When Disney purchased Pixar Animation Studios in 2006, one of the most influential factors behind the acquisition, besides acquiring the top computer animation studios in the world, was that John Lasseter, one of the powerhouses behind the rise of Pixar, would be put in charge of Disney's downtrodden animation studio. A fan of hand-drawn animation, Lasseter's return was sign of Disney's willingness to reinvigorate the dying art that the studio had all but destroyed only a few years earlier. His first project as Chief Creative Officer (CCO) was
The Princess and the Frog - which is out today on Blu-ray - a film which sees the return of the studio to its animation and storytelling roots.
Distraught from realizing her dream of owning a restaurant may never come true, Tiana (Anika Rose), a young waitress in New Orleans, excuses herself from the costume party she is catering and retreats to a remote balcony on the opposite side of the mansion. There she finds talking frog who claims to be cursed prince (Bruno Campos) who can only be cured by a kiss. After being promised funding for her restaurant, she reluctantly kisses him only to be turned into a frog herself! Now seen as pests to the other party guests, the two escape to the swamp in order to find Mama Odie (Jennifer Lewis), a voodoo priestess who can hopefully break the curse.
While
The Princess and the Frog is not going to break into the ranks of the Top 10 Disney Animated films of all time, it is significantly better than the majority of projects put out by the studio over the past decade and a welcome return to hand-drawn animation. The story is fantastic, the animation is beautiful, and the songs are as memorable as anything Disney has done before. The only fault, I found, was that the story's build-up took too long, and there were some parts that felt more like filler than an addition to the story. Of course, children won't notice that at all, and will enjoy the musical numbers for years to come.
Disney's Blu-ray release is a wonderful presentation, with a sharp and bright images accompanied by a bright soundtrack. I particularly was impressed by the darker voodoo musical numbers where dark backgrounds were lit-up with bright splashes of color that seemed to glow like neon lights on a dark night. This is not an easy feat for encoders to make it just right, and it goes without saying that Disney continues to be on top of their game with regards to Blu-ray releases.
The Wachowski Brothers (still weird to say that) latest film
Ninja Assassin is being released today on Blu-ray, likely the first chance you will have to see the film since it bombed in the box office late last year. Falling short on every front, this ambiguously titled affair represents what not to do in a martial arts film, something that must have been difficult given the thousands of such films that were able to execute successfully with a fraction of the budget.
Staff reviewer Kenneth Brown shares an opposing opinion of the film in his
Blu-ray review of Ninja Assassin: "I know I'm in the minority, but McTeigue's commanding presence behind the camera, Straczynski's sharp genre script, and Rain's unexpectedly potent performance gave me plenty of reasons to enjoy most everything the film had to offer (pesky Europol agents notwithstanding). Warner's Blu-ray release is just as effective. It's even easy to overlook the disc's short, somewhat disappointing supplemental package when its razor-sharp video transfer and deadly DTS-HD Master Audio track combine forces."
For a complete listing of all the Blu-ray titles released today,
click here.