MovieChat Forums > The Princess and the Frog (2009) Discussion > Awesome character writing.

Awesome character writing.

posted 14 years ago by jschillig
7 replies | jump to latest

One thing that really impressed me about this movie was the way the characters are written.

Tiana, for example...she's not a perfect Mary Sue from the get-go; she has her flaws and must learn to overcome them. Namely, the fact that she CAN be a bit of a stick-in-the-mud (no, that little cough of Naveen's wasn't entirely wrong!) and that she is a little bit dense as to what's really important. Her hard work and dedication to her dream is admirable, but from the beginning, she seems to have misunderstood her father's advice to "never lose sight of what's important." (Which even caused a facepalm from Mama Odie at one point!)

Also, I love the way the hero and heroine seem to complement each other in a way that you don't often see in Disney movies. Each has something the other needs...Tiana shows Naveen the importance of being more grounded and responsible, while Naveen shows Tiana the importance of letting go and having fun every once in a while. (A bit of a change from, say, your average romantic comedy movie where the Manic Pixie Dream Girl loosens up the stuffy guy but there's no sense of another side to the relationship.)

Plus, Facilier is a pretty fascinating and three-dimensional baddie once you read between the lines a little bit. Disney acknowledges the racial realities of the time without beating us over the head with them. (For example, the "little woman of your...background" comment.) Once you consider them, Facilier's desire for more power has an extra layer to it. During the scene where Facilier tells Lawrence "Aren't you tired of seeing those fat cats driving by in their fancy cars, never giving you so much as a backward glance?"...look closely at Facilier's face. He's not talking about Lawrence.

(In fact, some fans have theorized that Facilier focuses on Big Daddy, not just because of his wealth and power, but because he's Big Daddy's illegitimate half-brother! An interesting theory...he could be thinking, "I'm as much my daddy's son as he is...why shouldn't I be entitled to the same?")

[–] TheWumberlog 14 years ago

Great summary of their character development. I agree.

[–] toirtle 14 years ago

You captured the essence of this film well.

Christina Ann Barrett

[–] CosmosX9 13 years ago

The best thing about this movie is that EVERY character has a share of importance to the plot. It's not like "Sleeping Beauty" where one character seems more important, or had more personality, than the other. The characters here were well balanced, and each one of them had distinct and unique personalities. I think they did a really good job pulling that off!

"I kick arse for The Lord!" (Dead Alive)

[–] stayprettystockholm 12 years ago

Actually.... she IS a Mary Sue. She has no flaws at all (EXACTLY like Belle, Rapunzel, etc) and working hard is not a flaw. Like with Belle we are to immediately sympathize with her even though there isn't much to sympathize with. Yes, we want her to succeed but she has no real flaws to relate to. Not to mention she and Naveen has absolutely no chemistry at all. The whole worst thing about the movie is that they in fact are BADLY written. I like them but there's no just originality, and they're pretty much all recyced caricatures. Charlotte has the best personality of them all but she still isn'tt hat original, except for how determined and wildly energetic she is in her goals and in general.

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[–] Sweet_With_A_Shot_Of_Sprinkles 12 years ago

Brilliant summary, jschillig! That's how I envision the movie/character. I also loved that she, unlike the other princesses defeated the villain. Tiana learned not only to enjoy life, but be a total badass!

Breast milk is sweet!

[–] stayprettystockholm 12 years ago

how many disney movies have you watched? pretty much all defeat the villain.. the bad guy doesnt need to be killed by the heroine to be defeated, or even die at all.

also, I cant stand when people act like "bad@ss" is a compliment. whenever they say it, they mean someone who is typicall a man-butt-kicking feminazi with a cool array of weapons. or at any rate, has to act like a man in some way to win (Mulan's disguise, Tiana being smarter and a better worker than Naveen, Merida being the best archest and toughest person around, etc).

not attacking you, I just wanted to reply.

I love Jesus AND Jesus-hating atheists and am 100% proud!

[–] dogsoldier_spoon-1 12 years ago

Unfortunately, I'll have to agree with Lemon Zinger. I love this movie, but the characters aren't all that well written. There's a lot of potential but it doesn't really succeed in making them perfect. The side characters are good, they don't need that much developping. Facilier was an awesome vilain, one of my favorites but he really doesn't have much background at all. Just imagine how much more interesting he would've been if they had spend some more time developping him. I'll agree with the lack of chemistry between Naveen and Tiana. I love the characters, even though I'm criticizing them now, but wouldn't call them superbly written. I also agree that Tiana is pretty much flawless in the film, except for being a workaholic (which isn't really a flaw, she works hard to achieve her dream. That's not a bad thing).

I think Doug Walker (the Nostalgia Critic) put it best when he described this movie. There's just too much going on storywise to properly develop everything.