Read more about Mama Odie at: Wikipedia Official Site: Walt Disney Pictures The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated musical romantic fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is inspired in part by the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which in turn is based on the German folk tale "The Frog Prince" as collected by the Brothers Grimm. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Peter Del Vecho, from a screenplay that Clements and Musker co-wrote with Rob Edwards. The directors also co-wrote the story with the writing team of Greg Erb and Jason Oremland. The film stars the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jennifer Cody, John Goodman, Keith David, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, and Terrence Howard. Set in New Orleans during the 1920s, the film tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing a prince who has been turned into a frog by an evil voodoo witch doctor, Tiana becomes a frog herself and must find a way to turn back into a human before it is too late. The Princess and the Frog began production in July 2006, under the working title The Frog Princess. It marked Disney's brief return to traditional animation, as it was the mainstream animation studio's first traditionally animated film since Home on the Range (2004). Musker and Clements, directors of Disney's The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), and Treasure Planet (2002) returned to Disney to direct The Princess and the Frog. The studio returned to a Broadway musical-style format frequently used during the Disney Renaissance, and the film features a score and songs composed and conducted by Randy Newman, well known for his musical involvement in Pixar films such as the Toy Story franchise. The Princess and the Frog premiered at the Roy E. Disney Animation Building on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank on November 15, 2009, and first opened in a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on November 25, followed by its wide release on December 11. The film received largely positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation (particularly the revival of the hand-drawn form), characters, music, voice acting (particularly David's), and themes; however, it was criticized for its depiction of Louisiana Voodoo and alleged historical negationism of its depiction of the Southern United States during the Jim Crow era. It was a qualified success at the box office: it somewhat underperformed Disney's targets yet finished in first place in North America on its opening weekend and grossed around $271 million worldwide (becoming, in the process, Disney’s most successful traditionally animated film since Lilo & Stitch in 2002). It received three Oscar nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards: one for Best Animated Feature and two for Best Original Song. In New Orleans during the Roaring Twenties, a young woman named Tiana is devoted to opening her own restaurant, a dream she shared with her late father. She works two waitress jobs to save enough money for her own restaurant, leaving her no time for a social life. In early 1926, Naveen, the arrogant prince of Maldonia, arrives in New Orleans. His parents have cut him off from the family fortune, so he intends to marry Charlotte La Bouff, Tiana's best friend. In order to convince her to marry Naveen, Charlotte's father, wealthy Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff, hosts a masquerade ball in Naveen's honor, for which Charlotte hires Tiana to make beignet, paying her enough to buy a dilapidated mill to convert into her dream restaurant. Naveen and his valet, Lawrence, encounter Dr. Facilier, an evil and powerful voodoo witch doctor who plans to rule New Orleans. Facilier transforms Naveen into a frog and Lawrence into a doppelganger of Naveen, using a voodoo talisman containing Naveen's blood. Facilier intends for the disguised Lawrence to marry Charlotte, then to kill her father with a voodoo doll so he can gain the La Bouff fortune. |
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Mama Odie