Disney’s latest animated feature film “The Princess and The Frog” took in an estimated $25 million at the box office this weekend. A healthy number for Disney’s return to hand drawn animation, but not blockbuster numbers either. Pixar’s “The Incredibles” and “Finding Nemo” each opened with $70 million, but those were summer films.
Regardless, I don’t think Disney has anything to worry about as this was a slow box office weekend and, having seen the film today, I can say that this frog has legs. Once word gets out that this film has the heart and the sort of good story telling that’s been missing from Disney’s most recent animation, “The Princess and The Frog” should rake in big money throughout the rest of the year.
I saw the film at a birthday party with 25 first graders, so my complete attention wasn’t exactly on the film all the time. But what I was able to catch certainly reminded me of the sort of story telling that Disney was known for in the Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, and The Lion King. Not the traditional telling of how the girl gets her prince, but a lot of fun is had and some important life lessons are learned. That part seemed a bit like Disney was retreading the same of tire, but for a first return to hand-drawn animation, it was a good start.
Hopefully, I’ll get to watch the film again soon and be a bit more complete in my review. In the meantime, if you’ve seen “The Princess and The Frog” what did you think?
Hmm… I’m a little disappointed that more didn’t get out to see it. I don’t want the Disney Execs to start getting the wrong idea about 2d again. Truly a classic on par with Little Mermaid and Aladdin. I saw it twice on opening day.
The Princess And The Frog dances away with $25 million this weekend. http://is.gd/5mfBq I liked it how about you?
Princess & the Frog ranks right up there among my favorite Disney movies. Truly a classic Disney flick.
Hopefully the numbers will improve as people bring their children during the holiday break.
I absolutely loved the film. As a native New Orleanian, I can tell you that nearly everything in there is authentic. I felt like they really captured the heart and soul of the city. I also agree that its a return to form. You can tell the same creators made The Little Mermaid.
“The Incredibles” came out in November … otherwise, your point is well taken.
I just think they aren’t selling it well enough. Based on the trailers, I was expecting it to be “meh” when I took my daughter to a free preview. I thought it was very fun and very well done. One of the big things is getting people to come see it … before seeing it, I probably wouldn’t have paid to go see it. After seeing it, I could probably be convinced by my daughter to pay to see it again!
Same as you… basically a retread, but a well done return to form. Hope the next one shakes up the story-telling experience a bit, like Aladdin, Lion King or Emperor’s New Groove did (for me, at least).
This is extremely saddening to hear, because this past weekend was really this movie’s big chance. Next weekend, Avatar is surely going to dominate the multiplexes, attracting all audience groups from parents with young children (“It’s a Happy Meal, dear! The kids will love it!”) to that 15-35-year-old male crowd that everybody always seems to want (“Dude, Avatar looks freakin’ sweet! Let’s go see it!”). The weekend after that is the weekend directly after Christmas, but as far as theaters will be frequented that weekend, folks will be going to see Sherlock Holmes, which also will attract quite a wide audience. So, expect Princess and the Frog to slip into second place and then third over the next two weeks. :-( Hope this doesn’t mean anything bad. I personally plan to see all three of these films.
I consider myself a Disney connoiseur of sorts and even got to see a preview of the film before it’s release in theaters nationwide. I have to say that, aside from many of the musical numbers, I DID NOT think this movie was up to par for Disney. In fact, I almost forgot it was a Disney movie half-way through… it felt like a cheesy Dreamworks (or other non-Disney studio) picture, trying to be a Disney movie. I loved the Character of Tiana, but the story itself was lacking in my opinion. It breaks my heart to say it, but I have to be honest. I hope they do much better if and when they come up with a story for a Hispanic hero/heroine.
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