This post is a little off the usual topic but...I'm very excited to see The Princess and the Frog. It is Disney's return to 2D, to fairytales, and to musicals, which are the three main ingredients of the classic Disney films (assuming a good story). In essence, this is Disney's “return to Disney.”
The marketing department at The Mouse has done a great job of selling the return to 2D, as well as the fact that it is a "classic," "beloved," fairytale of old. But for me they have really dropped the ball in not pushing the musical side of this film. I don't watch a ton of TV, but it is hard not to see trailers for this film. And, every one that I have seen has no clips of any of the musical/singing sequences. You see the characters dancing, etc., but you never hear any of the music!
In my humble opinion, this is a big mistake. Music has, and always will be, one of the major draws to both the Disney parks and films. I remember all the trailers of the 2nd Golden Age of Disney animated films showing little bits of all the great music scenes. Showing the ballroom sequence in Beauty and the Beast, the Genie's singing antics in “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin, and Timon and Pumba singing “Hakuna Mata” in Lion King, were great ways of getting people excited about the movies.
Marketing departments usually never miss a beat. They sell it from every possible angle, and then some, which why it seems a little surprising the music hasn't really been emphasized for The Princess and the Frog – or, maybe it's just me…?
