8 Animated Disney Films That Really Shouldn't Be Called Classics
8. The Princess And The Frog
The Princess And The Frog marked a return to the traditional fairy tale story that had made Disneys name decades before but had since become clichéd and uncool. Adapting The Frog Prince (or rather, more recent novel The Frog Princess) in a New Orleans setting, the film caused a bit of a stir for bringing us the first black princess; why had it taken this long to happen and did it really matter? It turns it did matter; the film didn't perform as expected at the box office and the commonly accepted reason is that race got in the way. That initially crackpot (and potentially dated) theory gains some credence when you consider that both fans and critics responded with outpouring adoration. And that's in itself is strange. The film was certainly pretty, but it reached that point where things were moving so slowly and un-creatively that each new song (and theres a lot) elicits a groan; after the first three, the musical numbers only serve to pad out the run time. Of course there was a lot riding on The Princess And The Frog. As Disneys first 2D cell animated feature in five years, it was a last ditch effort for the medium and thus it was very easy for people to go easy on it. But as we'll see later on, importance to cinema isn't what you really want in a classic.
