saw: the princess and the frog
You'd think Disney would be willing to take more risks with traditional animation now that the Pixar brain trust is firmly in place. You'd be wrong. The Princess and the Frog is so tasteful that it barely leaves an aftertaste. It's chaste, pretty, colorful—and almost completely lacking in immediacy or dramatic tension. There's no heroic journey to speak of because no one actually goes anywhere or does anything interesting. Even the villain—that mainstay of classic Disney storytelling—is more of a nuisance than he is a threat. This is a nice story about well-behaved people who end up in a sunny place, respectfully told. There is nothing primal or vital here—and that's a disappointment. Grade: B-