Disney's D23 Exposes 'The Princess and The Frog', Barely Mentions Marvel

Disney launched their inaugural D23 (D for Disney, 23 for 1923 ... when the studio started) fan expo today in Anaheim, and the opening remarks from Bob Iger covered all of the facets the company is involved in, ranging from movies to music to ... home furnishings. He barely mentioned Marvel in passing, probably since the ink's still drying on that deal, but he did say that the Marvel characters "transcend gender, age, and geographical location." They plan on using the Disney brand name to "extend and increase" the Marvel brand, so brace yourself for that.

The capper for the keynote was when they surprised the audience by showing 30 minutes worth of The Princess and The Frog, DIsney's return to 2-D hand drawn animation five years after they said the art form was dead and planned to only do CGI films following Home on the Range. Thankfully, with the purchase of Pixar and the installation of John Lasseter as head of animation, they've returned to the old school way of doing things.

We saw the first third of the movie, which looks fantastic. Anika Noni Rose really shines as the voice of Tiana, Disney's first-ever African American Princess, and the New Orleans setting offers fun characters like the evil, voodoo-sporting Dr. Facilier, and the music ranges from Dixieland to jazz. At one point, when Tiana sings her wishing song "I'm Almost There" about wanting her own restaurant, the film changes completely into an art deco style complete with riffing jazz tunes and period costumes.

However, upstaging Tiana is the spoiled, blonde, and freakishly lovable Charlotte LaBouff, voiced by Jennifer Cody. She's pretentious, entitled, oblivious ... and incredibly funny. She quickly became a fan favorite with the audience, and she provides a lot of the comic relief. The baddie in the movie, Doctor Facilier (Keith David), is thin, oily, and deliciously evil. He makes Aladdin's Jafar look like an elementary school bully. He's steeped in the arts of the macabre, and is responsible for turning the film's Prince Naveen, a visiting dignitary from Maldonia looking for a rich woman to marry, into a frog.

Rose graced the stage with a live performance after the screening was done, and while I'm a complete sucker for anything Pixar turns out, I'm glad Disney is returning to 2-D. The art in the film looks amazing (87% of it was finished and in colors, the others were cleaned up roughs), and the music is great despite the presence of Randy Newman, who has a tendency to ham things up from time to time. The three songs we heard here were great, especially Facilier's "Friends On The Other Side".

Ron Clements and John Musker directed The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules ... but they haven't worked on a film since Treasure Planet in 2002. The Princess and The Frog looks like those late 80s / early 90s Disney movies that helped make Disney a success in animation all over again. I thought I was past the stage of enjoying these kinds of movies, and I'm glad I was wrong.