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I love Tiana and Lottie’s friendship in the film. They could have easily made Lottie mean and catty, but she genuinely cares about Tiana and tries to help her. I think showing kids true friendship like that is a great thing.
Maybe he doesn’t really have a doctorate. Maybe they’re going with the thing of “names have power, you can invoke an entity by calling its name” since there’s so much magic in the story. Cool detail!
The Dr. Facilier scene with Naveen is that he DID NOT LIE to Naveen. The cards pointed him toward turning him into a frog. Naveen's Tarot's cards are correct. First (his past) is the 15th (The Devil) that means he is petty, blind, prideful, etc. Second card (his present) is the 16th (The Tower) that means a horrible tragedy or event will befall him. Third card (his future) is the 9th (The Hermit) that means to disguise, and conceal (which could mean Lawrence is plotting something). The fourth card (his suggestion) is "The Fool" (a major arcana card) meaning new beginnings with folly, carelessness, etc. Naveen on the Lilly pad shows the route he is going.
Even better: In his hand, as he's shuffling the cards, he turns over the five of coins, ace of swords and queen of wands in that order. So - Poverty/crisis; rational analysis and guiding principle; the energy and management of a group of people (shadows). He gave a reading for his own life - poverty, discovering how to use voodoo for his own ends, and taking command of the shadows to offer up a city.
@@Raelynn-nl5rd I'm not sure why the critic has an issue with the Princess and Frog being complicated, since he likes the Dark Knight which is also complicated?????
I love how there is genuine tarot knowledge in the comments to not only educate newcomers to the craft, like myself, but also show the accuracy and care they put into the film. ❤
Yeah I have to agree While it’s technically not as gruesome as let’s say Ursula, Scar, or Clayton, it is still quite terrifying seeing his reaction as he’s dragged away knowing he didn’t keep his deal (if I recall correctly) and he’ll now be trapped forever in that other world
@@RYMAN1321 turns out that power comes with a price and his "friends" would collect the soul they were owed whether Facillier succeeded or failed. I particularly like how it's accompanied by that brief refrain of the bit from his song about his "friends on the other side". Never make a deal with otherworldly entities unless you know and are willing to pay the price.
The dude literally got dragged to the "shadow realm" and a gravestone with a face of sheer horror. Your wrong in the head if that didn't unsettle you at least a little.
I always thought the intended message of "never lose sight of what's important" was yes, not only a spouse, was a support system. There are plenty of people that reach out to Tiana and genuinely just want her to relax and have some fun. "Let more people into your life" basically.
@@slyfox2022 it’s work hard but don’t lose sight of what’s important, Tiana was wasting her life away working double shifts with only a few minuets sleep per day
I like how along their journey Tiana makes friends and at the end of the movie her friends are seen at the restaurant dancing and celebrating too. All in all, I think the messages they wanted to convey get through, just maybe not as impactfully as they could have been with a stronger story.
@@slyfox2022 Work hard but don't bury yourself. Be strong enough to go out on your own, but don't be afraid to get help. Be confident in yourself, but still be open to the wonders of love. Chase your dreams, but don't let them kill you. Find balance.
Some people like to make Charlotte a bad person with this scenario: “why couldn’t she ask her father to give Tiana the money to open restaurant?” Honestly I doubt Tiana would’ve accepted it. As it shows she’s the kind person who wants to earn her money instead of it being handed it to her
I'm almost certain Charlotte floated the idea of giving Tiana the money at least once when she learned her friend was aiming to open her own restaurant and Tiana flat out refused. That's just the friendship they seem to have in the film and since I feel that comes across pretty clearly there's no need to waste time on a scene like that.
@@poweruppikawho9007 yaa even as a kid i thought that. All around Charllote is a good friend. Hopefully they dont make a remake of this because with the lack of inspiration and braincells disney remakes have, theyd make Charlote the mean girl playing her into the blond rich bish steriotype
My theory is she did in a way Tiana would accept. She overpayed for the beniet order and gave Tiana the last bit of money she needed to buy the restaurant
@@SadieRockheart That was probably her last of multiple attempts to give Tiana the money for sure xD Her quick moment of "eureka!" when the little pínk cogs of her mind finally figured out how to pay Tiana past her pride.
@@MrKlausbaudelaire oh the image of Charlotte just sitting in a dark room, a cup of hot coco in hand, and murmering before a "DING" plays and she runs out the room giggling like a mad woman is amazing
Fun fact: growing up in a religious home, when my parents took me to see this as a kid, they had me close my eyes during the voodoo parts and when Facilier died. Hearing his screams of terror without knowing what happened gave me nightmares for months
Dr. Facilier is like the last Disney villain that can be marketed as a Disney villain because everyone after him is a twist villain and can’t be included in the official marketing lineup
@@N.I.A23 I’ve personally haven’t seen him on Disney villain merchandising. Not saying it doesn’t exist, just that his presence isn’t as prominent in that line
I think he's considered the last official one because he's the scene stealer of the movie. Gothel and King Candy were the villains for their entire movies without really being twist villains but they're not as interesting or entertaining as the heroes are in those movies. Granted, I do like King Candy and Gothel but they're not as easily recognizable as other Disney baddies
Facilier is definitely one of the coolest Disney villains, and I think a huge part of why is the performance by Keith David. The dude can make a cat sound cool
I love Malcom’s take on the prejudice side of the movie and how he describe the Voodoo and Hoodoo bit there. He should do more of commentary on more future projects if given the chance.
An interesting thing about it, Malcolm says, that bad supernatural powers are referred to as Voodoo, while good powers are referred to as magic. As far as I recall, there is a scene, when the protagonists arrive in the hut of Mama Odie, in which Louis asks something along the line "are you sure, that this is this famous old Voodoo-Lady?". So it is at least hinted, that her powers are a brand of Voodoo as well. Although I have to admit, I do not know, if this scene plays out the same in the English original, I know the German Dub of it.
It always stood out to me that Tiana's father received the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously in World War I. It probably meant that he did some actions that were worthy of the Medal of Honor but was downgraded to the next highest award. That happened often for Black soldiers in World War I and World War II and it wouldn't be until the 1990s when the military would review the situation and upgrade them to the Medal of Honor years 50-70 years later.
I'm always insulted they detract from the historic individuals by falsely claiming an honour for their fictional character as some kind of good soldier trophy meant as a cheap way to invoke emotional response. They made it up just for your reaction.
Honestly I feel the film celebrated so many important lessons for life. 1. The value of hard work. 2. Not losing yourself within your work and allowing yourself the things that make you happy such as the possibility of love. 3. Your dreams can come from anyplace, even if it wasn’t exactly what you wanted originally. You learn these lessons because of Tiana, Naveen and Tiana's Dad. Tiana was always driven by a fire and determination within her work and her spark and passion for cooking. I have always admired that within her character. She always lit up the screen with that passion and hard work. It was refreshing to see such a character after a while of being away from the fairy tales. But that also leads us to see just how much she sacrificed in order to achieve that dream. Whether it be time with her mother, quality time with friends, the reputation of never wanting fun or love or anything. While hard work and determination absolutely should be the foundation of any dream or person, if you don't find time to take care of yourself, love yourself, and allow yourself moments of joy, then that dream won't be as worthwhile if you only can share it with yourself. If your journey to your dream was only hardship and no joy, then how will the end goal be happy? Then with Naveen, he has the complete opposite problem of Tiana. He's been sheltered, spoiled and completely devoid of any sort of responsibility or work ethnic for his life and never really had a spark to encourage that. Yes Naveen loves his music but that never inspired him to go out and pursue it or anything that would give his life structure within hard work. So when he meets Tiana, someone who has had to work day and night for her dreams and to survive of course he doesn't get it. He said it himself. He doesn't know how to do anything because he was never given an opportunity to really care about anything or try to find something he could work on. He doesn't understand the need to work hard for the sake of something or someone he loves. For Tiana, the work she did was equally for her Dad as it as for herself. And as Naveen gets to know Tiana and begins to fall in love with her, we begin to see him having genuine aspirations of work and making a meaningful impact for Tiana's dream. Him throwing away a possibility of being with her and proposing to her to be with someone he doesn't love or him considering getting three jobs to help Tiana get her restaurant...THAT is love. Naveen and the lessons he learns and the character development he goes through are not nearly as talked about as they should be. And then we get to probably the most important lesson of the movie. Dreams sometimes don't work out the way you planned but that doesn't mean you can't find happiness and dreams elsewhere. Tiana's Dad worked so hard to provide a good life for his family and his dream. While he worked really hard for he wanted, it unfortunately wasn't meant to be. He never got what he wanted out of life and had to live out this dream in other ways such as serving the neighborhood and being with his family. But even though Tiana's Dad never got what he wanted, he did have what he needed. He did have a fulfilling life with love, friends and a family. A loving wife and a beautiful and talented daughter that he loved to pieces. A family and group of friends he could live out his dream with. While not everyone can achieve their dreams the way they initially planned, it doesn't mean you can't have them at all. Tiana's Dad did have something a lot of people don't have: love and a foundation of his dream within that love because he never lost sight of what was the most important to him. It's a profound lesson that I feel is not talked about as much as it should be and why Tiana's Dad is easily one of the most overlooked characters in the movie. No this film isn't perfect and I completely get why people have a problem with Tiana becoming a frog for the majority of the film. I still do however think the film works for these lessons and the powerfulness of them, especially as we see Tiana and Naveen grow as people and as a couple as they fall in love and plan their futures together. The lessons of the movie of celebrating hard work while also finding time for joy and that your dreams can come true in ways you didn't expect I feel are very meaningful and not celebrated enough as we continue debating this movie.
@codyrocker185 A semi regular debate feature where they give a round table review and why they like, dislike or are indifferent to things about the film could be interesting. Years ago, pre-Andy Signore firing, Screen Junkies ran a Movie Fights series. Something by CA in that vein might be worth looking into.
Personally I will go with if they have movie that center around people groups that one of the people of channel awesome are part of and/or if they really loving the movie and have interesting take to add (Malcolm for example gave both context of African American and the specific culture of the group from movie and it was legit interesting to hear as non American )
Another thing I loved about Facilier in this movie is how he's subtly vulnerable. The dialogue implies he had a poor upbringing and cleverly hints at how dangerous things get if his Voodoo bond is broken. So there's more drive to him as a scheming villain than the usual Disney baddie. And we know Keith David is great at being scary and funny in the same performance.
@@Thehunter905 His magic seems to work like a loan system- he borrows the power from his "friends" and needs to pay them back eventually, the whole movie's scheme had him put himself more and more in debt all in service to getting enough non magical power to pay back his debt and then some, via putting Lawrence in position to have all the money and power, but only keeping it with The Shadow Man's help. Lawrence marries Lottie, Dr. Facilier kills her dad, then Lawrence leverages the wealth and power however the Dr. tells him to. We don't get the details on how he will get what he needs to pay his debt with said power, just that the lost souls of New Orleans would be there for the taking for his "friends". He basically took out a magical loan in order to start a buisness, and then got another loan to deal with the complications, only for the most vital thing to be broken, making his plan impossible, so his debt was called in. His whole deal is that he isn't in power like so many other villians- he doesn't have the political power of Jafar, the social or physical power of Gaston, even his magic is borrowed and bargained for, Ursula has a similar gimic but she has all teh power the whole time. So his whole operation works on screwing people over with what power he can grab, The prince just gave him an opportunity to grab enough to not only break even, not only get ahead of the game, but to do so while having all the power, wealth etc that he never had before.
i like that they don't have the rich person be a bad guy. just because you are on the beneficial end of a broken system doesn't mean you need to be a bad person, and just because you are on the bad end of a broken system it is ok to be a bad person.
The 'system' worked, especially at this time in that it was relatively stable. For a broken system you'd have to look more to mafia cities or something like that.
yeah I also like how charlotte and her dad aren't necessarily evil just oblivious. I think it's because I've grew up with/still seeing one too many "evil business man/rich person is evil" in shows and movies
@@christopherauzenne5023 There is a sort of fan theory based on evidence in the film that they are not as oblivious as they seem. Going out of their way to eat in a dive-in at the beginning. Charlotte, a 'bigger' girl who has a spare dress that fits Tiana perfectly etc.
@@emilylewis5373 Charlotte and her dad deliberately going to the dive-in at the beginning can be explained by the fact that Charlotte wants to support her friend and her dad wants Charlotte to be happy by giving her what she wants. Charlotte's spare dress fitting Tiana perfectly can be explained by her growing out of it/putting on too much weight for it to fit her.
Another awesome fact about this wonderful movie that deserves more praise is: During the tarot card reading, four cards are based on actual tarot: Prince Naveen's first card, the three of pentacles, which is the card symbolizing constructive energy particularly with money, and Lawrence's first card, the ten of wands, the card of oppression. When the Prince's second card is spun, it shows the prince in front of a tower with no money; the Roman numeral XVI is shown at the top denoting it to be "The Tower," a card that represents uncontrolled change and loss. Likewise, the final card the Prince is shown resembles the Card 0, "The Fool."
Ah yes, the card of Beginnings. Love this movie, and the moment I realized that, I loved it even more. Also, before I even start watching, not sure if he mentions it. The Shadow Man’s entire appearance is based off of the Voodoo Loa of Death and Graveyards, Baron Samedi. Despite the popular belief of death being evil, Samedi is noted to give those who die, the eternal party, and helps children return from the dead to give them a longer life. Of course, even with that, nothing comes without a little price.
@@sethcrawford5107 Usually that price is whiskey and cigars. Baron Samedi is actually a pretty cool dude. He's also been known to just randomly show up at parties in New Orleans, particularly around Mardi Gras and Halloween, if the party's going good enough, and according to legend when he does anyone he finds himself making friends with will get a free favor and anyone there he takes a general liking to will find themselves blessed with good health and long life.
@@GuukanKitsune: Oh, my mistake then. I’m still trying to learn more about voodoo, and I still don’t know to much. Still, pretty good! Also, that does sound awesome!! Thanks for the education by the way!
Actually, looking through “Friends on the Otherside”, I saw two more Arcana, at least I think. When Facilier sings “Your lifestyles high” It shows the Devil Arcana (XV) which represents temptation and impulsiveness, as we can see with Naveen dragging around two women. The card after Tower, when Facilier was talking about the marriage, Is the Nine of Cups, which represents contentment, satisfaction, and a wish come true, or inversely, materialism, dissatisfaction, and indulgence. Again, really cool attention to detail!
Have you noticed that, on their first encounter, Naveen tried to flirt with Tiana, but as she refused he just moved on? He didn't try to push her more into flirting, and then look like a creep. He, even as a declared woman's man, knows when its time to stop. That's why Naveen is one of the best male leads in Disney.
That's very cool and I like him for it... But also I find it kinda sad that that kind of thing it's seen as something rare and worthy of praise when it should be the norm😌
As a kid who had grown around the “woman’s man chasing the woman who isn’t into him” trope, that seen really caught me by surprise. Kind of wish we had more characters like Naveen.
This movie is spectacular! "Almost There", "Friends From The Other Side", and "Dig A Little Deeper" have made permanent residence in my head, and Dr. Facilier is one of my all time favorite villains.
Can we just TALK about Keith David being in this? That man's voice is SOMETHING ELSE. You know if anyone were to take over the role of Darth Vader from the recently retired Legend himself Keith would be a good option.
I mean, there's also the guy LucasArts hired back in the day for stuff like Empire at War, the guy who voiced Chad Vader in "Chad Vader - Dayshift Manager"
Well, they just set up a deal with JEJ to have an AI produce his voice for Vader until the end of time, so Keith David will just have to find another iconic villain to line up next to Vader and Candyman.
This movie came at a really pivotal time in my life, shortly after my father's passing. The timing was really on point, as I was struggling with guilt at feeling like I never did enough to show dad how much I appreciated him. It was that line in this movie that had me crying and finding some measure of peace hearing: "My daddy never got all he wanted. But he had what he needed."
Beautifully stated, Zenguin. My father died ten years after this movie came out. I found old Disney DVDs while cleaning out Dad's stuff. It was the first time I watched the movie. I wept when I heard that line. Like you, it brought me some measure of comfort. I'm so sorry about your father's passing. May he rest in eternal peace.🥀
@@TheGruffchickJournal We don't get to pick when they go, but you're right. It was probably for the best that he went quickly. And thank you, I'm glad you found some closure as well.
I actually started working at Disney, so 'Dig a lil Deeper' would play quite a lot. "You your daddy's daughter, what you had in him, you got in you." That.. helped me a lot.
Shadow Man is easily one of the most underappreciated villains not just for Keith David's performance (it's his stoic Goliath tones mixed with his more "outrageousness" attitude), but how it's so clearly a Bruce W. Smith design (I immediately think PROUD FAMILY just from this character's design) that blends with the more "clearly Disney" style.
@@alim.9801 The problem is one people hate Randy Newman. The bigger problem this film came out just before James Cameron Avatar, talk about bad timing.
Malcolm getting an opportunity to speak on black culture was so important and they didn't take themselves too seriously either. Sometimes, I love this channel more than I have words for.
@kdawg1991 Thanksgiving 2023. And holy crap, it's gonna be half hand-drawn? I didn't know that. I squeed at the two seconds of hand-drawn animation in Soul. A whole movie has to be awesome.
@@coolnerdlll6053 I'm just glad Disney is finally seeing how Spider-Verse changed the animation game with their hybrid style, and are now doing their own take
I think this was probably the last film that really showcased how 2 people from 2 different worlds could come together and still be good friends who support and uplift each other. Tiana and Lottie are adorable. Lottie is Naive, but not stupid, and she has some moments where she realizes that she's afforded privileges that Tiana is not, and she does her damnedest to be a good friend and always be in Tiana's corner. She doesn't try to force her values on Tiana, and Tiana, in turn, doesn't try to force hers, either. This is a TRUE friendship. 2 people from 2 different worlds coming together and being friends despite their differences.
Stella was originally going to have a much larger role in the story, but the animators apparently decided the story had too many talking animals already at some point.
What always gets me about Dr. Facilier is just how similar he is to Anastasia's Rasputin: They both made a pact with the forces of darkness to gain power, and they're soundly taken by said dark forces when an important item given to them was destroyed by the female protagonist. And the icing on the cake? Both met their demise in the same time period, maybe even 'round the same year! The Princess & the Frog - 1926 Anastasia - 1926 or 1927
Rasputin's In The Dark of The Night song is one of my favorite songs from the Anastasia movie. I don't think he's a character in the Broadway version though
@@tonialston1968 When Anastasia came out people didn't like how historically inaccurate it was, so Rasputin was removed from the broadway play for that reason.
The Shadow Man is such a good villain. He’s a master of double talk and the pictures in the tarot cards have such subtle details like Naveen resting on a lily pad or Lawrence dressed up as the prince. Great foreshadowing
It was so cool that you gave Malcolm a moment to shine in this review. Usually, Tamara will be the one to represent the other side of an argument, here I'm glad you let him speak about his opinions. Hope you get more opinions into your reviews going forward.
i always loved this movie as a kid for very big reasons - Tiana didn't have to give up her dreams like in soooooo many rom coms, she got to have what was rightfully hers, she just learned that you were allowed to have fun at the same time -even if his design wasn't very special, i still loved naveen, he had such a fun personality and back then he was the only disney prince who's name i could remember -and most of all i felt for tianas love for her father, he reminds me alot of my own dad and i love seeing characters that remind me of him
Tiana’s not rebelling against someone in her regular life either (which did seem to be a staple of the Renaissance era Disney movies, Ariel against Triton, Belle against Gaston, Simba against responsibility, Quasi against Frollo, Mulan against institutionalised sexism etc), except the prejudice of the racist estate agents. She’s on great terms with her mother, the character who by appearance and social class should be the one to hate her is her biggest cheerleader and the only people who act against her interests are the aforementioned assholes. Everyone else she knows support her dream and help her get it on her terms.
I rewatched this movie recently and I found Tiana still so wonderfully refreshing after all the recent "Strong female characters" She's someone whose genuinely strong and fiercely independant. Someone who can work towards a goal but still be endearing, have a personality, and have us rooting for her. She also went through an actual arc throughout the story and it's an important one. And that's when if your too driven you can push everyone away without realizing it. You may find success but at the price of your friends and family and all the time wasted not living your life. It was something I really enjoyed and overall despite it flaws I actually still love this movie.
yeah she is honestly still my favorite princess and I feel her story is very unique. a lot of prior princesses end up falling into the "I want more" category and princesses post tangled come off too similar to Rapunzel/the "super spunky" personality. and yeah tiana is a strong character, with her being an extremely hard worker, willing to do three jobs for her dream, but this drive also becomes her flaw as she ends up obsessed, not stopping to smell the roses/mistaking a want for a need in life.
Yea, I'm getting kinda tired of the "Strong and Independent" women in movies (Disney Movies especially). Sometime I want to see Female characters that want love, every woman doesn't want to be strong and Independent, some want to be soft and taken care of. I would like diversity like that. I like Tiana's character, because even though she was strong she found love on the way, she had someone that wanted to take care of her. It's okay to be strong, but I also wish there were more modern female characters that aren't strong.
@@TGWTGCensored You cant tell a well written character from a poorly written on without watching the media. You have to experience it to understand and given that most media isn't very well written now a day's its what you have to live with. It's also not wrong to experience media to see where it goes or enjoy a show for other aspects. I may not like Galadriel or how she was written but I like plenty of other aspects to the show that make it watchable. Just saying don't watch poorly written characters is a rather narrow minded view of how people consume content.
@@TheLoneReni Then don't make it sound like *every* female character is like that nowadays. It's no better than when the feminists assume every female character is a damsel in distress, or a nagging housewife, or a bland love interest, or any of the archetypes they dislike. What about _Hilda_ ? What about _Amphibia_ ? What about _The Owl House_ ? What about _The Ghost and Molly McGee_ ? What about _Encanto_ ? What about _The Mitchells vs. the Machines_ ? What about _Turning Red_ ? What about the upcoming _Inside Out_ sequel, which *probably* won't indulge in the "muh strong woman" trope, given the original movie? You're missing out on so many actually well written female characters just because you're refusing to watch media with female protagonists on the assumption they'll be crap. It's like you said, you can't judge which characters are well written and which aren't without watching the media, so can't generalise and say female characters all suck nowadays. Also, when people say "don't like it, don't watch it", what they mean is you shouldn't watch it *multiple* times. If you've seen it once, and you know you don't like it, what's the point in torturing yourself further?
I remember being blown away by Friends on the Other Side when I first saw it. The villain, the song, the animation, it all just came together so well and it's still my favorite part of the movie.
@@justsomegirlwithoutamustache The problem with Princess and the Frog is that it came 5 days before Avatar by James Cameron. Avatar completely overshadowed P&TF.
@Bluespirit Speaking of the Other side, Parents complained that the film's use of voodoo was too scary for kids and demanded that the film would get a PG rating.
The frog complaint always kills me. Kuzco was a llama for longer. Tiana is human for a good chunk of the movie, as is Naveen. The frog form allows Tiana's resourcefulness to shine through. Also Down in New Orleans and Ma Belle Evangeline are good too.
Kuzco was actually more entertaining in his llama form, and he had to be one for the majority of the film because the story demanded it; to break his pride and his spirit. Tiana didn't need to be a frog in the first place for the story to work, and actually weakened her "I need to look out for others and seek their help" story arc that was already pretty weak to be begin with; after all, her looking after a relentlessly flirty and flighty frog would've been more frustrating for her as a human, and her choosing to keep helping him would've been a sign of maturity. Instead, she's seeking a cure for herself as well, making her journey and sacrifices far less selfless.
@@kstephenson5857 The story does demand she be a frog for the same reason Kuzco needs to be a llama. As a human, Tiana is confident, resourceful, and certain she can work her way out of anything. She needs to be a frog to be out of her element, and in a situation where she can see there's more to life. Have an needs to be a frog to undergo a situation he can't charm his way out of. Eventually, he has to learn responsibility. Kuzco actually doesn't need to be a llama by the way. If Yzma tries to kill him and he gets knocked out instead and carried off and needs an escort back, that's the movie. People have been changing into animals in Disney forever, but this is the one people complain about?
If there's one thing this movie was simply great was in the characters' personalities: - Tiana was understandable and determined to work towards her dream - Naveen was naive and funny but learned about some things being more important than status - Charlotte had a lot of energy and I'm glad that the richness difference between the girls didn't affect their friendship - Dr. Facilier is simply the best character; great charisma, booming voice, clever schemer, unique set of powers, one of the best Disney Villain Songs and one of the best Defeats Almost every time we meet a Disney Villain, they turn out to be one of the best characters created: Hades, Dr. Facilier, Maleficent, Yzma, Oogie Boogie, Captain Hook, Lady Tremaine, etc. Strange, isn't it?
And when you look at Elsa's early concept, she would've been an absolute DIVA as a villain! She had a friggin fur coat made out of LIVING ERMINES! Like, a bunch of furry adorable critters bunched over her shoulders while she wore a large snowflake-shaped crown and strut like she owned the whole world!
@@MrKlausbaudelaire Disney said they had been trying for years to adapt the SnowQueen, but they had not Idea how to adapt it. Elsa was originally going to be a villain, but Let it Go, gave the writers the idea of changing Elsa into an ani hero. So the plot rewritten all over again.
@@orangeslash1667 Man were they lazy or what? The original isn't that hard to give anyone plenty of ideas. Snow Queen entices a young man, his sister goes to the rescue. Develop Elsa as this not necessarily EVIL, but a bit chaotic, maybe seeking company after some abandonment issues, she could've been the queen but was kicked out when just a girl, so she cursed the land with eternal winter and lived as a recluse in her fortress, maybe ocasionaly kidnapping young men to keep her company until they die, and the story starts when Anna's brother is the one taken and she is the one tto finally melt that cold heart of hers. Was it hard to write that? No! Am I being paid by a multi-billion dollar company to write it? Nope!
@@MrKlausbaudelaire I think the SnowQueen story could work as a miniseries, however Hans Christian Andersen stories are hard to translate into film without changes. The other problem is that Jennifer Lee didn't have much of a resume outside of doing the screen play of Wreck it Ralf.
It’s also the right way to make a Disney movie with a Black character. Although loosely based on a European fairy tale it takes enough creative liberties that it isn’t just a cheap attempt at blackwashing or reverse cultural appropriation. Tiana being black isn’t shoehorned either, and it takes an opportunity to explore an interesting culture that Black people are a part of. Would have been nice if Aida also got made though. We don’t have to have only one Black princess. And they made the Prince come from a mixed racial background - his name coded him as South Asian, yet he comes from a kingdom similar to Portugal, and is voiced by a Brazilian to drive this point home. Since Portugal has historically been less averse to race mixing, and indeed there have been times when the royalty have almost married nonwhites, it’s not hugely historically inaccurate for him to be half Indian or for them to get married.
Honestly, out of all the Disney Princess movies, this is probably my favorite one. The lesson the two leads got was that they needed connections to other people. Tiana was a workaholic to reach her dream, but as a result, she kept putting off making connections with other people. I got the vibe that adult Tiana was distant from the people that knew her, even her own mother, and the only kind of exception was Charlotte, and even then Charlotte seemed in her own world over Tiana's. She was just so focused on her dream that she forgot to live a meaningful life. Naveen was the opposite, spending all his time and money partying with as many people as possible, but never really knowing them. The only person we see him somewhat close to is Lawrence, but even then, it's like the relationship between Charlotte and Tiana, where Naveen is in his own world. It's only at the end of the movie, after they both realize that they need human connections, to support one another, that they become human again. It's not about your prince coming someday, changing the law to support true love, or changing yourself to find love. This one is about our characters becoming human, literally and metaphorically.
I was so hyped to see this movie in theaters and seeing hand-drawn Disney animation back on the big screen. It is honestly gave me the feeling I was seeing something from the Renaissance Era. If it had the popularity that it has now and it wasn't released a week before Avatar, we'd probably be getting more hand-drawn content today.
OMG same here! Before this film came out, I couldn’t recall the last hand drawn film I saw in the theater. And I’ve only seen two since then. The MLP Movie from 2017 and The Bob’s Burgers Movie from this year. Both of which I enjoyed. I think it might’ve been The Simpsons Movie from 2007 before this one. But anyway yeah it was amazing seeing a 2D animated film on the big screen since that’s a rarity anymore. It’s box office while yes, may have been affected by Avatar soon after was fairly decent. Made $271 million off a $105 million budget. If you make double or more back it’s considered a financial success. And as NC said Tiana appears to be still quite popular. I’ve seen many girls wear both her blue and green dress for Halloween
I had great hope for this movie, moreover she had a real nice design and even her "simplified" dance number was great visually, I was offput though by the movie being 60% frog adventure which design was bleh... I was hoping for so much more out of this movie as I wasn't a fan of the cartoonish Hercules and was not that interested in the design of Pocahontas for instance. Her design was just what I was looking for so I am sad they didn't show her more
@@stefanswiss3760 For me, Tiana being turned into a frog is what got me hyped to see this. I love transformation stories, when I saw this I said (man this is what Brother Bear should have been).
I really enjoy to see Malcom’s opinion on this movie. I enjoy when the rest of cast give their own thoughts regarding a popular movie and what it meant to them.
I really liked Malcolm's segment in this review. His insight was interesting and didn't come across as preachy with the ways he put it. We need more people like Malcolm
I actually liked the theme a lot. Worko-holism is the real drama of modern world for many women, and they truly never find time to just relax, have fun, be around people and yeah - find a proper spouse as well. I'm glad this movie exists. It's very tasteful with its diversity as it well fits the story, it has some good message to tell and a pretty fun, bumpy adventure ride to take you on, it has some crazy good visuals and music - it's everything I ever wanted from Disney after the rainessance era was over. I can remember leaving the cinema when I first saw it completely satiafied.
Agreed . And Ne-Yo’s song from the end credits “Never Knew I Needed” is still one of my favorites soundtrack songs which I still have downloaded on both my iPods
workoholism isnt specifically a "modern woman" problem though, it affects modern men too. If you think modern women arent able to find proper spouses because they work too much, then the same logic should apply to modern men, yet you rarely ever see people telling men to stop working so much and instead focus on finding a spouse.
@@FirstnameLastname-zq8oyI think they meant how women work themselves for the purpose of making less of a issue with women who work. They wanna prove to the world that women can just as capable as men. Modern world we all work other each other to the bone sometimes
I had no idea Malcolm came from a Creole background, so it’s nice to see him chipping in his opinions on how this movie represents Creole culture. As someone who has a particular fascination with history, It really adds another level to the movie that makes it more interesting.
It's so nice that Malcom can share his own opinion on the film with critic I hope they do more just like that having the others give their own feelings on the reviews
HOLY SHIT Malcolm got a part in this video beyond the skit please do more of these where you bring other people to do a part in the videos I feel like it balances a lot of things out
Hey Doug, just wanted to say thank you for the Cameo you sent me for my birthday last week. I was not expecting my family to get that for me. What you said in it meant a lot. I actually took a picture with you, Rob, and your Dad at Rhode Island Comic-Con some years back and told you guys how sorry I was that you had to watch the Animated Titanic movies. Those were actually some of the first videos I watched. Anyway, thanks for the weekly videos. They are awesome.
I LOVED Malcolm's section!! Please have him on more often! He made such good insights, did excellent and clear narration, it was SUPER well-written, and his acting as the Shadow Man was brilliant!!! It would be so great to see the other's give their thoughts on movies alongside you as the Critic! Please Please please let Malcolm know I absolutely loved it and he did a great job and I'd love to see him do more of this in the future! He's really good at it!!! 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
Personally I loved how they were both turned into frogs. It really takes a different approach with the movie, telling a different story than others. And it taking place in New Orleans also really plays a big part in the enticing setting. I just enjoyed how this was the same story topic going for different goals, a new antagonist, and and some BANGER music.
Lilo's doll really should've made an appearance, not because it has the same looks as the other dolls, but she even had a book about voodoo earlier in the movie! Big missed opportunity 😕
In the very last scene, you can see a wedding band on Naveen's finger several times. *When you finally get a view of Tiana's finger,* she's wearing the ring that Naveen made for her on the riverboat! Possibly doubles as a Heartwarming Moment.
I’m really glad Malcolm was able to give his insights into the film. I think proper representation and depiction of culture in film is incredibly important.
Here's a fact about Disney's final days of 2D animation. Disney did had a originally announced that Home on the Range would be their final traditionally animated film, but that decision was reversed when a new leadership was brought into the run of Disney Animation Studios. Many of the animators were brought back to help on this film. Contrary to popularity belief, this wasn’t Disney’s last hand-drawn film, the current last one would be Winnie the Pooh (2011), Although they have thought of doing one again, such has yet to surface.
The Princess and The Frog is one of Disney greatest but also most underrated films in my opinion, it's an absolute masterpiece Tiana is one of my all time favorite Disney princesses just as Doctor Facilier is one of my all time favorite Disney villains! i especially love Charlotte as a character, she's definitely spoiled but not mean and selfish she genuinely cared for Tiana and willingly gave up her own dream of becoming a princess so that Tiana could live her dream, that's a true friend right there.
Keith David is one of the most inspired choices for a Disney villian ever, istg he saves this movie from being just a run of the mill disney princess movie
The fact that Kieth David has done so many voices is amazing sometimes Imagine the shadow man quoting Sgt Foley which is another Kieth David character "RAMIREZ WE GOTTA DEFEND BURGER TOWN"
What I love about The Shadow Man is mainly the voice actor behind the character, Keith David. Keith brings his A-game to the character, and you can tell. This would continue as he would play ANOTHER Disney villain, King Andrias in Amphibia, and once again he would give it his all!
I remember my dad seeing a commercial for this movie and liking how it was about the princess becoming a frog. It was apparently something he always thought should happen.
Charlotte Labuff was so likeable, but I was pretty puzzled that she didn't get a love interest at the end. If anything, I thought that guy who was trying to get a dance with her at her party would get a second attempt at the end and given a chance to dance, revealing that he possibly onw of the best dancers among all of them.
I really wish there were more hand drawn movies. 3D is cool and all, but I miss the old style. Even computer animation in the hand drawn style is cool.
As strange as it sounds, the end credits is one of if not my favorite of all Disney end credits. The song is wonderful and it seems like you could screenshot almost any part and it would be an incredible piece of art.
Agreed “Never Knew I Needed” by Ne-Yo is definitely a great song and is still one of my favorite soundtrack (and Disney songs) songs to this day. And yes that artwork playing during the credits at the end is quite well done too Have it downloaded on both my iPods
11:27 Two of Charlotte's seven animators, Eric Pigors and Nik Ranieri, did animate Hades. One of Charlotte's other animators is one of my college professor's wife, it was cute he showed us clips she was the Assistant lead key on and would gush about how awesome she is
What I personally like about this movie is honestly the two main leads. I love their chemistry and their connections to one or another actually works since one is hardworking while the other got everything he wanted. I like that dynamic honestly since the both of them learn from eachother. I don’t know I like that stuff love this movie so much!! ❤️❤️❤️
At least Tiana and Navine got to know each other in comparison to most other fairytales. It’s not everyday the prince and princess go on the same adventure side by side
I am 31 years old....and I LOVE LOVE this movie!!!! I come from a Creole background as well and this just made my heart sing!! (My me-maw looked and sounded exactly like Mama Odie!!🤣) And the songs....absolutely incredible!! I love sharing this movie with my kids!!
I grew up in Louisiana, so i felt the same way. Heck, there were parts of the movie where i was like "I swaer I've seen that building in the French Quarter."
If I had a nickel for every time Keith David voiced an awesome villain in a 2D animated story about frogs, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
I actually comprised it of different piece I bought online. Because when I did find a costume that would at least fit a Voodoo priestess... Let's just say they were pretty risque, and that's not what I was going for.
This was the first Disney Princess film I watched at the cinema and I became obsessed with it. I would buy anything related to this film because I loved it so much. Although my obsession died down a little when Tangled came out, I never loved something so much as I loved this film. And I still love the film.
I love how they actually make you feel like your in New Orleans and you actually feel like this is 1920's New Orleans and not something just made for a movie which is really cool to see.
Honestly Keith David could voice one Frog getting married to a Hippo while the Phillie Phanatic tries to rob a bank and his getaway driver is Lou Bega because Gritty forgot his contact lenses and it would still be awesome
This was the last Disney animated movie I fondly recall. And as for why Ray's death hit so hard ties back to something the critic said in his lion king review: when Disney kills off a likeable protagonist, they almost never show the body. This is one of the exceptions.
Tiana is one of my favorite princesses because she's not looking for love, she's focused on her goal of opening a restaurant and accomplishing both her and her late father's dream. Yes, she's a workaholic and there is a bit of a racism in the film, but she's still so inspiring and her relationships with those around her like her mother, Lottie, and eventually Naveen are so beautiful. I know a lot of people are happy with the live action Ariel being the first black princess since Tiana is a frog for most of her film, but I'm still happy about the representation.
Why are they happy being given white ppl’s sloppy seconds for that’s like celebrating getting hand me down clothes instead of brand new ones (Point is Tiana and always will be the first black Disney princess)
I think a good message is that good things happen to people who believe in work hard but its important to have fun while you can. Yeah people are kind of forgetting Tiana and Kida from Atlantis were technically first as colored princesses but sadly underrated.
@@theanimeunderworld8338 Very true. Also, Pocahontas, Mulan and Jasmine were colored princesses but easier to remember since two of them were based on real people, even if there were some inaccurate details
I actually really liked Charlotte and her dad. It showed that, even though someone may not be a bad person, and may even be uniquely kind in their time, they're still sometimes blind to the issues others face
11:37 I really like that too! In fact, I’ve recently grown to appreciate movies with themes of prejudice that have a character who feels like a believable product of their environment, but by simply being good people at heart, are able to see through the injustices of their environment. Characters like Phoebus from Hunchback of Notre Dame, or Bill Pullman’s character from Newsies, or Tom Cruise’s character from Valkyrie, or the swing kids from Swing Kids.
I miss the hand-drawn animation. I also found myself missing the beginning/ending songs were sung by choirs like in Snow White or Beauty and the Beast. I thought it was weird the end credit music was by a pop singer. Not a bad song but it was still weird
Fun Fact about Frogs: Frogs have excellent night vision and are very sensitive to movement. The bulging eyes of most frogs allow them to see in front, to the sides, and partially behind them. When a frog swallows food, it pulls its eyes down into the roof of its mouth, to help push the food down its throat.
I liked that Malcolm got a scene to talk about something. You should do that more often. Have another character step in for a bit and take the review for a minute or two. That would be really interesting to see more of.
You hit the mail on the head, when the movie started, I was blown away by the visuals and story, then they turn into frogs, and it turns into every other Disney movie with the animal sidekicks. Also the swamp scenes just kill the momentum. That being said, Keith David should have gotten an Oscar. Well done you guys.
21:11 Small note: This scene isn’t supposed to be funny, it’s supposed to be sad. In the movie it’s shown that when a firefly dies, they’re reincarnated as a star in the night sky. This means that Ray is actually singing about his dead love. What I like most about that is the fact that they don’t really outright say it in the movie. It’s only revealed when Ray dies and another star forms into the sky.
Yeah, I'll never understand why Doug finds that funny, especially for people who love the character, or were shocked when he died. And of course, it's a firefly; of course it'll look a little weird to someone!
@@monsterhanna6691 OMG I didn’t expect him to die either! Before this film, I can’t recall any case of a comic relief character dying, especially in a Disney film. Especially in such a sudden way. I’ll give credit to that When he got stepped on, I thought he’d survive because he just didn’t seem like the type of character they’d kill off. But man when he died for real , it and the funeral scene hit me in the feels. Especially yes, that star scene when he was reunited with Evangeline.
I'm not Creole but on my father's side, they're Coonas and Cajun. This film captured some of that bayous culture I grew up with and it felt like taking an adventure to a world not explored enough. I agree with Malcolm. I think the film captured the essence of magic in New Orleans. And by magic, I mean the spirit of the vast history and culture that makes the Crescent City a place not easily forgotten by tourists and Louisianan people. Tourists have often said that a piece of that culture has rubbed off on them. Whether it be the love of good food, learning something of southern culture, or falling in love with the music, a piece of New Orleans remains. Spreading far and wide. If New York City is the heart of America, then New Orleans is our country's spirit.
How many comments will there be on 'Frogs are not reptiles'? I'm guessing over 100
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Review sky high or the princess
Review Barnyard (2006) please Doug.
Review Home on the Range (2004).
I like how Charlotte was a spoiled princess but she wasn’t an antagonist and was shown to be a nice girl
Yeah it was a nice change.
and they let her be a rich white person who had a black best friend without turning her into a "too good for this world White savior saint"
Being a rich white girl she is definitely gonna be the "Twist" villain in the future remake.
@@iwannahavearockstar2994 are they really remaking this movie
@@iwannahavearockstar2994 How? That wouldn't make sense.
I love Tiana and Lottie’s friendship in the film. They could have easily made Lottie mean and catty, but she genuinely cares about Tiana and tries to help her. I think showing kids true friendship like that is a great thing.
They are the best kind of friendship
I like no one calls attention to a white woman being friends with a black woman & just let it be normal
Exactly. That scene at the end where she gives up her dream of marrying a prince so tiana can have her true love and happy ending was so moving.
@@jessedellross3245 It really is.
And she is the only Tiana's friend who doesn't critic her for working so much in the restaurant scene.
Fun Fact: Dr. Facilier is the only character in the film to refer to himself by that name. All the others call him "The Shadow Man."
Huh interesting.
Maybe he doesn’t really have a doctorate. Maybe they’re going with the thing of “names have power, you can invoke an entity by calling its name” since there’s so much magic in the story. Cool detail!
Y'all be coming with the dumbest facts ever
I honestly forgot that’s his nam e
who thought he was Samuel Jackson at first?
The Dr. Facilier scene with Naveen is that he DID NOT LIE to Naveen. The cards pointed him toward turning him into a frog. Naveen's Tarot's cards are correct. First (his past) is the 15th (The Devil) that means he is petty, blind, prideful, etc. Second card (his present) is the 16th (The Tower) that means a horrible tragedy or event will befall him. Third card (his future) is the 9th (The Hermit) that means to disguise, and conceal (which could mean Lawrence is plotting something). The fourth card (his suggestion) is "The Fool" (a major arcana card) meaning new beginnings with folly, carelessness, etc. Naveen on the Lilly pad shows the route he is going.
Even better: In his hand, as he's shuffling the cards, he turns over the five of coins, ace of swords and queen of wands in that order.
So - Poverty/crisis; rational analysis and guiding principle; the energy and management of a group of people (shadows). He gave a reading for his own life - poverty, discovering how to use voodoo for his own ends, and taking command of the shadows to offer up a city.
I loved this analysis! When youu break it down, it shows that the people behind the scenes actually did their homework! Great job pointing this out!
@@Raelynn-nl5rd I'm not sure why the critic has an issue with the Princess and Frog being complicated, since he likes the Dark Knight which is also complicated?????
I thought The Fool was card 0, all of the mentioned cards are also the Major Arcana or Discordance.
I love how there is genuine tarot knowledge in the comments to not only educate newcomers to the craft, like myself, but also show the accuracy and care they put into the film. ❤
I don’t see people talk enough about this movie. The villain’s death was absolutely horrifying to me
Yeah I have to agree
While it’s technically not as gruesome as let’s say Ursula, Scar, or Clayton, it is still quite terrifying seeing his reaction as he’s dragged away knowing he didn’t keep his deal (if I recall correctly) and he’ll now be trapped forever in that other world
@@RYMAN1321 turns out that power comes with a price and his "friends" would collect the soul they were owed whether Facillier succeeded or failed. I particularly like how it's accompanied by that brief refrain of the bit from his song about his "friends on the other side". Never make a deal with otherworldly entities unless you know and are willing to pay the price.
The dude literally got dragged to the "shadow realm" and a gravestone with a face of sheer horror. Your wrong in the head if that didn't unsettle you at least a little.
Yeah, i saw it when i was like 9 years old and i couldn't forget this scene for a few weeks
In my opinion Clayton has a very dark death because he basically got hanged to death
I always thought the intended message of "never lose sight of what's important" was yes, not only a spouse, was a support system. There are plenty of people that reach out to Tiana and genuinely just want her to relax and have some fun. "Let more people into your life" basically.
So which is it?
@@slyfox2022 it’s work hard but don’t lose sight of what’s important, Tiana was wasting her life away working double shifts with only a few minuets sleep per day
@@mrcritical6751 Basically no sleep, which would had killed her eerie long.
I like how along their journey Tiana makes friends and at the end of the movie her friends are seen at the restaurant dancing and celebrating too. All in all, I think the messages they wanted to convey get through, just maybe not as impactfully as they could have been with a stronger story.
@@slyfox2022 Work hard but don't bury yourself. Be strong enough to go out on your own, but don't be afraid to get help. Be confident in yourself, but still be open to the wonders of love. Chase your dreams, but don't let them kill you. Find balance.
Some people like to make Charlotte a bad person with this scenario: “why couldn’t she ask her father to give Tiana the money to open restaurant?” Honestly I doubt Tiana would’ve accepted it. As it shows she’s the kind person who wants to earn her money instead of it being handed it to her
I'm almost certain Charlotte floated the idea of giving Tiana the money at least once when she learned her friend was aiming to open her own restaurant and Tiana flat out refused. That's just the friendship they seem to have in the film and since I feel that comes across pretty clearly there's no need to waste time on a scene like that.
@@poweruppikawho9007 yaa even as a kid i thought that. All around Charllote is a good friend. Hopefully they dont make a remake of this because with the lack of inspiration and braincells disney remakes have, theyd make Charlote the mean girl playing her into the blond rich bish steriotype
My theory is she did in a way Tiana would accept. She overpayed for the beniet order and gave Tiana the last bit of money she needed to buy the restaurant
@@SadieRockheart That was probably her last of multiple attempts to give Tiana the money for sure xD Her quick moment of "eureka!" when the little pínk cogs of her mind finally figured out how to pay Tiana past her pride.
@@MrKlausbaudelaire oh the image of Charlotte just sitting in a dark room, a cup of hot coco in hand, and murmering before a "DING" plays and she runs out the room giggling like a mad woman is amazing
"Please bring hand drawn movies back!"
Agreed. Hand drawn was the best. Movies, cartoons, anime. God I miss the 20th century.
YESSSS!
Luckily anime is still a largely 2D form of animation, which is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much.
@@RemoteLogic well, thats the thing, this was Hand Drawn. while cg is usually associated with 3d movies, its used for most 2d work nowadays as well.
There will be a hand drawn Lord of the Rings movie in theaters.
Fun fact: growing up in a religious home, when my parents took me to see this as a kid, they had me close my eyes during the voodoo parts and when Facilier died. Hearing his screams of terror without knowing what happened gave me nightmares for months
I guess sometimes not knowing what happens in scenes like that is much more scary.
Oh God.
I dont wanna sound like im insulting your parents, but what the hell were they thinking?!
..yeah, religion is built to scare people.
ngl, NOT seeing what's on the screen would make those scenes wayyy scarier to a kid. my imagination scared the shit out of me more often than not lol
Dr. Facilier is like the last Disney villain that can be marketed as a Disney villain because everyone after him is a twist villain and can’t be included in the official marketing lineup
TAMATOA
@@N.I.A23 I’ve personally haven’t seen him on Disney villain merchandising. Not saying it doesn’t exist, just that his presence isn’t as prominent in that line
Gothel ?
What about Mother Gothel i thought she was last one
I think he's considered the last official one because he's the scene stealer of the movie. Gothel and King Candy were the villains for their entire movies without really being twist villains but they're not as interesting or entertaining as the heroes are in those movies. Granted, I do like King Candy and Gothel but they're not as easily recognizable as other Disney baddies
Facilier is definitely one of the coolest Disney villains, and I think a huge part of why is the performance by Keith David. The dude can make a cat sound cool
He also voiced the cat from “Coraline”, which also came out in 2009.
@@georgeeastwood6930 I know. That’s why I mentioned a cat
I'm flipping out over the fact he ALSO played the Cat in Coraline! I LOVE that movie 😍
He looks like Oscar Proud
@@nuclearcatbaby1131 and now I have the running stuck in my head again
I love Malcom’s take on the prejudice side of the movie and how he describe the Voodoo and Hoodoo bit there. He should do more of commentary on more future projects if given the chance.
An interesting thing about it, Malcolm says, that bad supernatural powers are referred to as Voodoo, while good powers are referred to as magic. As far as I recall, there is a scene, when the protagonists arrive in the hut of Mama Odie, in which Louis asks something along the line "are you sure, that this is this famous old Voodoo-Lady?". So it is at least hinted, that her powers are a brand of Voodoo as well. Although I have to admit, I do not know, if this scene plays out the same in the English original, I know the German Dub of it.
@@zebra8961 The show is called Nostalgia Critic tho. Not Nostalgia Critic & Malcolm. But I understand
@@tonyzacker8946 Yes, they specifically refer to Mama Odie's power as Voodoo.
He needs his own show
@@Ranuyasha just because the show is called "nostalgia critic" doesn't mean they can't have more diverse opinions included.
It always stood out to me that Tiana's father received the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously in World War I. It probably meant that he did some actions that were worthy of the Medal of Honor but was downgraded to the next highest award. That happened often for Black soldiers in World War I and World War II and it wouldn't be until the 1990s when the military would review the situation and upgrade them to the Medal of Honor years 50-70 years later.
Intriguing!!!
I like to think her father fought off a German advance all by himself, exhausted, bleeding and riddled with bullets.
Interestingly there is theory the villain was her father
@@chimera9818 Really?
I never heard that, why would that be possible ?
I'm always insulted they detract from the historic individuals by falsely claiming an honour for their fictional character as some kind of good soldier trophy meant as a cheap way to invoke emotional response.
They made it up just for your reaction.
Honestly I feel the film celebrated so many important lessons for life.
1. The value of hard work.
2. Not losing yourself within your work and allowing yourself the things that make you happy such as the possibility of love.
3. Your dreams can come from anyplace, even if it wasn’t exactly what you wanted originally.
You learn these lessons because of Tiana, Naveen and Tiana's Dad.
Tiana was always driven by a fire and determination within her work and her spark and passion for cooking. I have always admired that within her character. She always lit up the screen with that passion and hard work. It was refreshing to see such a character after a while of being away from the fairy tales. But that also leads us to see just how much she sacrificed in order to achieve that dream. Whether it be time with her mother, quality time with friends, the reputation of never wanting fun or love or anything. While hard work and determination absolutely should be the foundation of any dream or person, if you don't find time to take care of yourself, love yourself, and allow yourself moments of joy, then that dream won't be as worthwhile if you only can share it with yourself. If your journey to your dream was only hardship and no joy, then how will the end goal be happy?
Then with Naveen, he has the complete opposite problem of Tiana. He's been sheltered, spoiled and completely devoid of any sort of responsibility or work ethnic for his life and never really had a spark to encourage that. Yes Naveen loves his music but that never inspired him to go out and pursue it or anything that would give his life structure within hard work. So when he meets Tiana, someone who has had to work day and night for her dreams and to survive of course he doesn't get it. He said it himself. He doesn't know how to do anything because he was never given an opportunity to really care about anything or try to find something he could work on. He doesn't understand the need to work hard for the sake of something or someone he loves. For Tiana, the work she did was equally for her Dad as it as for herself. And as Naveen gets to know Tiana and begins to fall in love with her, we begin to see him having genuine aspirations of work and making a meaningful impact for Tiana's dream. Him throwing away a possibility of being with her and proposing to her to be with someone he doesn't love or him considering getting three jobs to help Tiana get her restaurant...THAT is love. Naveen and the lessons he learns and the character development he goes through are not nearly as talked about as they should be.
And then we get to probably the most important lesson of the movie. Dreams sometimes don't work out the way you planned but that doesn't mean you can't find happiness and dreams elsewhere. Tiana's Dad worked so hard to provide a good life for his family and his dream. While he worked really hard for he wanted, it unfortunately wasn't meant to be. He never got what he wanted out of life and had to live out this dream in other ways such as serving the neighborhood and being with his family. But even though Tiana's Dad never got what he wanted, he did have what he needed. He did have a fulfilling life with love, friends and a family. A loving wife and a beautiful and talented daughter that he loved to pieces. A family and group of friends he could live out his dream with. While not everyone can achieve their dreams the way they initially planned, it doesn't mean you can't have them at all. Tiana's Dad did have something a lot of people don't have: love and a foundation of his dream within that love because he never lost sight of what was the most important to him. It's a profound lesson that I feel is not talked about as much as it should be and why Tiana's Dad is easily one of the most overlooked characters in the movie.
No this film isn't perfect and I completely get why people have a problem with Tiana becoming a frog for the majority of the film. I still do however think the film works for these lessons and the powerfulness of them, especially as we see Tiana and Naveen grow as people and as a couple as they fall in love and plan their futures together. The lessons of the movie of celebrating hard work while also finding time for joy and that your dreams can come true in ways you didn't expect I feel are very meaningful and not celebrated enough as we continue debating this movie.
Agreed
And as NC said, the subtle references to racism during that time period which I too felt were subtle enough without it being too in your face.
I ain't reading all that
@@A_Z_A_T_H_O_T_H Why the hell are you even commenting then?
@@A_Z_A_T_H_O_T_H get out of here you lazy ass
@@A_Z_A_T_H_O_T_H Don't bother leaving a comment then you bum. no one asked or forced you to.
Honestly, I’d love to see Malcolm and Tamara give their opinions on the films being reviewed more often.
same
@codyrocker185 A semi regular debate feature where they give a round table review and why they like, dislike or are indifferent to things about the film could be interesting. Years ago, pre-Andy Signore firing, Screen Junkies ran a Movie Fights series. Something by CA in that vein might be worth looking into.
Facts
Personally I will go with if they have movie that center around people groups that one of the people of channel awesome are part of and/or if they really loving the movie and have interesting take to add (Malcolm for example gave both context of African American and the specific culture of the group from movie and it was legit interesting to hear as non American )
Tamara had her own show for a while called “Takara’s Never Seen”.
Another thing I loved about Facilier in this movie is how he's subtly vulnerable. The dialogue implies he had a poor upbringing and cleverly hints at how dangerous things get if his Voodoo bond is broken. So there's more drive to him as a scheming villain than the usual Disney baddie. And we know Keith David is great at being scary and funny in the same performance.
Voodoo bond please explain
@@Thehunter905 The totem Fallicier uses- if it breaks, the spirits take him as payment. That’s why he freaked out when Lawrence carelessly tossed it.
As well as the fear he displayed when Tiana shattered it
Insert King Andrias here. Though that salamander also has a third tragic sympathetic layer but still.
@@Thehunter905 His magic seems to work like a loan system- he borrows the power from his "friends" and needs to pay them back eventually, the whole movie's scheme had him put himself more and more in debt all in service to getting enough non magical power to pay back his debt and then some, via putting Lawrence in position to have all the money and power, but only keeping it with The Shadow Man's help. Lawrence marries Lottie, Dr. Facilier kills her dad, then Lawrence leverages the wealth and power however the Dr. tells him to. We don't get the details on how he will get what he needs to pay his debt with said power, just that the lost souls of New Orleans would be there for the taking for his "friends".
He basically took out a magical loan in order to start a buisness, and then got another loan to deal with the complications, only for the most vital thing to be broken, making his plan impossible, so his debt was called in.
His whole deal is that he isn't in power like so many other villians- he doesn't have the political power of Jafar, the social or physical power of Gaston, even his magic is borrowed and bargained for, Ursula has a similar gimic but she has all teh power the whole time. So his whole operation works on screwing people over with what power he can grab, The prince just gave him an opportunity to grab enough to not only break even, not only get ahead of the game, but to do so while having all the power, wealth etc that he never had before.
i like that they don't have the rich person be a bad guy. just because you are on the beneficial end of a broken system doesn't mean you need to be a bad person, and just because you are on the bad end of a broken system it is ok to be a bad person.
The 'system' worked, especially at this time in that it was relatively stable. For a broken system you'd have to look more to mafia cities or something like that.
yeah I also like how charlotte and her dad aren't necessarily evil just oblivious. I think it's because I've grew up with/still seeing one too many "evil business man/rich person is evil" in shows and movies
@@christopherauzenne5023 There is a sort of fan theory based on evidence in the film that they are not as oblivious as they seem. Going out of their way to eat in a dive-in at the beginning. Charlotte, a 'bigger' girl who has a spare dress that fits Tiana perfectly etc.
@@emilylewis5373 shit fan theory bro
@@emilylewis5373 Charlotte and her dad deliberately going to the dive-in at the beginning can be explained by the fact that Charlotte wants to support her friend and her dad wants Charlotte to be happy by giving her what she wants.
Charlotte's spare dress fitting Tiana perfectly can be explained by her growing out of it/putting on too much weight for it to fit her.
Another awesome fact about this wonderful movie that deserves more praise is: During the tarot card reading, four cards are based on actual tarot: Prince Naveen's first card, the three of pentacles, which is the card symbolizing constructive energy particularly with money, and Lawrence's first card, the ten of wands, the card of oppression. When the Prince's second card is spun, it shows the prince in front of a tower with no money; the Roman numeral XVI is shown at the top denoting it to be "The Tower," a card that represents uncontrolled change and loss. Likewise, the final card the Prince is shown resembles the Card 0, "The Fool."
Ah yes, the card of Beginnings. Love this movie, and the moment I realized that, I loved it even more. Also, before I even start watching, not sure if he mentions it. The Shadow Man’s entire appearance is based off of the Voodoo Loa of Death and Graveyards, Baron Samedi. Despite the popular belief of death being evil, Samedi is noted to give those who die, the eternal party, and helps children return from the dead to give them a longer life.
Of course, even with that, nothing comes without a little price.
@@sethcrawford5107 Usually that price is whiskey and cigars. Baron Samedi is actually a pretty cool dude.
He's also been known to just randomly show up at parties in New Orleans, particularly around Mardi Gras and Halloween, if the party's going good enough, and according to legend when he does anyone he finds himself making friends with will get a free favor and anyone there he takes a general liking to will find themselves blessed with good health and long life.
@@GuukanKitsune: Oh, my mistake then. I’m still trying to learn more about voodoo, and I still don’t know to much. Still, pretty good! Also, that does sound awesome!! Thanks for the education by the way!
Not a fan of tarot but this is interesting :)
Actually, looking through “Friends on the Otherside”, I saw two more Arcana, at least I think. When Facilier sings “Your lifestyles high” It shows the Devil Arcana (XV) which represents temptation and impulsiveness, as we can see with Naveen dragging around two women. The card after Tower, when Facilier was talking about the marriage, Is the Nine of Cups, which represents contentment, satisfaction, and a wish come true, or inversely, materialism, dissatisfaction, and indulgence. Again, really cool attention to detail!
Massive respect for including Malcom’s perspective and recognizing how different groups may react to representation in media differently.
Cheesy Yte Slavic people being captured and sold for 14 centuries :0.....
@@mainstreammediaisownedbybl8713 Looks like they deleted their comment lol
Have you noticed that, on their first encounter, Naveen tried to flirt with Tiana, but as she refused he just moved on?
He didn't try to push her more into flirting, and then look like a creep. He, even as a declared woman's man, knows when its time to stop.
That's why Naveen is one of the best male leads in Disney.
I never thought of that before. Damn, I love Naveen! 😍💚
Also the fact that he didn't care what lady he ended up with. XD
I feel like his transition of character was authentic.
I never thought about that but I love it!! I love this movie so much man
That's very cool and I like him for it... But also I find it kinda sad that that kind of thing it's seen as something rare and worthy of praise when it should be the norm😌
As a kid who had grown around the “woman’s man chasing the woman who isn’t into him” trope, that seen really caught me by surprise. Kind of wish we had more characters like Naveen.
This movie is spectacular! "Almost There", "Friends From The Other Side", and "Dig A Little Deeper" have made permanent residence in my head, and Dr. Facilier is one of my all time favorite villains.
The villain song is a true banger especially with it being Randy’s first villain number & Keith David of course nails it
With an absolutely satisfying death scene.
Frollo is still the best but Dr.Facilier is up there as one of my faves
Don't forget "Down in New Orleans". That's my fav song from it.
Can we just TALK about Keith David being in this? That man's voice is SOMETHING ELSE.
You know if anyone were to take over the role of Darth Vader from the recently retired Legend himself Keith would be a good option.
Right??? I've been a fan of this man's voice since Gargoyles
@@leannerose6181 SAAAAAAAAAAME. Goliath is.
Mm.
I mean, there's also the guy LucasArts hired back in the day for stuff like Empire at War, the guy who voiced Chad Vader in "Chad Vader - Dayshift Manager"
Well, they just set up a deal with JEJ to have an AI produce his voice for Vader until the end of time, so Keith David will just have to find another iconic villain to line up next to Vader and Candyman.
@@TheSchaef47 I'm not sure how I feel about an AI doing the voice. Feels wrong
This movie came at a really pivotal time in my life, shortly after my father's passing. The timing was really on point, as I was struggling with guilt at feeling like I never did enough to show dad how much I appreciated him. It was that line in this movie that had me crying and finding some measure of peace hearing: "My daddy never got all he wanted. But he had what he needed."
Beautifully stated, Zenguin. My father died ten years after this movie came out. I found old Disney DVDs while cleaning out Dad's stuff. It was the first time I watched the movie. I wept when I heard that line. Like you, it brought me some measure of comfort.
I'm so sorry about your father's passing. May he rest in eternal peace.🥀
@@TheGruffchickJournal We don't get to pick when they go, but you're right. It was probably for the best that he went quickly. And thank you, I'm glad you found some closure as well.
I actually started working at Disney, so 'Dig a lil Deeper' would play quite a lot.
"You your daddy's daughter, what you had in him, you got in you." That.. helped me a lot.
Shadow Man is easily one of the most underappreciated villains not just for Keith David's performance (it's his stoic Goliath tones mixed with his more "outrageousness" attitude), but how it's so clearly a Bruce W. Smith design (I immediately think PROUD FAMILY just from this character's design) that blends with the more "clearly Disney" style.
I think Spawn was his role.
I agree, he's my favorite and I swear his song doesn't get enough credit among the other great Disney villain songs
@@alim.9801 The problem is one people hate Randy Newman. The bigger problem this film came out just before James Cameron Avatar, talk about bad timing.
Malcolm getting an opportunity to speak on black culture was so important and they didn't take themselves too seriously either. Sometimes, I love this channel more than I have words for.
I want to see more of this !
Agreed!!!!
I'd love to see Malcolm's take.... just don't do it during February, it would be to obvious to do it theb
@@darkservantofheaven yeah Malcolm needs more solo videos
Speaking of singing and dancing frogs...
Such a shame this was one of Disney's last attempts at 2D animation. Would love to see them return to it.
@kdawg1991 Thanksgiving 2023. And holy crap, it's gonna be half hand-drawn? I didn't know that. I squeed at the two seconds of hand-drawn animation in Soul. A whole movie has to be awesome.
Better than the live action shit
@@coolnerdlll6053 I'm just glad Disney is finally seeing how Spider-Verse changed the animation game with their hybrid style, and are now doing their own take
Same
@@chasehedges6775 The problem with Princess and the Frog is that it came 5 days before Avatar by James Cameron. Avatar completely overshadowed P&TF.
I think this was probably the last film that really showcased how 2 people from 2 different worlds could come together and still be good friends who support and uplift each other. Tiana and Lottie are adorable. Lottie is Naive, but not stupid, and she has some moments where she realizes that she's afforded privileges that Tiana is not, and she does her damnedest to be a good friend and always be in Tiana's corner. She doesn't try to force her values on Tiana, and Tiana, in turn, doesn't try to force hers, either.
This is a TRUE friendship. 2 people from 2 different worlds coming together and being friends despite their differences.
This is one of Disney’s most underrated films, hopefully Disney will one day give 2-D animation a shot again.
Apparently they are bringing back 2D Animation back with Wish.
Not counting their TV shows.
You said 2D. Not hand drawn.
After all the 2D haters die a painful death
@@kylemorello4787 The problem with Princess and the Frog is that it came 5 days before Avatar by James Cameron. Avatar completely overshadowed P&TF.
@@orangeslash1667 and the same opening weekend as a sequel to a bad live action cashing in on a famous cartoon. Or should I say Squeakquel.
Stella was originally going to have a much larger role in the story, but the animators apparently decided the story had too many talking animals already at some point.
What always gets me about Dr. Facilier is just how similar he is to Anastasia's Rasputin:
They both made a pact with the forces of darkness to gain power, and they're soundly taken by said dark forces when an important item given to them was destroyed by the female protagonist. And the icing on the cake? Both met their demise in the same time period, maybe even 'round the same year!
The Princess & the Frog - 1926
Anastasia - 1926 or 1927
Rasputin's In The Dark of The Night song is one of my favorite songs from the Anastasia movie. I don't think he's a character in the Broadway version though
@@tonialston1968 When Anastasia came out people didn't like how historically inaccurate it was, so Rasputin was removed from the broadway play for that reason.
Whoa, that's so cool! 😍
Don’t forget have a horrifying death sequence!
The Shadow Man is such a good villain. He’s a master of double talk and the pictures in the tarot cards have such subtle details like Naveen resting on a lily pad or Lawrence dressed up as the prince. Great foreshadowing
It was so cool that you gave Malcolm a moment to shine in this review. Usually, Tamara will be the one to represent the other side of an argument, here I'm glad you let him speak about his opinions. Hope you get more opinions into your reviews going forward.
I love how he was like "you're the voice of all black people"🤣🤣🤣
i always loved this movie as a kid for very big reasons
- Tiana didn't have to give up her dreams like in soooooo many rom coms, she got to have what was rightfully hers, she just learned that you were allowed to have fun at the same time
-even if his design wasn't very special, i still loved naveen, he had such a fun personality and back then he was the only disney prince who's name i could remember
-and most of all i felt for tianas love for her father, he reminds me alot of my own dad and i love seeing characters that remind me of him
Tiana’s not rebelling against someone in her regular life either (which did seem to be a staple of the Renaissance era Disney movies, Ariel against Triton, Belle against Gaston, Simba against responsibility, Quasi against Frollo, Mulan against institutionalised sexism etc), except the prejudice of the racist estate agents. She’s on great terms with her mother, the character who by appearance and social class should be the one to hate her is her biggest cheerleader and the only people who act against her interests are the aforementioned assholes. Everyone else she knows support her dream and help her get it on her terms.
I rewatched this movie recently and I found Tiana still so wonderfully refreshing after all the recent "Strong female characters" She's someone whose genuinely strong and fiercely independant. Someone who can work towards a goal but still be endearing, have a personality, and have us rooting for her.
She also went through an actual arc throughout the story and it's an important one. And that's when if your too driven you can push everyone away without realizing it. You may find success but at the price of your friends and family and all the time wasted not living your life.
It was something I really enjoyed and overall despite it flaws I actually still love this movie.
yeah she is honestly still my favorite princess and I feel her story is very unique. a lot of prior princesses end up falling into the "I want more" category and princesses post tangled come off too similar to Rapunzel/the "super spunky" personality. and yeah tiana is a strong character, with her being an extremely hard worker, willing to do three jobs for her dream, but this drive also becomes her flaw as she ends up obsessed, not stopping to smell the roses/mistaking a want for a need in life.
Then maybe just don't... *watch* poorly written female characters, and just stick to ones that are actually well written?
Yea, I'm getting kinda tired of the "Strong and Independent" women in movies (Disney Movies especially). Sometime I want to see Female characters that want love, every woman doesn't want to be strong and Independent, some want to be soft and taken care of. I would like diversity like that. I like Tiana's character, because even though she was strong she found love on the way, she had someone that wanted to take care of her. It's okay to be strong, but I also wish there were more modern female characters that aren't strong.
@@TGWTGCensored You cant tell a well written character from a poorly written on without watching the media. You have to experience it to understand and given that most media isn't very well written now a day's its what you have to live with.
It's also not wrong to experience media to see where it goes or enjoy a show for other aspects. I may not like Galadriel or how she was written but I like plenty of other aspects to the show that make it watchable. Just saying don't watch poorly written characters is a rather narrow minded view of how people consume content.
@@TheLoneReni Then don't make it sound like *every* female character is like that nowadays. It's no better than when the feminists assume every female character is a damsel in distress, or a nagging housewife, or a bland love interest, or any of the archetypes they dislike. What about _Hilda_ ? What about _Amphibia_ ? What about _The Owl House_ ? What about _The Ghost and Molly McGee_ ? What about _Encanto_ ? What about _The Mitchells vs. the Machines_ ? What about _Turning Red_ ? What about the upcoming _Inside Out_ sequel, which *probably* won't indulge in the "muh strong woman" trope, given the original movie? You're missing out on so many actually well written female characters just because you're refusing to watch media with female protagonists on the assumption they'll be crap. It's like you said, you can't judge which characters are well written and which aren't without watching the media, so can't generalise and say female characters all suck nowadays.
Also, when people say "don't like it, don't watch it", what they mean is you shouldn't watch it *multiple* times. If you've seen it once, and you know you don't like it, what's the point in torturing yourself further?
I remember being blown away by Friends on the Other Side when I first saw it. The villain, the song, the animation, it all just came together so well and it's still my favorite part of the movie.
I just bought the soundtrack on vinyl, I love it, and "Almost There" that much.
This was Disney's last 2D animated theatrical movie and it is nearly 15 years old now. That hurts me to say on several levels.
I feel old
I wish Disney still did 2D films. It's part of the reason why I slowly transitioned into Anime
Winnie the Pooh from 2011 was
@@justsomegirlwithoutamustache The problem with Princess and the Frog is that it came 5 days before Avatar by James Cameron. Avatar completely overshadowed P&TF.
@Bluespirit Speaking of the Other side, Parents complained that the film's use of voodoo was too scary for kids and demanded that the film would get a PG rating.
The frog complaint always kills me. Kuzco was a llama for longer. Tiana is human for a good chunk of the movie, as is Naveen. The frog form allows Tiana's resourcefulness to shine through. Also Down in New Orleans and Ma Belle Evangeline are good too.
I agree. I have no idea why people would be turned off by that when it's not the first time it happened. Did they not even see the teasers?
The emperor's new groove didn't take itself too seriously
You don’t see a problem with Disney’s pattern of turning characters of color into animals?
Kuzco was actually more entertaining in his llama form, and he had to be one for the majority of the film because the story demanded it; to break his pride and his spirit. Tiana didn't need to be a frog in the first place for the story to work, and actually weakened her "I need to look out for others and seek their help" story arc that was already pretty weak to be begin with; after all, her looking after a relentlessly flirty and flighty frog would've been more frustrating for her as a human, and her choosing to keep helping him would've been a sign of maturity. Instead, she's seeking a cure for herself as well, making her journey and sacrifices far less selfless.
@@kstephenson5857 The story does demand she be a frog for the same reason Kuzco needs to be a llama. As a human, Tiana is confident, resourceful, and certain she can work her way out of anything. She needs to be a frog to be out of her element, and in a situation where she can see there's more to life. Have an needs to be a frog to undergo a situation he can't charm his way out of. Eventually, he has to learn responsibility. Kuzco actually doesn't need to be a llama by the way. If Yzma tries to kill him and he gets knocked out instead and carried off and needs an escort back, that's the movie. People have been changing into animals in Disney forever, but this is the one people complain about?
If there's one thing this movie was simply great was in the characters' personalities:
- Tiana was understandable and determined to work towards her dream
- Naveen was naive and funny but learned about some things being more important than status
- Charlotte had a lot of energy and I'm glad that the richness difference between the girls didn't affect their friendship
- Dr. Facilier is simply the best character; great charisma, booming voice, clever schemer, unique set of powers, one of the best Disney Villain Songs and one of the best Defeats
Almost every time we meet a Disney Villain, they turn out to be one of the best characters created: Hades, Dr. Facilier, Maleficent, Yzma, Oogie Boogie, Captain Hook, Lady Tremaine, etc.
Strange, isn't it?
And when you look at Elsa's early concept, she would've been an absolute DIVA as a villain! She had a friggin fur coat made out of LIVING ERMINES! Like, a bunch of furry adorable critters bunched over her shoulders while she wore a large snowflake-shaped crown and strut like she owned the whole world!
@@MrKlausbaudelaire Disney said they had been trying for years to adapt the SnowQueen, but they had not Idea how to adapt it. Elsa was originally going to be a villain, but Let it Go, gave the writers the idea of changing Elsa into an ani hero. So the plot rewritten all over again.
@@orangeslash1667 Man were they lazy or what? The original isn't that hard to give anyone plenty of ideas. Snow Queen entices a young man, his sister goes to the rescue. Develop Elsa as this not necessarily EVIL, but a bit chaotic, maybe seeking company after some abandonment issues, she could've been the queen but was kicked out when just a girl, so she cursed the land with eternal winter and lived as a recluse in her fortress, maybe ocasionaly kidnapping young men to keep her company until they die, and the story starts when Anna's brother is the one taken and she is the one tto finally melt that cold heart of hers.
Was it hard to write that? No! Am I being paid by a multi-billion dollar company to write it? Nope!
@@MrKlausbaudelaire I think the SnowQueen story could work as a miniseries, however Hans Christian Andersen stories are hard to translate into film without changes. The other problem is that Jennifer Lee didn't have much of a resume outside of doing the screen play of Wreck it Ralf.
It’s also the right way to make a Disney movie with a Black character. Although loosely based on a European fairy tale it takes enough creative liberties that it isn’t just a cheap attempt at blackwashing or reverse cultural appropriation. Tiana being black isn’t shoehorned either, and it takes an opportunity to explore an interesting culture that Black people are a part of. Would have been nice if Aida also got made though. We don’t have to have only one Black princess.
And they made the Prince come from a mixed racial background - his name coded him as South Asian, yet he comes from a kingdom similar to Portugal, and is voiced by a Brazilian to drive this point home. Since Portugal has historically been less averse to race mixing, and indeed there have been times when the royalty have almost married nonwhites, it’s not hugely historically inaccurate for him to be half Indian or for them to get married.
Honestly, out of all the Disney Princess movies, this is probably my favorite one. The lesson the two leads got was that they needed connections to other people. Tiana was a workaholic to reach her dream, but as a result, she kept putting off making connections with other people. I got the vibe that adult Tiana was distant from the people that knew her, even her own mother, and the only kind of exception was Charlotte, and even then Charlotte seemed in her own world over Tiana's. She was just so focused on her dream that she forgot to live a meaningful life.
Naveen was the opposite, spending all his time and money partying with as many people as possible, but never really knowing them. The only person we see him somewhat close to is Lawrence, but even then, it's like the relationship between Charlotte and Tiana, where Naveen is in his own world.
It's only at the end of the movie, after they both realize that they need human connections, to support one another, that they become human again. It's not about your prince coming someday, changing the law to support true love, or changing yourself to find love. This one is about our characters becoming human, literally and metaphorically.
I was so hyped to see this movie in theaters and seeing hand-drawn Disney animation back on the big screen. It is honestly gave me the feeling I was seeing something from the Renaissance Era. If it had the popularity that it has now and it wasn't released a week before Avatar, we'd probably be getting more hand-drawn content today.
OMG same here!
Before this film came out, I couldn’t recall the last hand drawn film I saw in the theater.
And I’ve only seen two since then. The MLP Movie from 2017 and The Bob’s Burgers Movie from this year. Both of which I enjoyed.
I think it might’ve been The Simpsons Movie from 2007 before this one.
But anyway yeah it was amazing seeing a 2D animated film on the big screen since that’s a rarity anymore. It’s box office while yes, may have been affected by Avatar soon after was fairly decent. Made $271 million off a $105 million budget.
If you make double or more back it’s considered a financial success.
And as NC said Tiana appears to be still quite popular. I’ve seen many girls wear both her blue and green dress for Halloween
I had great hope for this movie, moreover she had a real nice design and even her "simplified" dance number was great visually, I was offput though by the movie being 60% frog adventure which design was bleh...
I was hoping for so much more out of this movie as I wasn't a fan of the cartoonish Hercules and was not that interested in the design of Pocahontas for instance.
Her design was just what I was looking for so I am sad they didn't show her more
@@stefanswiss3760 For me, Tiana being turned into a frog is what got me hyped to see this. I love transformation stories, when I saw this I said (man this is what Brother Bear should have been).
Fun fact: the voice of tianna played a scientist on Disneys amphibia. Which was a show also about frogs
Keith David was also one of the shows main villains
Anika Noni Rose...its called the INTERNET. Welcome.
You just gave me a princess and the frog cast video idea I’ll call it the teenager and the pink frog
@@maximusprime3459 I believe he was making it simpler for those who don't know that name.
So? I fixed it. And what?
Malcolm's portrayal of Dr facilier was absolutely hilarious but spot on at the same time it's the best part of this review ❤️
I really enjoy to see Malcom’s opinion on this movie. I enjoy when the rest of cast give their own thoughts regarding a popular movie and what it meant to them.
I really liked Malcolm's segment in this review.
His insight was interesting and didn't come across as preachy with the ways he put it. We need more people like Malcolm
I actually liked the theme a lot. Worko-holism is the real drama of modern world for many women, and they truly never find time to just relax, have fun, be around people and yeah - find a proper spouse as well. I'm glad this movie exists. It's very tasteful with its diversity as it well fits the story, it has some good message to tell and a pretty fun, bumpy adventure ride to take you on, it has some crazy good visuals and music - it's everything I ever wanted from Disney after the rainessance era was over. I can remember leaving the cinema when I first saw it completely satiafied.
Agreed .
And Ne-Yo’s song from the end credits “Never Knew I Needed” is still one of my favorites soundtrack songs which I still have downloaded on both my iPods
workoholism isnt specifically a "modern woman" problem though, it affects modern men too. If you think modern women arent able to find proper spouses because they work too much, then the same logic should apply to modern men, yet you rarely ever see people telling men to stop working so much and instead focus on finding a spouse.
@@FirstnameLastname-zq8oyI think they meant how women work themselves for the purpose of making less of a issue with women who work. They wanna prove to the world that women can just as capable as men. Modern world we all work other each other to the bone sometimes
This movie is so underrated. Plus it has one of the most saddest character deaths and darkest Disney villain deaths
💯💯👍👍. The villains death is awesome and terrifying
And it kinda felt genuine how Ray could've been a threat since shadows fear the light.
The Villain Death Scene is basically “Drag Me To Hell”, Disney style!
I had no idea Malcolm came from a Creole background, so it’s nice to see him chipping in his opinions on how this movie represents Creole culture.
As someone who has a particular fascination with history, It really adds another level to the movie that makes it more interesting.
I’m not ashamed to say that I actually teared up when Ray died. We need more Malcom in the chair staring at the empty door.
Malcom as Shadow Stan was just marvelous! It was also great to see him offer his own commentary on the film.
You're right about Charlotte and Hades sharing animators. Nik Ranieri was the supervising (team lead) animator for both Hades and Charlotte.
It's so nice that Malcom can share his own opinion on the film with critic I hope they do more just like that having the others give their own feelings on the reviews
HOLY SHIT Malcolm got a part in this video beyond the skit please do more of these where you bring other people to do a part in the videos I feel like it balances a lot of things out
Rememebr when smosh started doing that and their whole channel tanked around the defy media era.
@@NeroLeMorte that's because they were idiots
Hey Doug, just wanted to say thank you for the Cameo you sent me for my birthday last week. I was not expecting my family to get that for me. What you said in it meant a lot. I actually took a picture with you, Rob, and your Dad at Rhode Island Comic-Con some years back and told you guys how sorry I was that you had to watch the Animated Titanic movies. Those were actually some of the first videos I watched. Anyway, thanks for the weekly videos. They are awesome.
I LOVED Malcolm's section!! Please have him on more often! He made such good insights, did excellent and clear narration, it was SUPER well-written, and his acting as the Shadow Man was brilliant!!! It would be so great to see the other's give their thoughts on movies alongside you as the Critic! Please Please please let Malcolm know I absolutely loved it and he did a great job and I'd love to see him do more of this in the future! He's really good at it!!! 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
Personally I loved how they were both turned into frogs. It really takes a different approach with the movie, telling a different story than others. And it taking place in New Orleans also really plays a big part in the enticing setting. I just enjoyed how this was the same story topic going for different goals, a new antagonist, and and some BANGER music.
The Princess and The Frog - One of Disney’s best and one of their most underrated films.
@kdawg1991 Absolutely!
@kdawg1991 He’s a Badass
I'm from Louisiana and its good to get characters from the state
@kdawg1991 with a great villain song
@kdawg1991 Absolutely, one of my favorites.
Lilo's doll really should've made an appearance, not because it has the same looks as the other dolls, but she even had a book about voodoo earlier in the movie! Big missed opportunity 😕
In the very last scene, you can see a wedding band on Naveen's finger several times. *When you finally get a view of Tiana's finger,* she's wearing the ring that Naveen made for her on the riverboat! Possibly doubles as a Heartwarming Moment.
💯💯💯. Just beautiful
I’m really glad Malcolm was able to give his insights into the film. I think proper representation and depiction of culture in film is incredibly important.
Here's a fact about Disney's final days of 2D animation. Disney did had a originally announced that Home on the Range would be their final traditionally animated film, but that decision was reversed when a new leadership was brought into the run of Disney Animation Studios. Many of the animators were brought back to help on this film. Contrary to popularity belief, this wasn’t Disney’s last hand-drawn film, the current last one would be Winnie the Pooh (2011), Although they have thought of doing one again, such has yet to surface.
This is a great movie. Tiana is legit top 3 best Disney princesses ever.
And Friends on The Other Side is top 3 best villain songs of all time.
@kdawg1991 The problem with Princess and the Frog is that it came 5 days before Avatar by James Cameron. Avatar completely overshadowed P&TF.
Agreed.
Villains always get the best songs.....In the dark of the night from Anastasia is another good one
The Princess and The Frog is one of Disney greatest but also most underrated films in my opinion, it's an absolute masterpiece Tiana is one of my all time favorite Disney princesses just as Doctor Facilier is one of my all time favorite Disney villains! i especially love Charlotte as a character, she's definitely spoiled but not mean and selfish she genuinely cared for Tiana and willingly gave up her own dream of becoming a princess so that Tiana could live her dream, that's a true friend right there.
Keith David is one of the most inspired choices for a Disney villian ever, istg he saves this movie from being just a run of the mill disney princess movie
I agree, Keith David is a phenomenal voice actor
I really like Malcolm's segment, it's nice to see the other cast members give their honest opinions on the movie being reviewed
The fact that Kieth David has done so many voices is amazing sometimes Imagine the shadow man quoting Sgt Foley which is another Kieth David character "RAMIREZ WE GOTTA DEFEND BURGER TOWN"
"What about the gators in the bayou?"
"What about 'em?"
Really glad to see Malcolm share some insight on this. Also he’s killing it with the Dr Faciller outfit
What I love about The Shadow Man is mainly the voice actor behind the character, Keith David. Keith brings his A-game to the character, and you can tell. This would continue as he would play ANOTHER Disney villain, King Andrias in Amphibia, and once again he would give it his all!
Keith David is awesome
@@claymathewselevator8121 hell yeah he is!!
Its so strange that his disney villian roles consist of being a villian in animated stuff involving frogs
@@partyelixir1265 XD I never really noticed that! That's a great point!
He's been awesome since Gargoyles. If you haven't seen that series, look it up just to hear the main character's voice.
I remember my dad seeing a commercial for this movie and liking how it was about the princess becoming a frog. It was apparently something he always thought should happen.
Charlotte Labuff was so likeable, but I was pretty puzzled that she didn't get a love interest at the end. If anything, I thought that guy who was trying to get a dance with her at her party would get a second attempt at the end and given a chance to dance, revealing that he possibly onw of the best dancers among all of them.
I really wish there were more hand drawn movies. 3D is cool and all, but I miss the old style. Even computer animation in the hand drawn style is cool.
I will always remember seeing Dr. facilier face of pure despair before being dragged down to the dark abyss rip one of my favorite Disney villains.
As strange as it sounds, the end credits is one of if not my favorite of all Disney end credits. The song is wonderful and it seems like you could screenshot almost any part and it would be an incredible piece of art.
Agreed
“Never Knew I Needed” by Ne-Yo is definitely a great song and is still one of my favorite soundtrack (and Disney songs) songs to this day. And yes that artwork playing during the credits at the end is quite well done too
Have it downloaded on both my iPods
11:27 Two of Charlotte's seven animators, Eric Pigors and Nik Ranieri, did animate Hades. One of Charlotte's other animators is one of my college professor's wife, it was cute he showed us clips she was the Assistant lead key on and would gush about how awesome she is
Aww, that's so cute! And the addition of Hades isn't bad either. 😍
What I personally like about this movie is honestly the two main leads. I love their chemistry and their connections to one or another actually works since one is hardworking while the other got everything he wanted. I like that dynamic honestly since the both of them learn from eachother. I don’t know I like that stuff love this movie so much!! ❤️❤️❤️
At least Tiana and Navine got to know each other in comparison to most other fairytales. It’s not everyday the prince and princess go on the same adventure side by side
I am 31 years old....and I LOVE LOVE this movie!!!! I come from a Creole background as well and this just made my heart sing!! (My me-maw looked and sounded exactly like Mama Odie!!🤣) And the songs....absolutely incredible!! I love sharing this movie with my kids!!
That's awesome!!!
I grew up in Louisiana, so i felt the same way. Heck, there were parts of the movie where i was like "I swaer I've seen that building in the French Quarter."
If I had a nickel for every time Keith David voiced an awesome villain in a 2D animated story about frogs, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.
I see what you did there. 😂
Wait, was he in Amphibia?
@@hanakosan4404 yes, he voices King Andrias
@@RandomDragonEXE Always liked him more in Gargoyles, but he's always a treasure
@@RandomDragonEXE OMG I'm gonna have to watch this show, even tho I already got spoiled
Fun fact, I'm going to be a female version of Dr. Facilier this Halloween. Got the costume together and everything.
That sounds awesome 😁
Awesome! 😍😍😍
I actually comprised it of different piece I bought online. Because when I did find a costume that would at least fit a Voodoo priestess...
Let's just say they were pretty risque, and that's not what I was going for.
This was the first Disney Princess film I watched at the cinema and I became obsessed with it. I would buy anything related to this film because I loved it so much. Although my obsession died down a little when Tangled came out, I never loved something so much as I loved this film. And I still love the film.
I loved the dynamic between Charlotte and Tiana. It showed how relationships can develop between races and classes without judgement.
I love how they actually make you feel like your in New Orleans and you actually feel like this is 1920's New Orleans and not something just made for a movie which is really cool to see.
Honestly Keith David could voice one Frog getting married to a Hippo while the Phillie Phanatic tries to rob a bank and his getaway driver is Lou Bega because Gritty forgot his contact lenses and it would still be awesome
One of the few hand drawn films I remember seeing in theaters. Growing up in the 2010s, I watched most hand drawn stuff at home
Major props to Doug for the joke at 13:14. Because that instrument isn't a Tuba. It's a Sousaphone.
Faciller may not be the best villain (Frollo still owns that place) , but his song "Friends From The Other Side" really slaps
This was the last Disney animated movie I fondly recall. And as for why Ray's death hit so hard ties back to something the critic said in his lion king review: when Disney kills off a likeable protagonist, they almost never show the body. This is one of the exceptions.
Finally. Malcom got a part in the review. And with an actually good tie-in.
Tiana is one of my favorite princesses because she's not looking for love, she's focused on her goal of opening a restaurant and accomplishing both her and her late father's dream. Yes, she's a workaholic and there is a bit of a racism in the film, but she's still so inspiring and her relationships with those around her like her mother, Lottie, and eventually Naveen are so beautiful. I know a lot of people are happy with the live action Ariel being the first black princess since Tiana is a frog for most of her film, but I'm still happy about the representation.
Why are they happy being given white ppl’s sloppy seconds for that’s like celebrating getting hand me down clothes instead of brand new ones
(Point is Tiana and always will be the first black Disney princess)
I think a good message is that good things happen to people who believe in work hard but its important to have fun while you can.
Yeah people are kind of forgetting Tiana and Kida from Atlantis were technically first as colored princesses but sadly underrated.
@@theanimeunderworld8338 I forgot about kida ngl
@@theanimeunderworld8338 Very true. Also, Pocahontas, Mulan and Jasmine were colored princesses but easier to remember since two of them were based on real people, even if there were some inaccurate details
@@George_Fl0yd she's not African American, but at the same time she's not white either.
"Please bring hand-drawn films back!"
THANK YOU DOUG!!!
I actually really liked Charlotte and her dad. It showed that, even though someone may not be a bad person, and may even be uniquely kind in their time, they're still sometimes blind to the issues others face
11:37
I really like that too!
In fact, I’ve recently grown to appreciate movies with themes of prejudice that have a character who feels like a believable product of their environment, but by simply being good people at heart, are able to see through the injustices of their environment.
Characters like Phoebus from Hunchback of Notre Dame, or Bill Pullman’s character from Newsies, or Tom Cruise’s character from Valkyrie, or the swing kids from Swing Kids.
I miss the hand-drawn animation. I also found myself missing the beginning/ending songs were sung by choirs like in Snow White or Beauty and the Beast. I thought it was weird the end credit music was by a pop singer. Not a bad song but it was still weird
Fun Fact about Frogs: Frogs have excellent night vision and are very sensitive to movement. The bulging eyes of most frogs allow them to see in front, to the sides, and partially behind them. When a frog swallows food, it pulls its eyes down into the roof of its mouth, to help push the food down its throat.
I will never look at Kermit the same way again
I liked that Malcolm got a scene to talk about something. You should do that more often. Have another character step in for a bit and take the review for a minute or two. That would be really interesting to see more of.
You hit the mail on the head, when the movie started, I was blown away by the visuals and story, then they turn into frogs, and it turns into every other Disney movie with the animal sidekicks. Also the swamp scenes just kill the momentum. That being said, Keith David should have gotten an Oscar. Well done you guys.
21:11
Small note:
This scene isn’t supposed to be funny, it’s supposed to be sad. In the movie it’s shown that when a firefly dies, they’re reincarnated as a star in the night sky. This means that Ray is actually singing about his dead love. What I like most about that is the fact that they don’t really outright say it in the movie. It’s only revealed when Ray dies and another star forms into the sky.
bruh :'l
This is why i like this movie. If this was made into a remake theyd make Ray say exposition about it
Yeah, I'll never understand why Doug finds that funny, especially for people who love the character, or were shocked when he died. And of course, it's a firefly; of course it'll look a little weird to someone!
I’ve realized that. That fact makes his song even more sad and them reuniting feel all the more triumphant.
@@monsterhanna6691 OMG I didn’t expect him to die either!
Before this film, I can’t recall any case of a comic relief character dying, especially in a Disney film.
Especially in such a sudden way. I’ll give credit to that
When he got stepped on, I thought he’d survive because he just didn’t seem like the type of character they’d kill off.
But man when he died for real , it and the funeral scene hit me in the feels. Especially yes, that star scene when he was reunited with Evangeline.
I remember this being the first Disney film I watched in theathers. Dr. Facilier's death was a thing I would never forget
I'm not Creole but on my father's side, they're Coonas and Cajun. This film captured some of that bayous culture I grew up with and it felt like taking an adventure to a world not explored enough. I agree with Malcolm. I think the film captured the essence of magic in New Orleans. And by magic, I mean the spirit of the vast history and culture that makes the Crescent City a place not easily forgotten by tourists and Louisianan people. Tourists have often said that a piece of that culture has rubbed off on them. Whether it be the love of good food, learning something of southern culture, or falling in love with the music, a piece of New Orleans remains. Spreading far and wide. If New York City is the heart of America, then New Orleans is our country's spirit.
19:31 "The wonderful thing about Tiggers is--" [LOUD BELCH]