The Princess and the Frog: Critic Reviews

This A-level, G-rated entertainment is a fresh twist on the classic fairy tale.

It's not easy being green. But to judge from how this hand-drawn movie addresses, or rather strenuously avoids, race, it is a lot more difficult to be black.

Disney may wish to reach out to people of colour - but the colour green wasn't what we had in mind. It's a moderate film, nowhere near the Toy Story league.

Where Pinocchio was about wishing on a star, The Princess and the Frog emphasizes backing up wishes with hard work. That proviso is a thoughtful message for young moviegoers.

You can exhale now: The Princess and the Frog is a triumph on every one of the myriad levels it has been asked to succeed on.

The way she resists the fantasy formula is admirable, but ultimately (and disappointingly) futile.

The movie as a whole never approaches the wit, cleverness, and storytelling brio of the studio's early-1990s animation renaissance.

The first real addition to its princess lineup in 15 years, and the studio's biggest non-CG animated movie half a decade, it also belatedly brings racial diversity to a signature genre that's been mostly snow white for six decades.

It's nice to know that the studio behind Cinderella can still cast a spell in two dimensions.

Light on its feet, confident and modern, it's the work of a company hungry for respect and eager to remind moviegoers of its enchanting roots.

The visual artistry of the song-and-dance numbers captivates.

This is what classic animation once was like! No 3-D! No glasses! No extra ticket charge! No frantic frenzies of meaningless action! And...good gravy! A story! Characters! A plot!

How can a good-looking animated feature with a Randy Newman song as kicky as "When We're Human" end up being just sort of...all right?

A welcome return to the Disney tradition of 2-D animation.

With eye-popping saturated color and streamlined figures, codirectors Ron Clements and John Musker (the duo behind the vibrant Aladdin) lovingly invoke Harlem Renaissance artistry.

A charming carnival of a movie, Disney's The Princess and the Frog is a landmark, business as usual and a return to form for the world's preeminent animation studio.

An instant if minor classic.

The smart storytelling combines with spectacular visual set pieces and a spicy musical gumbo to deliver one of the finest films of the year, in any genre.

This long-anticipated throwback to a venerable house style never comes within kissing distance of the studio's former glory.

Disney Animation is back doing what it does best -- musical romantic adventure with magic -- after 10 years of unfortunate forays into barnyard humor and science fiction (see the same directors' Treasure Planet or, better yet, don't.)

Disney's The Princess and the Frog is an instant classic and one of the year's best films.

A lovely toon destined to join the Mouse House's best-loved classics.

Randy Newman provides the score, which, if short of memorable tunes, is rich in authenticity, with a mixture of local flavoured ragtime, zydeco and jazz.

The sweetest, most sincere romantic comedy to come along in ages, and a luminous love letter to a great American city.