In 2004 Disney had decided that their last feature using traditional hand drawn animation would be Home On The Range, possibly the worst Disney film in their catalogue, but I’ll leave that up to you. The Princess and The Frog is the return of Disney’s traditional animation, a process that seemed down for good due to the success of Pixar and their animation process that moved the family film genre to a whole new level. As much as I love Pixar and everything they do this film not only brought to life a fantastic story with a twist but the animation of my childhood. I haven’t been treated to such a terrific story and wonderful soundtrack using traditional hand drawn animation since 1998’s The Prince of Egypt.

So many things ring nostalgic with The Princess and the Frog from the location which was the same in the 1977 Disney film The Rescuers to the big clumsy gator Louis that reminded me of the same types of animated characters made famous by the late great Dom DeLuise. Take that as you may; either its a nod to the golden years of animated films or a lapse of creativity. I loved it and aside from feeling like the end of the film felt a bit rushed the film is very nearly perfect. The music in the film takes me back to the big care free production of The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, and absolutely The Aristocats. Big epic sounding numbers that really let you know your seeing something that’s had a lot of heart and soul put into it. I can’t praise the music enough.

The way the characters are handled in the film are also a fantastic twist. The rich girl who gets everything she wants is not who you’d expect her to be and the Prince is anything but the traditional type. This is also the return of real villains. Fair warning some kids might be frightened and the level of villainy our antagonist provides is downright evil. Maybe not as evil as the Queen in Snow White who asks for Snow Whites heart but pretty darn close. I applaud that as villains have become nothing more then comical buffoons who offer no real justification for fear. Its yet another return to what Disney used to be. An absolute must see and after seeing it once you may think about seeing it again. Enjoy.