The Princess and the Frog

Editorial

Not sure if you’re aware, but it is possible to create animation by — gasp — hand. Seriously, Walt Disney has released a full-length musical rom-com cartoon which was not generated by a computer.

It’s a sign of the tech times that The Princess And The Frog is extraordinary for its return to the signature style of Disney’s pre-Pixar past. Don’t adjust your peepers: the layered 2-D images are meant to sing and dance in beautiful flatness.

But while this is a reminder that the pen can be as mighty as the pixel, the production is also revolutionary for bringing to big-screen animation the first African-American heroine.

The old/new blend kicks up its heels during the bayou bash of waitress Tiana (Rose) and Prince Naveen (Campos), who find “what they need, not what they want” while trying to break a froggy spell cast on them by a scary voodoo man.

TPATF is no instant classic like the directors’ Aladdin or

The Little Mermaid.  But jazzy songs, New Orleans setting and swell humour smooth over the missing ingredient — magnetic personality.