Every Australian I’ve ever met is tinged with a little crazy (they have to be to eat Vegemite) and so, without further ado, I bring you two new blogs from Down Under!
First, I love Gary Corby’s blog simply because of the name: A Dead Man Fell From the Sky. The title comes from a portion of his Ancient Greek mystery due out this fall. I plan to be the first to preorder!
Second, Jade is a self-proclaimed crazy Aussie. Her blog is titled Jade Hears Voices and all of her posts make me laugh like a loon. Wait, do loons laugh? Hmmm…
And now let the serious blogging commence.
Saturday night my husband and I took the three-year-old monkey to see Disney’s The Princess & The Frog. I honestly wasn’t expecting much based on Disney’s performance in the last decade- only their movies wedded to Pixar have been worth the price of the ticket.
But all I can say after seeing this one is wow. It was great! About halfway through I realized it was good and starting thinking about why this was better than say, Brother Bear. Here’s what I came up with.
Setting- The movie is set in New Orleans and the bayous of Louisiana, both lending themselves to some great creative effects.
Stunning Effects- This was superb animation with vibrant effects, especially during the songs. They’re like metaphors in a book, making a scene really pop.
Dialogue- The spoken lines were snappy, not a single one superfluous.
Humor– The movie was pretty hilarious. I just about died when some frog-hunters from the bayou popped up and one only had two fingers. Of course, these hicks from the sticks weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed.
Antagonist- Dr. Facilier was evil and his song numbers were excellent. Of course, in typical Disney fashion he was pure evil, with no redeeming qualities.
Characters- Both Tiana and Prince Naveen were fleshed out, as close to 3D as you can get in an animated feature. I actually like Tiana the best out of all the Disney heroines. (See next bullet.) And the secondary characters were great, especially the almost two-hundred-year old, blind voodoo witch, Mama Odie.
Deeper Message- The message of the movie is to work hard (Tiana) and enjoy life (Naveen). It was refreshing to see a Disney heroine whose whole conflict wasn’t her rebeling against her parents or searching for a man to save her.
Emotion- There was one scene toward the end that made me a little teary-eyed. And then I looked over to see my daughter crying. Dude, she’s three! Yeah, Disney’s that good.
So, if you’re not adverse to kid’s movies and you want a cute story, I highly recommend The Princess and the Frog. It’s definitely one of my new favorites, ranking up there with Aladdin and Alice & Wonderland.
What’s your favorite Disney movie?
In terms of Disney cartoon movies, I have to say Aladdin wins for me. It's fun, even though the message amounts to "if you pretend to be rich you can attract royalty."
It also has Iago the parrot — easily one of my favorite Disney characters, and also one of the few "villains" to undergo any sort of redemption through the course of a Disney film.
Wow, you're the second blogger to rave about the Princess & Frog. I'm not the biggest fan of Disney storylines, but I have always loved Fantasia.
Now I'm going to check your blog recs. Thanks!
Awesome, I'm gonna have to check it out then. I've been disenchanted with Disney for the last decade or so.
I have the same skepticism about Disney, so I'm glad you posted this. I thought it looked cute, but you just never know anymore. 🙂
I have a little something for you over on my blog. 😀
We saw it Saturday too! I loved it. I really think all the hype is right on with this one (one critic said it was the best Disney movie since The Lion King and I concur). It was a little scary and I was teary too, but my kids loved it.
I'm a little out of the loop on Disney movies, but love Jade's Blog. I'll check out Gary's too. Thanks!
We are taking our girls to see this weekend! I can't wait, I've heard so many wonder things.
Thanks for linking some great blogs! I've follow Jade, and she is a hoot. The other link is a new one for me.
I was just thinking about this movie yesterday and wishing my kids were still young enough to go see it. I think I'm going to convince my fifteen-year-old daughter to go see it with me. Maybe I can bribe her with something.
Beauty and the Beast is my favorite, followed very closely by The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. I'm excited to go see The Princess and the Frog now!
I really love Snow White and The Little Mermaid. I wasn't planning on seeing The Princess and the Frog but I think I will now.
I'm so glad Disney has gone back to their formula from before. It's comforting to see them taking on new movies they way they used to. I've missed it!
I'll have to check out Jade's blog! I already follow Gary.
Thank for this! I've been debating whether or not to take the kids over Christmas break – now I know. I love Mulan, Finding Nemo, and The Little Mermaid.
Yay, Aussies! Yay, Louisiana!
This is just what I needed on a Tuesday morning–some Aussie love. Tnanks!
But dude, vegemite rocks. Best hang-over cure ever.
We went Saturday night, too, and we LOVED it! It reminded me of the old Disney movies as well. The animation was incredible, the characters were great, and the music was super fun. I got totally choked up/teary-eyed, though I do with just about every Disney movie. Some of my favorite Disney's: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (already a fav!), THE LITTLE MERMAID, LION KING, THE ARISTOCATS, LADY AND THE TRAMP, 101 DALMATIANS, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
I loved Aladdin. I'll have to see it–though it would help if I had a three year old to bring to these things so I don't look so strange 🙂
my favorite would have to be … um .. beauty and the beast .. or maybe snow white. One of those.
Aussies are a little crazy because we're upside down. The blood rushes to the head you know.
I haven't been around much recently because I am (still) editing. Thanks so much for your kind words Stephanie! I'm looking forward to you selling your book, so we can all read it and so you can spend the rest of your life editing too.
Time magazine said the the Princess and the Frog was the best movie of 2009. There you go.
You don't have to be crazy to love vegemite, but it helps! It must be all the kangaroos bouncing away in our top paddocks 😀
My favourite Disney films are Sleeping Beauty and The Sword in the Stone. The owl, Merlin, is a pisser.