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Movie Review

On Friday, I arranged for Grandma and Gichan to keep an eye on Tad in the afternoon, and then I told Ane that I needed her to run an errand with me. I took her to the movie theater, and she began squealing and bouncing up and down when I asked for two tickets for “The Princess and the Frog.”

Yes, we went and saw it on opening day, and we were two of ten people in the theater. It was before school got out for most kids. We had our pick of seats and arrived in plenty of time.

The movie was a lot of fun, and Ane really enjoyed it. The story is based off of “The Frog Prince,” but definitely changes it up. Set in 1920’s New Orleans (I think that’s the era they were trying to invoke), our heroine, Tiana, is trying to fulfill her late father’s dream of having her own restaurant by working two jobs and not having much of a social life. Her childhood friend Charlotte hires her to cater a masquerade ball, where Charlotte intends to charm the visiting Prince Naveen. Throughout the evening, Tiana’s dreams get smashed by real estate brokers (who intend to sell the property that she had just put down money on to someone else) and ends up needing a new costume after hers gets soiled. Charlotte, who is a pampered only child, but a real friend to Tiana, gives her a princess costume to wear. She is then mistaken by Prince Naveen for a real princess, and the now-frog prince begs her for a kiss. Tiana agrees to kiss him because he promises her a payoff that will allow her to get her restaurant property, but since she’s not a real princess… the kiss turns her into a frog as well.

Let the adventure commence!

The bad guy of the movie is a voodoo witch doctor, Doctor Facilier, and he is definitely mean and spooky enough to scare some kids. Ane was okay with most of it, because the scary parts really don’t last long, and his one “big” song takes place before you know what his real plans are – turn Naveen into a frog, turn Lawrence (Naveen’s servant) into the prince and get him to marry Charlotte for money, and control of New Orleans. Doctor Facilier’s henchmen are actually shadows – which is pretty creepy, and scared Ane a little. However, those parts are pretty short, and I think that the next time Ane sees the movie, she will not be scared by it because she knows what will happen. But for kids who are easily scared, either waiting to see it or preparing them well is the best bet.

The songs were fun, the characters colorful, and the movie is only 97 minutes long, so it does keep moving. Ane really enjoyed it, and it’s a Disney Princess movie, so the outcome is pretty much guaranteed.

After it was over, Ane asked why we hadn’t brought Tad with us. “Well, I’m not sure that he would like a princess movie very much,” I said.

Ane thought about that. “He would have loved the alligator,” she countered.

And she’s right. One of the supporting characters is an alligator, and Tad does love alligators. Still, I’d rather watch a movie in a theater in peace, than hear Tad yell every other second, “Look at da ALLIGATOR, Mama!”

So he’ll just have to wait to enjoy it once it is out on DVD.

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