The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Walt Disney Studios broke ground with “The Princess and the Frog” – a fantasy tale focused on an African-American girl with the big Disney Dreams™ and the handsome guy to go with them. It felt about damn time, after how many decades. Seven? Eight? Alas, this hand-drawn animated tale never took off in theaters. Racism? No. It’s the film's plot and tone. Our not-a-princess princess (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) wants to open a restaurant of her own, and running after her dream, gets mixed up with a young prince who’s now literally a frog (that’s Bruno Campos) and a local New Orleans con man/master of dark arts (Keith David.) I’m not quite sure any child dreams of opening a restaurant, so there’s that, and some of the animation involving “The Shadow Man” is quite spooky – skulls and wicked ghost shadows, etc. Not for the babes. All that said, this is one great-looking flick with some clever side characters and surprises along the way. It’s not Disney’s best, but even off-center Disney can be wonderful entertainment. B+