THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

USA | 2009 | COLOR | DCP | 97’ | ENGLISH

A poor girl in 1920s New Orleans dreams of owning a restaurant. But when her prayers to the stars lead her to kiss a frog, in case he becomes a prince, she turns amphibious herself and gets involved in a story of voodoo, jazz dreams, chase and (surprise, surprise) finding true love. Unfairly under-appreciated entry to the Disney canon, it is favored by the glorious return to hand-drawn design and a run for cover to routines that previous generations loved in animation. The liveliness, the supporting characters (an adorable alligator trumpeter!), the phantasmagoria of colors and the fitting, rhythmical soundtrack by the great Randy Newman, transcribe delightfully a classic Grimm fairytale reminding us the age of innocence for the studio of the Mouse. I.D.

DIRECTORS: John Musker, Ron Clements
SCREENWRITERS: Ron Clements, John Musker, Rob Edwards
MUSIC: Randy Newman
EDITOR: Jeff Draheim
VOICES: Katerina Tsavalou, Panagiotis Kapodistrias, Yiannis Zouganelis, Stamatis Kraounakis, Iro Michalakakou

JOHN MUSKER
American animator, director, producer and screenwriter born in 1953. He studied English at Northwestern, where he sketched for the university paper. He got his MA in Fine Arts in California and apprenticed for two years to the legendary Disney animator, Frank Thomas. A known figure of the studio, several of his films are now considered classics.

RON CLEMENTS
American animator, director, producer and screenwriter born also in 1953. Main collaborator of John Musker. He started working as an animator for Hanna-Barbera, before joining the Disney talent program, working also with Frank Thomas. Important in the genre, a short film of his (‘Shades of Sherlock Holmes’) has a place in the archive of the Academy of Arts and Sciences for its significance.
 
FILMOGRAPHY (SHARED)
2016 Moana
2009 The Princess and the Frog
2002 Treasure Planet
1997 Hercules
1992 Aladdin
1989 The Little Mermaid
1986 The Great Mouse Detective