Princess And The Frog, The

The Princess And The Frog is an exciting animated adventure through a magical new world. Tiana (voiced by Rose) is a beautiful and hardworking young woman determined to fulfill her father's dream of owning an elegant New Orleans supper club. When Naveen (voiced by Campos), a handsome prince, arrives in town looking for romance, the evil Dr. Facilier (voiced by David) hatches a nefarious plot and turns Naveen into a frog. A kiss from Tiana should return him to his true form, but in a comedic twist on the classic story, she is instead transformed into a frog herself. The pair must travel into the heart of the mysterious Louisiana bayou with only a trumpet-playing alligator and a love-struck firefly as guides, to find the priestess who can reverse the curse in order to find their "happily ever after." (Gary Reber)

Special features include viewing the original presentation or playing the movie with work in progress; commentary with Co-Writers/Directors John Musker and Ron Clements and Producer Peter Del Vecho; four deleted scenes with an introduction (HD 11:43); the music video "Never Knew I Needed" by Ne-Yo (HD 04:04); eight featurettes: Bringing Life To Animation with an introduction by Musker and Clements (HD 08:08), Magic In The Bayou: The Making Of A Princess (HD 22:11), The Return To Hand Drawn Animation (HD 02:43), The Disney Legacy (HD 02:31), Disney's Newest Princess (HD 02:51), The Princess And The Animator (HD 02:26), Conjuring The Villain (HD 01:50), and A Return To The Animated Musical (HD 03:13); art galleries and storyboard art traces; the "What Do You See: Princess Portraits bayou-style quiz"; up-front previews; and BD-Live functionality.

The 1080p 1.78:1 AVC animated picture is magnificent! The contrast is superb, with deep, solid and rich blacks and revealing animated shadow delineation. The color palette is fully saturated with vivid, rich and warm hues that pop off the screen. The animation is lively and the visuals are absolutely stunning in all their glorious colors. Resolution is superb, as well, with finely defined textures and animated hand-drawn lines. Even dimensional depth is impressive. This is just an outstanding picture that is absolute reference quality. You will be enthralled with the beautiful and colorful imagery that will delight you and your children. Be prepared for multiple viewings. You won't be disappointed. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is jazzy throughout. This is an animated musical, and the music is a central player and is nicely recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage that clearly discerns instrumental timbres. The music is fun and so is the dialogue presentation, with its wonderful characterizations. While ADR, the dialogue is perfectly intelligible, though, not particularly well-integrated spatially. The sound is a bit overly forward but nicely directionalized, without distraction. Atmospheric and sound effects are effectively dimensional and present at times in the surrounds, but predominately frontal focused. Bass extension, at times, is deep and strong, extending to below 25 Hz in the .1 LFE channel. The music is the featured surround element and provides enhanced holosonic® envelopment in every scene. This is a wonderful sonic experience that enlivens the storytelling and is a real joy to experience. (Gary Reber)