Picture Me Reading

Our plan is to tackle all of the Disney films, re-reading the classic stories and tales that inspired many of them and to look at how the changes the filmmakers made, the new elements they introduced and the essential elements they kept. We will, of course, be talking about the films as movies as well, saying why we enjoy them and what some of our favorite moments are, but our focus will be on looking at them as adaptations. For the films that are not drawn from any one work we’ll be looking at some of the possible literary influences that we see in the stories. We are also including an audio discussion for each of the films we discuss! Here is a calendar of which films we are looking at and what dates we will be posting them, if you are planning to participate please message me so I can link up your post!

Title: The Princess and The Frog (2009)

Adapted From:  The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

Synopsis: A fairy tale set in Jazz Age-era New Orleans and centered on a young woman named Tiana and her fateful kiss with a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again. (From IMDB)

The Adaptation: The Disney movie is based on a children’s novel by E. D. Baker, The Frog Princess, which is in turn a reworking of the classic fairy tale The Frog Prince. The novel twists that story and instead of the Princess lifting the frog’s curse, she finds herself turned into a frog too. Though the film alters the main character’s personality and the setting it remains true to the structure of the original in which the two frogs work together and slowly become friends (and fall in love) as they try to find a way to break the curse.

Elements Changed:

• The original novel (and the classic Grimm fairy tale) are set in a medieval world but the film relocates the action to New Orleans and the bayou. It also replaces the type of magic from a typical European-style witchcraft with voodoo.
• The Princess, Emma, is a little less mature than Tiana and is a little less sympathetic. When the story begins she is trying to hide away from her mother and the young prince she is being encouraged to marry. Tiana though is hardworking, determined and resilient.
• An important part of the book, in which Emma and the Frog Prince are captured by a witch who wants to turn them into ingredients for a spell, is eliminated and they meet their animal companions for their quest elsewhere.

Disney’s Additions:

• The film adds a clearly villainous character into the mix, Dr. Facilier, who intends to profit from turning Naveen into a frog rather than just doing it as a punishment for an insult. In fact the Disney film adds an entire subplot where Naveen’s manservant is altered by Dr. Facilier’s magic to look like Naveen in order to woo and marry Charlotte so they can get their hands on her father’s fortune.

Final Thoughts:

Alisa:
I remember when I first heard that Disney was doing another 2-d animation being really excited and thrilled at the prospect. This film did not disappoint my expectations, I loved it when I saw it in the theater and I have re-watched it several times since. The thing I love the most about it is how positive of a female character Tiana is, she is intelligent and hardworking. I love that instead of being born to privilege Tiana has to work hard to get the things she wants in life and that her aspirations are larger than just finding love. As well I love the setting of New Orleans during the Jazz Age and the flavor that it gives this film. The songs are really fun and catchy, I find myself frequently humming ‘Almost There’ after watching this film. As well if features a fun set of comical characters including an adorable Alligator whose aspiration is to some day be a Jazz musician. This is one of my favorite Disney films  and I enjoyed taking another look at it this week.

Aidan:

This film really reminded me of why I loved Disney films so much when I was growing up. It features charming leads, lively songs, a little romance, a striking villain and lots of humor (though I agree with Alisa that Ray the Firefly is more miss than hit). I remember being really taken with the twisted fairy tale idea and excited that it felt both traditional and modern at the same time.

Reading the original novel it is based on has only added to my appreciation of the film. They take that novel’s wonderful concept and run with it, keeping the sense of danger and a little of the ick factor while adding a strong villain and some more outlandish supporting characters. The decision to make Tiana a tougher, more self-sufficient character was a smart change though they keep the bickering that made the novel so entertaining to read.

Trading Cards:

One little tie-in project that we are working on as we watch all of the films again is that we have been making some ‘trading cards’ based on some of the most important characters from each movie! We assigned scores to each of them based on how dreamy, charming, intelligent, musical and stylish we think they are! We also came up with a silly ‘special skill’ that each one has! While we are only making these for our own use, I thought it might be fun to share them so you can see what we’ve been up to!

Be sure to take a look at Angela’s Anxious Life’s thoughts on this film.