The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Review By JESSICA ALMY

I have to admit that a good part of my enchantment with Disney’s 2009 flick “The Princess and the Frog” has to do with its toe-tapping soundtrack, and the role that jazz plays in the New Orleans-based storyline. This retelling of the Frog Prince, now available on DVD, also features beautiful animation and a spunky princess who is notably less passive, and harder working, than some of the older Disney princesses.

Families interested in animal rights will likely cringe when the lead character Tiana first encounters the prince-turned-frog: she shrieks and tries to flatten him with a book. In her defense, he was talking to her. And it would be an understatement to say that when Tiana herself becomes a frog, she begins to appreciate the amphibians a little bit more. Your kids probably will too. Add on that two of the most likable characters in the entire movie are a crocodile and a lightning bug, and all in all, you’ve got a pretty animal-friendly movie.

While this movie doesn’t have the same kind of witty one-liners that have delighted me in other Disney flicks (take, for example, “The Little Mermaid”), I did appreciate the running joke that frogs are not covered in slime, but in mucus.

Rated G. Ages 5-12. For activities related to the movie, visit Disney Family.