randy newman Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Disney's 'Princess and the Frog' Gets a Teaser
Filed under: Animation », Disney », Family Films », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
I'm as big a fan of Pixar movies as anyone, but I honestly miss the old-fashioned 2-D style animation from Walt Disney. I think there's definitely room for both hand-drawn and computer animated films, because as brilliant as movies like Toy Story, Ratatouille and Wall-E may be, they're a completely separate kind of filmmaking from the traditional Disney films. They shouldn't be compared to nor should they replace the kind of beloved fairy tale classics we've enjoyed from the Mouse House for 70 years. So, before commenting on the new teaser trailer for The Princess and the Frog (available here if the YouTube version is removed), let me just say, welcome back, 2-D!
OK, so what do I think? Well, upon seeing the New Orleans setting, my first response was unfortunately one of fear: what if Disney one-ups its Hunchback of Notre Dame pole-dance debacle with a scene involving Mardi Gras beads? Well, obviously Disney knows better than to be so blatantly naughty, though I wouldn't doubt that animators will find some way to slip in a hint of Big Easy-style debauchery.
Anika Noni Rose to Voice 'The Frog Princess'
Filed under: Animation », Music & Musicals », Casting », Disney »
Though Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Hudson stole the Dreamgirls spotlight from Anika Noni Rose, it is Rose who apparently beat out Hudson (as well as ladies like Alicia Keyes and Tyra Banks) for the lead role in Disney's upcoming animated musical feature, The Frog Princess. (I'm sorry, but if Tyra Banks thought she had a chance here, then I'd love to have a little bit of what she's been smoking.) Rose will voice Maddy, Disney's first ever black princess -- a role that garnered the interest of practically every black actress/singer in Hollywood. And who can blame them -- heck, this is history in the making. Go Disney!
Set during the 1920s Jazz Age in New Orleans, The Frog Princess will be based on the classic fairytale and feature music from -- who else -- Randy Newman. Pic will also mark the first 2D Disney film since 2004's Home on the Range, and hopes to tap into the spirit of the Broadway-style musicals that were so successful for the Mouse House throughout the late '80s and '90s. In addition, Ron Clements and John Musker (directors of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid) have been tapped to write and direct. The first images of Princess Maddy have already been released, and though it's said to be early concept art, both pictures are in line with what you'd expect from an animated Disney Princess, in that she's pretty and petite with not an ounce of fat on her. How do you feel about the film? Is it just me, or does it feel slightly odd that it's 2007 and we're actually celebrating the fact that a major studio has decided to create their first animated African-American princess? Is this something that should have been done years ago?
The African-American Disney Princess Maddy -- A Step Forward, or Another Miss?
Filed under: Animation », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Disney », Celebrities and Controversy », Scripts »
While no one can argue with Disney's animated achievements, there's a large, cavernous space to discuss their racial downfalls. The company has gotten a lot of flack for their heroes being generally light-skinned, American English-speaking good guys with symmetrically perfect features, while the villains embody the opposite (Aladdin). However, in March, Jette Kernion alerted us to Disney's latest animated feature -- The Frog Princess, which will break new ground by introducing an African-American princess.The big question: can they pull it off? The team bringing Princess Maddy to the screen are John Musker and Ron Clements. Sure, they brought us The Little Mermaid, but they're also responsible for Aladdin, which was far from a beacon of multiculturalism and racial respect. I'm surprised that Disney would tempt fate with that pair, and not completely remove themselves from the last doomed attempt. That being said, you can check out the first image of Maddy to the right, and she doesn't look half bad. Of course, no Disney film would be complete without a girl with small, cute features, but she also has a different look about her -- sort of old school Betty and Veronica.
However, Maddy actually seems to have two looks, and I'm wondering if the picture to the right wasn't just the stepping stone to making her more like the rest of the recent Disney ladies. (sigh) This other picture has her looking much more like Jasmine and the other heroines that Disney has released over the last few decades. Have they all forgotten that girls can still be cute while looking different? Snow White was nothing like Sleeping Beauty, yet both were popular and loved. What do you think? Is Disney finally starting to get it right, or are they still completely clueless?
Disney Reveals 'The Frog Princess' and Details on 'Toy Story 3'
Filed under: Animation », Disney », Family Films »
The Disney princess fairy-tale movie genre is back, and with traditional hand-drawn animation, too. John Lasseter has announced the next Disney animated movie, slated for 2009: The Frog Princess. It's unclear whether this is a riff on the fairy tale "The Frog Prince," in which a young girl rescues a frog that turns out to be a handsome prince, or original material. The movie will bring something new for Disney -- the studio's first African-American princess/heroine. This could open whole new vistas for Disney marketing with their popular "princess" line of merchandise. Lasseter also announced that Toy Story 3 is scheduled to release in 2010, and that the script is being written by Michael Arndt, who just won an Oscar for his Little Miss Sunshine screenplay. The Frog Princess will be set in New Orleans, which I find intriguing. I assume this will be some fantasy New Orleans of the past, with harmless voodoo queens and street vendors dressed as pirates and bayous adjacent to the French Quarter, which is the only part of New Orleans that Hollywood knows about. Disney has already announced there will be a "soulful singing alligator." I can hear the opening number now: "New Orleans! Home of pirates, drunks and whores --" No, wait, that's from The Simpsons. The music will actually be written by Randy Newman, who's been composing regularly for Pixar films, including Toy Story 3. After the announcement, Newman previewed a song from The Frog Princess with help from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
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