Disney kisses a frog and comes up trumps

Walt Disney pictures, for a while now, has been going through what can best be described as an identity crisis. Even after they acquired the 3-d animation arm, Pixar, the success of the subsequent movies; Cars, Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo - never really felt like Disney movies. Sure, they all carried the Walt Disney masthead but the Pixar brand was stamped all over them. Pixar actually cannibalised the Disney movies by becoming synonymous with everything that made the old Disney cartoons attractive - memorable characters, mass appeal across age and gender, quirky storylines and of course ample merchandising opportunities.

When the studio acquired Marvel last year it was viewed by many as a bold if slightly puzzling move. Save for some big hits like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Disney always struggled when it came to live action filmmaking. You could be forgiven for failing to remember movies like Race to Witch Mountain, George of the Jungle and the abysmal Snow Dogs which arguably ended Cuba Gooding Jr's career as a serious actor.

Mixed feelings met the abrupt announcement in 2004 that Home on the Range would be the last 2-d outing from the House of Mouse. On the one hand it was the end of a golden generation that provided cinematic classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Aladdin. But CGI was an unstoppable beast and many felt that perhaps there was no place in a congested market for the tried and tested formula. How wrong they were.

The Princess and the Frog is a bold declaration that Disney is back. After a five-year hiatus, they must have realised that no one quite does hand drawn animation like they do. The results are evident on the screen.

In their first cartoon to feature a black protagonist, the Princess and the Frog is a hark back to that golden era of the 90s when Disney could simply do no wrong. Set during the 1920s jazz age in New Orleans, it recreates a particularly nostalgic portrait of a city that has since been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Even at their less than stellar best, Disney artwork has often stood out but this cartoon takes it up another notch. Some of the stills from the swamp are so good you would think you were looking at a sepia toned photograph.

The story centres on a young girl, Tiana, a resident of New Orleans' poor district, whose main goal is to one day own her own restaurant. A down-on-his-luck prince, Naveen, swans into town in search of a rich bride that will reverse his fortunes but is instead waylaid by a witch doctor, Dr. Facilier who turns him into a frog. In his quest to reverse the curse, he kisses Tiana who is herself transformed into an amphibian. As they both go in search of a permanent cure, they fall in love, with more than a few hair-raising episodes along the way. The movie is replete with cantankerous sidekicks, scary villains, standout visuals and solid characterisation.

In Princess Tiana, Disney has created its strongest heroine. Unwilling to compromise her goals for the sake of a romantic storyline, she is more than a match for Belle, Ariel or Pocahontas.

Randy Newman, an understated musical genius in cinema, serves up another memorable soundtrack here. He eschews the lazy option of dishing up traditional jazz numbers but instead fuses all the songs with an innovative blend of Negro spiritual, soul, ragtime and zydeco. It is a masterful accomplishment and it would be surprising not to see a musical score nod at this year's Oscars. Most importantly, each song drives the story forward and is not shoe-horned in at inappropriate moments.

The subject of racism is treated with kid gloves (it is a kid's movie after all) but Disney does well not to completely ignore it. In one scene Tiana's attempt to secure a restaurant is rebuffed because of her "background." The overwhelming message is that she does not let the episode dent her aspirations.

The Princess and the Frog is a fun filled hour and a half of magic and fantasy. Even the stony-hearted would find it hard not to tap their feet, snap their fingers and smile occasionally to what is a welcome return to the great tradition of Disney animation.