The Princess and the Frog

While it is indeed a Disney movie I am analyzing for its post-modernist qualities, it indeed has them, despite what many people may think. For those of you who don't know, The Princess and the Frog is a recent animated Disney film about the classic tale of the frog prince who is kissed by a princess to be returned to his human state. However, this frog prince ends up kissing a girl dressed as a princess, and this turns her into a frog as well, so they have to go on an adventure together to turn back into humans.

While it does appear to be an innocent kid's movie, it does have post-modernist qualities. For example, the movie blends fiction and nonfiction. It's historical fiction, taking place in the 1920s in New Orleans, with all the characters dressed as if in the 20s and everything looking very 20s. And while the movie is set in the 20s, it also involves fiction, as there is much magic involved, the most obvious example being that the two protagonists are turned into frogs.

The protagonists also exemplify traits of post-modernism. The heroine, Tiana, is a very hard worker, but working so hard for her dream of owning her own resteraunt blinds her to important things, such as love, and also keeps her imbalanced as she does not know how to have fun. Her counterpart, Prince Naveen, doesn't know the meaning of hard work and spends all of his time goofing off and having fun. While he is happy, he doesn't know how to do anything. Obviously, both of them are flawed in this way, in the true style of a post-modernist hero. And, like a post-modernist hero, both of them make the right choice at the right time, so their flaws don't matter.

It also plays off the post-modernist aspect of having multiple worlds. While there is the traditional and historically correct New Orleans, there is also the made-up country of Maldonia, of which Naveen is prince of. Also, there is the spirit world from which the two hoodoo masters draw their powers from. All of these worlds combine into the Princess and the Frog universe.