.”

(More Disney stories.)