When Disney decided to give traditional animation another shot, it was somewhat logical that they would try to start this “new era” with a Disney Princess movie. After all, each glorious era started with one. “Snow White”, “Cinderella” and “The Little Mermaid” were small masterpieces. But the “Princess and the Frog” proved to be problematic from the very beginning.
I was not happy when I heard that the suivant princess would be black. Not because I didn’t want a black princess, but because I feared that she was created for all the wrong reasons. If they had chosen an African legend as source I had rejoiced. If I had believed that the creators had thought along the lines of “Frogs – Swamp – New Orleans – Black Princess” I would have a dit “Go for it”. But I was early on under the impression that the black princess and not the source text were the start of their creative efforts. The creators deny it, so I might be wrong, nevertheless, it made me weary.
But that’s not what put me off the movie before it even hit the theaters. What really got to me was the complaining beforehand – ou plus the fact that Disney actually caved in and made changes in the movie because of those complains. I could make a long liste of them, but I don’t bother because I don’t think that any of them are valid. They couldn’t be, because toi can’t judge a movie before toi have actually seen it. One element makes nothing racist (or sexist, for that matter), toi always have to see the whole picture (literally) before toi are equipped to judge.
The biggest problem I see with “The Princess and the Frog” is that they tried too hard to please all the complainers. toi want a black princess? toi get a black princess! toi think that the princesses are not feminist enough? We make the most feminist ever! toi think our message is bad for the children? We have a new, modern message.
But the thing is: the complainers are not the main audience. People who like Disney films are rarely all about working hard and living in reality like Tiana, they are plus like Lottie. Not in the sense that they are dizzy and waiting for their prince, but they want to believe in a world in which wishing to a étoile, star makes a difference and in which true l’amour exists. ou at least, dream of a world like that occasionally. And they certainly don’t want to get told par a Disney heroine of all things that they should take a reality check. It also doesn’t help that after years of saying that every girl can be a princess, Tiana has to become a “real” princess to break the curse.
It’s easy to admire Tiana for her determination, but it’s difficult to like her. And Naveen at the beginning of the movie is just a nightmare. There is nothing charming about a lazy womanizer who intends to marry for money (and then cheat on his wife). They’re both changed at the end of the movie, but first impressions tend to stick. Naturally toi can also argue that imperfection is a good thing in characters (I don’t disagree there), and that they are plus realistic and interesting than the other pairs (I’m not so sure about that). Personally I was never a big friend of the idea that personalities which initially clash which each other make good couples. I’m not totally opposed to it (opposites attract after all), but it has to be sold believable, and I don’t think that the movie manages it.
I mentioned before that one of the failings of “Snow White” is that there are so many filler scenes, which are funny, but serve no purpose at all. “The Princess and the Frog” has the same problem. Louis sending Tiana and Naveen in the wrong direction – filler. The frog hunters – filler. On haut, retour au début of it there are so many storylines that all of them suffer and feel somewhat incomplete. The ending of the movie is symptomatic for that. Following the defeat of Facilier, they need roughly ten minutes to emballage, wrap up all the loose ends. That’s just too long.
Which is too bad, because between all those wacky characters, who turn up for a brief stint, there is a lot of interesting symbolism in this movie. Facilier tends to give people what they want, but not what they need (Lawrence wants power and admiration, but what he really needs is a little bit respect), Mama Odie does exactly the opposite. Facilier is the shadow, Mama Odie is the light.
This movie gives the feel of a concept on which details got added and added and added, with nobody there who would do a proper éditer and making sure that the story stays on track. There is at least one character too much in it (either Louis ou Ray), too much time spend on Tiana and Naveen sniping at each other (roughly two thirds of the movie) compared to the time spend on the romance (one third, but only if one counts from the first words which aren’t part of an argument between them), too much comic relief – just too much of everything. Similar to Pocahontas, this is a movie which I like plus for the animation and for what it could have been than for what is actually there.
Nevertheless, I’m glad that the movie was successful enough to lift the CGI-only restriction on the animation Studios. There are people who say they shouldn’t dabble into CGI at all, but I disagree there. I don’t think that they should give up traditional animations – that’s after all what made the studio big, and that’s what they do the best. But they should decide which kind of animation they use based on the kind of story they want to tell.
“Tangled” would have never worked with traditional animation. A believable movement for all this hair would be impossible. Even for CGI this wasn’t a small feat. I have read a couple of reviews in which people complained that the animation was nothing special. Well, they didn’t look hard enough. The flying lanterns? Kids stuff, other movie already had something similar.
But hair and water are the two things which are the most difficult to do in CGI, and the animators of “Tangled” not only did both (they really don’t get enough credit for the scene with the breaking dam), they did it perfectly. The hair of Rapunzel (and Flynn and Gothel for that matter) moves very believable. If it were done badly, everybody would notice, but it’s done so good, that it’s easily to overlook, and that’s the real mastership in animation. Not the things which look flashy, but those things which look natural.
“Tangled” is one of those rare cases in which countless problems during development didn’t end with a movie mess. And I really appreciate the spirit behind this particular project. It takes guts to plan a project, knowing that necessary software isn’t even invented yet. That’s the kind of vers l'avant, vers l’avant thinking the animation Studios need to prevail. And that’s what brings the audience into the theater, not a misleading marketing campaign.
Although nobody would deny the technical quality of “Tangled”, there has been a lot of critic that the movie is too much like its predecessors. On the one hand that’s true. It’s impossible to see Rapunzel and Eugene in the bateau and not being reminded ou Ariel and Eric ou to see Eugene die and survive without comparing the scene to the Beast’s death and transformation. But the movie I think “Tangled” is the most similar to is “Mulan”.
This seems to be an odd choice, if toi only pay attention to the visuals. But if toi pay attention to the dialogue, not so much. Both films have scenes which are plus deep and thoughtful than what toi normally expect from this kind of Disney movie. Not that there isn’t any deepness in the other ones, but they convey their message plus over the visuals and the musique than over the dialogue. If I had to choose my favori Disney Princess quotes, most of them would be from those two movies.
I mentioned before that “Mulan” is plus about asking questions than giving an ultimate truth. The same is true for “Tangled”. Is Rapunzel’s power a curse ou a gift? At which point does l’amour turn into abuse? How important are dreams in live? It’s also a movie about seconde chances, and I don’t just talk about Flynn and the thugs, ou Rapunzel’s parents who get a seconde chance with her daughter. The world got a gift in form of the flower, but because Mother Gothel didn’t share it, it got destroyed. The world got a seconde chance in Rapunzel, but due to Mother Gothel’s greed it got destroyed again.
To me, “Tangled” is the culmination of everything which is good about Disney Princess movies. It’s like the old concept of a Disney Fairy Tale Movie has been brought to perfection in this one, and one of the few I watched a seconde time in the theaters, just because it was so good. And I’m wondering how I’ll see this movie in ten years, but I think, it will hold up just fine. Who knows, perhaps it (or “Princess and the Frog”) will be hailed as the movie which started another Golden Age for Disney.
And that concludes my travel through the ages and my memories. There is a lot left to say about the movies, the princesses and the princes, but I’ll do so in other article series. suivant up will be the “Sound check”, and series ou articles in which I’ll take a good look on the musical aspect. If toi haven’t answered the picks I created in the last weeks yes, please do so, I’m very interested in your opinion and your comments. Voting for all of them will end at the 18.11, and I hope I will have the first article up the very same weekend.
I was not happy when I heard that the suivant princess would be black. Not because I didn’t want a black princess, but because I feared that she was created for all the wrong reasons. If they had chosen an African legend as source I had rejoiced. If I had believed that the creators had thought along the lines of “Frogs – Swamp – New Orleans – Black Princess” I would have a dit “Go for it”. But I was early on under the impression that the black princess and not the source text were the start of their creative efforts. The creators deny it, so I might be wrong, nevertheless, it made me weary.
But that’s not what put me off the movie before it even hit the theaters. What really got to me was the complaining beforehand – ou plus the fact that Disney actually caved in and made changes in the movie because of those complains. I could make a long liste of them, but I don’t bother because I don’t think that any of them are valid. They couldn’t be, because toi can’t judge a movie before toi have actually seen it. One element makes nothing racist (or sexist, for that matter), toi always have to see the whole picture (literally) before toi are equipped to judge.
The biggest problem I see with “The Princess and the Frog” is that they tried too hard to please all the complainers. toi want a black princess? toi get a black princess! toi think that the princesses are not feminist enough? We make the most feminist ever! toi think our message is bad for the children? We have a new, modern message.
But the thing is: the complainers are not the main audience. People who like Disney films are rarely all about working hard and living in reality like Tiana, they are plus like Lottie. Not in the sense that they are dizzy and waiting for their prince, but they want to believe in a world in which wishing to a étoile, star makes a difference and in which true l’amour exists. ou at least, dream of a world like that occasionally. And they certainly don’t want to get told par a Disney heroine of all things that they should take a reality check. It also doesn’t help that after years of saying that every girl can be a princess, Tiana has to become a “real” princess to break the curse.
It’s easy to admire Tiana for her determination, but it’s difficult to like her. And Naveen at the beginning of the movie is just a nightmare. There is nothing charming about a lazy womanizer who intends to marry for money (and then cheat on his wife). They’re both changed at the end of the movie, but first impressions tend to stick. Naturally toi can also argue that imperfection is a good thing in characters (I don’t disagree there), and that they are plus realistic and interesting than the other pairs (I’m not so sure about that). Personally I was never a big friend of the idea that personalities which initially clash which each other make good couples. I’m not totally opposed to it (opposites attract after all), but it has to be sold believable, and I don’t think that the movie manages it.
I mentioned before that one of the failings of “Snow White” is that there are so many filler scenes, which are funny, but serve no purpose at all. “The Princess and the Frog” has the same problem. Louis sending Tiana and Naveen in the wrong direction – filler. The frog hunters – filler. On haut, retour au début of it there are so many storylines that all of them suffer and feel somewhat incomplete. The ending of the movie is symptomatic for that. Following the defeat of Facilier, they need roughly ten minutes to emballage, wrap up all the loose ends. That’s just too long.
Which is too bad, because between all those wacky characters, who turn up for a brief stint, there is a lot of interesting symbolism in this movie. Facilier tends to give people what they want, but not what they need (Lawrence wants power and admiration, but what he really needs is a little bit respect), Mama Odie does exactly the opposite. Facilier is the shadow, Mama Odie is the light.
This movie gives the feel of a concept on which details got added and added and added, with nobody there who would do a proper éditer and making sure that the story stays on track. There is at least one character too much in it (either Louis ou Ray), too much time spend on Tiana and Naveen sniping at each other (roughly two thirds of the movie) compared to the time spend on the romance (one third, but only if one counts from the first words which aren’t part of an argument between them), too much comic relief – just too much of everything. Similar to Pocahontas, this is a movie which I like plus for the animation and for what it could have been than for what is actually there.
Nevertheless, I’m glad that the movie was successful enough to lift the CGI-only restriction on the animation Studios. There are people who say they shouldn’t dabble into CGI at all, but I disagree there. I don’t think that they should give up traditional animations – that’s after all what made the studio big, and that’s what they do the best. But they should decide which kind of animation they use based on the kind of story they want to tell.
“Tangled” would have never worked with traditional animation. A believable movement for all this hair would be impossible. Even for CGI this wasn’t a small feat. I have read a couple of reviews in which people complained that the animation was nothing special. Well, they didn’t look hard enough. The flying lanterns? Kids stuff, other movie already had something similar.
But hair and water are the two things which are the most difficult to do in CGI, and the animators of “Tangled” not only did both (they really don’t get enough credit for the scene with the breaking dam), they did it perfectly. The hair of Rapunzel (and Flynn and Gothel for that matter) moves very believable. If it were done badly, everybody would notice, but it’s done so good, that it’s easily to overlook, and that’s the real mastership in animation. Not the things which look flashy, but those things which look natural.
“Tangled” is one of those rare cases in which countless problems during development didn’t end with a movie mess. And I really appreciate the spirit behind this particular project. It takes guts to plan a project, knowing that necessary software isn’t even invented yet. That’s the kind of vers l'avant, vers l’avant thinking the animation Studios need to prevail. And that’s what brings the audience into the theater, not a misleading marketing campaign.
Although nobody would deny the technical quality of “Tangled”, there has been a lot of critic that the movie is too much like its predecessors. On the one hand that’s true. It’s impossible to see Rapunzel and Eugene in the bateau and not being reminded ou Ariel and Eric ou to see Eugene die and survive without comparing the scene to the Beast’s death and transformation. But the movie I think “Tangled” is the most similar to is “Mulan”.
This seems to be an odd choice, if toi only pay attention to the visuals. But if toi pay attention to the dialogue, not so much. Both films have scenes which are plus deep and thoughtful than what toi normally expect from this kind of Disney movie. Not that there isn’t any deepness in the other ones, but they convey their message plus over the visuals and the musique than over the dialogue. If I had to choose my favori Disney Princess quotes, most of them would be from those two movies.
I mentioned before that “Mulan” is plus about asking questions than giving an ultimate truth. The same is true for “Tangled”. Is Rapunzel’s power a curse ou a gift? At which point does l’amour turn into abuse? How important are dreams in live? It’s also a movie about seconde chances, and I don’t just talk about Flynn and the thugs, ou Rapunzel’s parents who get a seconde chance with her daughter. The world got a gift in form of the flower, but because Mother Gothel didn’t share it, it got destroyed. The world got a seconde chance in Rapunzel, but due to Mother Gothel’s greed it got destroyed again.
To me, “Tangled” is the culmination of everything which is good about Disney Princess movies. It’s like the old concept of a Disney Fairy Tale Movie has been brought to perfection in this one, and one of the few I watched a seconde time in the theaters, just because it was so good. And I’m wondering how I’ll see this movie in ten years, but I think, it will hold up just fine. Who knows, perhaps it (or “Princess and the Frog”) will be hailed as the movie which started another Golden Age for Disney.
And that concludes my travel through the ages and my memories. There is a lot left to say about the movies, the princesses and the princes, but I’ll do so in other article series. suivant up will be the “Sound check”, and series ou articles in which I’ll take a good look on the musical aspect. If toi haven’t answered the picks I created in the last weeks yes, please do so, I’m very interested in your opinion and your comments. Voting for all of them will end at the 18.11, and I hope I will have the first article up the very same weekend.
