FILM CHOICE FOR FEBRUARY…
The Princess and The Frog (2009). To get you in the mood for Mardi Gras at the start of next month, try Disney’s beautiful back-to-basics charmer. Hard-working Tiana dreams of opening a restaurant in early 1920s New Orleans. To raise cash, she caters a Mardi Gras party, only to be turned into a frog when she kisses a prince trapped by the magic of the evil Dr Facilier, aka the Shadow Man.
WHY KAY LOVES IT… It’s easy to dismiss cartoons as kids’ movies, but that overlooks the craft that goes into making a film so full of ideas. The hand-drawn animation lures you in, with touches of Lady and the Tramp and Bambi, and nods to Harlem Renaissance artists such as Aaron Douglas. Then there’s the music, with Randy Newman’s score influenced by zydeco (southern Louisana dance music) and hot jazz. But it’s the emotive storytelling that keeps you transfixed… Who’d have thought a gap-toothed Cajun firefly called Ray could make you cry?