Setting aside the baggage of recent and not so recent animation history at Disney — freight that no single movie should have to bear — The Princess and the Frog stands on its own and does not buckle creatively under that tremendous weight.
The most important things are the picture works, and reports of hand-drawn animation’s demise were drastically premature.
The animation, the story, the voice characterizations and the songs have come together beautifully, if not 100% perfectly, and should effectively shut the door on the studio’s past misfires and efforts that fell short of the mark, no matter what quibblers and other thumbsuckers come up with to fill space.
The movie has also done New Orleans and its colorful heritage proud, which itself is no small accomplishment.
It will be a tough act to follow.
