The Princess and the Frog

[Dacey]

Hey, Grunt. Might want to hide some of that text. Some people here haven't seen the movie yet.

[GRUNT]

Hey, Grunt. Might want to hide some of that text. Some people here haven't seen the movie yet.

Done! Sorry about that - films often take a lot longer to come to Australia. 'Up', for instance, didn't get here until September. I tend to avoid this forum myself until after I've seen the flick (by which time, most folks would already have seen the film) and I can post without really worrying about spoiling anyone, but Princess and the Frog didn't come out too much later than its USA release, and I just went and rambled on out of habit .

[Macaluso]

One plot hole which irked me is that Tiana already knew that there was someone posing as Naveen (and that he had Charlotte's full attention), so I thought she jumped (hopped) to conclusions a little too quickly when she saw 'Naveen' with Charlotte on that mardi gras float.

Tiana had no idea that there was a fake Naveen. The closest we get to her thinking about that is when she goes "If you're the prince, then who was that dancing with Ladi out on the dance floor?!", and that comment just kind of goes away once Naveen explains one minute he was dancing and the next minute was a frog. Beyond that, there's no mention at all of a fake Naveen to Tiana the whole movie. So for all she knew that was the actual Naveen up there with Charlotte

[EricJ]

Up is the frontrunner for Best Picture at this year's Oscars? Really? Then 2009 really was a poor year for film. Apart from the opening montage, the rest is nothing special or memorable.

I know. A little off topic, but truthfully, was UP really that good and all the hype?

I'm not trying to be funny here--okay, a little--but you don't live in Los Angeles, DO you??
There are NY voters in the Academy, who are mostly the writers, analysts, Martin Scorsese, etc., and there are LA voters who are the crew, tech folks and huggy star/producer communities who live, work and breathe in Player City.
The latter are a strange people where Oscar is concerned: They applaud every time Jack Nicholson is shown in his front-row "throne". They believe James Cameron is still God for directing "Titanic", because they wish they'd directed it themselves. (So, okay, maybe Avatar will get a few noms...) And they're amazed that Pixar films do so well, because they must be made in the clouds by little elves who take stardust from the sunbeams to fuel their computers.

They've wanted a Pixar film to win something more than "just" Animated for the last...(wait, what year did TS2 come out?--Oh, yeah: )...ten years. And then, Wall-E...Ohh, Wall-E. Never underestimate the power of a Martyr to unite a revolt.
There may be LA voters who want SmurfWars to win because It's Like So Amazing And The King Of the World Directed It (yes, they still make that joke over there ), but there are just as many who believe that the industry should lay down and let Pixar make every movie ever made.
(And no, spare us the "The live-action producers are jealous!" bit, we're talking about the movies the star couples take little Apple Hunter to go see in their spare time when they pretend to be regular people.)

The last time pundits tried to "outsmart" What Oscar REALLY Doesn't Like, smartalecks tried to assure us that Sean Penn taking home Best Picture wasn't a slam against Peter Jackson & Tolkien, it was just that Fantasy wasn't important to them.
People, you're trying to apply reason to West Coast voters. Don't do that.

[Josh]

No disrespect intended, Eric. But using your logic, I think Ratatouille would have been the 'martyr' and Wall-E would have been the winner. Personally, I believe this year's frontrunners for Best Picture are, in alphabetical order, Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air.

[ELIOLI]

Don't mean to be rude or anything, but I din't undrestand what you were trying to explain Eric J, or what you were atleast talking about anyway.Well, anyway... I guess we'll find out in the meantime who wins the coveted Oscar...
OLI

[Ben]

Don't worry, Josh and Elioli, once Eric starts a rant, all logic, reasoning and coherence fly out the window.

I don't think anyone actually understood Cameron's King Of The World statement, and there you go, but...seriously, Avatar for Best Picture? Oy...

[ELIOLI]

No worrys.
OFF TOPIC!

Simply I don't think this is PIXAR's best work and there are any movies that could take it's spot for the nom. That is all.
And no, this year has been in my opinion, one of the best for animated films and new things we have never seen before! Just not PIXAR's best is all. ..wow. way off topic.
But that is what you get with a crowd of different thinkers.

------------------
Now,I hope we some Disney Boom era type of films again in the near future. I think we are just getting started with the TPATF. I want to feel that goosbump sesation when I see a traditional film that would put most of these CGI films in their place. I want 2-d to be the new CGI..in an odd sorta way.
Does nyone think the Princess and the Frog got a fair amount of praise and noms?

ELI

[EricJ]

I don't think anyone actually understood Cameron's King Of The World statement, and there you go,

(Thanks, Ben--I've heard so many drooling "Avatards", as another board's taken to calling them, trying to make Cameron sound as if he was making a Prophetic Proclamation about his state in the industry, when we all groaned at the time that he was just trying to pimp a cheap-applause line from his movie, because he knew his box-office-struck buddy-celebs in the crowd would love it...
To which I tried to compare to Nick Park holding his Oscar high and shouting "Crackin' cheese, Grommit!" when he got the award for "Curse of the Were-Rabbit". )

Now,I hope we some Disney Boom era type of films again in the near future. I think we are just getting started with the TPATF. I want to feel that goosbump sesation when I see a traditional film that would put most of these CGI films in their place. I want 2-d to be the new CGI..in an odd sorta way.
Does nyone think the Princess and the Frog got a fair amount of praise and noms?

Well, that was the whole point that got us off-topic:
IF Up makes the BP nomination, than Beauty/Beast Neato-ism kicks in (and don't think it won't) it's on the express train, and Westies will think it's "safe" to give the "lesser" Animated to The Other Cuddly Disney Film.
And IF AvaDelgo grabs enough attention to be the frontrunner, than that means Up "has" to be given its Animated validation as consolation prize, Tiana goes home with only a sympathetic pat from Lilo, Cameron walks off with Picture and Director, and we all slap our foreheads and wish we only had 49 states...As Ben says, oy.

As noted, I'm putting my faith in cuddly voters who just can't decide which Disney film to give an Oscar to, and who will try to compromise...
Yes, any BA nom-praise for P&tF is just as much for the notoriety of seeing a good one back again after an extended absence, but hey, that was what they said about "Chicago", too.

[estefan]

To change the subject a little bit here, studio estimates are reporting that The Princess and the Frog made $10 million this weekend, with a $86 million total. Thus, it stands a now guaranteed shot at being the first hand-drawn animated film since Lilo & Stitch to make more than $100 million domestically.

[ELIOLI]

Great! Now, we wait.

[Ben]

Elioli, would you care to tell me what P.I.X.A.R.'s acronym initials stand for, or just revert to not using capitals, please. It's a mesh of the words "pixel" and "art", not anything else.

[eddievalient]

Actually, I read in an article about the company (can't remember where, say sorry) that Pixar is a fake spanish word meaning "to make pixels".

[Vernadyn]

Dave Price's The Pixar Story and Infinity and Beyond had that story as well, except the fake Spanish word would be "pixer." They changed it to Pixar because it sounded better.

I still haven't seen the Princess and the Frog. I was going to see it with my family with this weekend at a 10:30AM bargain show, but it was surprisingly sold out. I took a peek in the theater, and it was packed full. So at least where I live, the film is doing well. We ended up seeing Sherlock Holmes instead. It was passable popcorn fare, but I wasn't expecting much. There was no clapping at the end like there had been for Up, Star Trek, and Avatar.

[droosan]

Prosperous Inspirational Xanadu for Artists who Rock ..