Disney was never the same when they retire hand-drawn animation to CG-animation to adapt to a new animation age of computer animation. As fans missed the old animation, Disney decides to go back to its roots with the Princess and the Frog, a new classic Disney film that has nostalgic value for kids and old Disney fans. Let me start with lengthy past overview because I have a lot to say.

The Disney Renaissance was a great decade for the Disney making magical films for the family, and I was young back then. The Disney films were some of the first movies I've seen in theaters and in my life, and the first movie I saw was the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King are considered one of the best Disney films I've seen. Pocahontas and Hunchback of Notre Dame were solid if not one of Disney's best. Hercules was one of the best modern Disney films I've seen after the two movies, and so does Mulan and Tarzan. But after Tarzan, as CG-animation became popular, hand-drawn animation performed decently and poorly at box office. But personally, I like it when there's both hand-drawn and computer animation in the same year, but I wasn't content when hand-drawn animation was no longer used. The Emperor's New Grove was a good and funny Disney movie. However, Atlantis The Lost Empire, which was a more action-oriented Disney film departed from it's classic style, was the first time I was disappointed in a Disney movie and this is when Disney sadly goes downhill. Later, Lilo and Stitch was the best Disney film I've seen in the decade so far. Treasure Planet was fine, even though it's a box office bomb, and it's even better than Atlantis. I thought Brother Bear was underrated because it had some good and cute moment despite some flaws. Home on the Range was the last hand-drawn animated film Disney had done, and it was mediocre. Then Disney has to change by making CG-animation instead. Chicken Little was slightly better, but still mediocre and kinda stupid. Then they got better with Meet the Robinsons, and Bolt was fun and one of the better recent Disney films.
With hand-drawn animation out and CG taking over the animation industry, Pixar does the best CG-animated movies, and other studios like DreamWorks made some good movies (ex. Kung-Fu Panda). This year, most of the best animated this year were non-CG animated which made less money than computer animated films, which are Coraline and Ponyo. Up, while not one of my favorite Pixar films, was the only computer animated film stand out among the others while Monster vs. Aliens was decent and Ice Age 3 was just okay. I first heard of Princess and the Frog a few years ago, and I was so excited to see hand-drawn animation because I missed that kind of animation and grew up with as a kid as I had grow up with CG as a teen. I keep track of update, and I was anticipating this movie as a long-time Disney fan. It's great to see an old-school and nostalgic Disney film in a recent years of animation.

The Princess and the Frog focuses on a waitress from New Orleans, Tiana, who wants to have her dream to open her new restaurant. Prince Naveen arrives here to find a job and marry someone. But an evil voodoo named the Shadow King turned him into a frog. He meets Tiana and wants her to kiss him to break the spell. Tiana, who doesn't want kiss any amphibian, reluctantly kisses him but it backfires as Tiana becomes a frog, instead. Now they had to see a voodoo named Mama Odie to find a way to become human again with the help of supporting animal characters Louis the trumpet-playing alligator and Ray the lovesick firefly.

After a years of waiting, I wasn't disappointed and this was the same old Disney I loved as a kid. The important aspects that makes a Disney classic good are magical moments, romance, comedy, music, and characters. Disney managed to fulfill these aspects well.
The music was the strongest point of the movie. Randy Newman, who composed the first Pixar films, did a fantastic job on the songs and the music. They were one of the best Disney music I've heard in recent years. The songs were wonderful to listen, and the musical segments are fun to watch. The film often has the dramatic theme song that was heard at the end credits. The theme, Never Knew I Needed was fantastic, and there will be another theme like this in James Cameron's Avatar which was I See You. The last animated Disney film to have musical numbers were Mulan and Hercules. Getting a little off-topic, a few films I've seen with musical numbers were Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and the much more darker and violent Sweeney Todd, but I don't care for High School Musical.
Princess Tiana was a welcome addition to the Disney Princesses. She may want to fulfill her dream to open a restaurant with a money she had, but it's intresting that she finds love. Prince Naveen was the charismatic prince. He might be spoiled, but he's fun-loving and likable. He's a good love interest of Tiana. Disney did a good job on crafting the Disney villain Shadow King. The supporting characters Louis and Ray were enjoyable and hilarious supporting characters like the others in previous Disney films. Louis has a hilarious traits making him a more likable character than real-life alligators. Ray the firefly was hilarious as the alligator. Mama Odie, who appears in the middle of the film, was the fairy godmother of the movie and she was fantastic. The character have solid character development and the voice performances were very good. There are other characters like Tiana's rich friend, her mom, and Naveen's assistant, though they're not one of main focuses on the story.
The plot of the film was pretty basic for a Disney film. The film has animal sidekicks and romance between the prince and the princess. The film takes the same plot elements which are people turn into animals which are The Emperor's New Groove and Brother Bear. Overall, the plot may not be compelling but it's intresting like the same Disney classic. It's intresting to see the moment when Tiana has to make a decision between fulfilling her dream and finding her true love. The plot of the evil Shadow King to take the money of the rich family who're Tiana's friends, was intresting to watch.
Like most Disney films, the film does have comedy. Most CG-animated film heavily focuses on comedy including gross-out humor like Monsters vs. Aliens and the Madagascar films. It's good that Disney only does have moments of comedy and focusing on emotional moments. The wisecracks from Louis and Ray were funny, and there are other few funny moments.
The hand-drawn animation may be outdated, but was so beautiful. It's has far more vibrant colors, and richly-detailed environments. The character design fit the characters well. It seems that this old form of animation was upgraded to rich details.
The film does have some flaws, including my the above statement that the plot was basic for a Disney film and it's a typical fairy tale story despite some fresh takes. One gripe I have to mention is that the Shadow King's purpose of turning Naveen into a frog didn't have enough explanation. Of course, my minor gripe is that some of the scenes in the beginning can a little slow since the film has to introduce the plot and characters until it builds up later.

It's refreshing to see a hand-drawn animated classic Disney film in a time when CG occupied the computer animation. It's the same old Disney film I loved as I kid, and I was really satisfied after waiting this for years. The movie was fun and hilarious to watch, and the soundtrack was one of the Disney's best in years. It seems that Disney can do better in hand-drawn than CG, and it finally see its light of day. It's a wonderful movie for the whole family and long-time Disney fans.

8.5/10