The Princess and the Frog

http://www.shallownation.com/2009/11/03/ne-yo-never-knew-i-needed-video-the-princess-and-the-frog-soundtrack-track-list-cover-art/

      The Princess and the Frog is a Disney movie that takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana telling a story about an underprivileged young woman named Tiana whose dream had been to open a successful restaurant. Tiana is so determined to open her restaurant that she spends most of her time over working herself for tips as a waitress. However, she encounters a major obstacle when she and Prince Naveen are transformed into frogs through works of the Shadow Man and the Prince's assistant. In Turn, the frogs travel the bayou with the help of friendly creatures in search of Mama Odie the voodoo priestess who they believe will make them human again. During this journey, Tiana experiences enjoyment and love for the first time, yet all she can think about is opening her restaurant. After finally reaching Mama Odie and being rejected, Tiana begins to realize that working hard is important but should not consume her entire life and what she needed was love and companionship.
     This movie portrays it's message best through shape and symbolism. For example, the Shadow man was known to be threatening and menacing. This message is relayed through the elongated crooked shape of his body, he also had skull and cross bones on his hat implying that he may be dangerous. However, although both Mama Odie and the Shadow Man were Voodoo priest and priestesses, we can differentiate the good and evil between the two characters because Mamma Odie is portrayed in an opposite manner. She is short and round, and instead of wearing mysterious colors such as black and purple like the Shadow Man, she is wearing cream white. Their environments are also symbolic to their personalities and motives because Mamma Odie is always shown in a background where there are many vibrant colors and many animals around her. I include the description of animals because this tells me that they are not afraid of her therefore she is not a threat. On the contrary, the Shadow Man is always lurking around in dark corners and is constantly surrounded by evil ghostly spirits.
   In the movie, these two characters are the key elements in symbolizing the battle between goodness and evil. I believe that the movie's main goal is to continue to remind ourselves and our children that goodness can always overpower evil things and situations. Furthermore, it also emphasizes that business and work is not everything but we must also take time to stop and enjoy ourselves as well.

-FairyTaleMovieQueen