MANILA, Philippines ? Full-length animated features have successfully staged a comeback in the last decade, with some 20 new productions lined up for release this year, to viewers? rollicking delight. Some cartoon features try too hard or too little, or otherwise miss the mark in terms of empathy, visual magic or entertainment value. Happily, however, a sufficient number of animated movies have hit the spot to sustain the reinvigorated film type?s upward trajectory.

?The Princess and the Frog? is one such viewing treat. Aside from being brisk and entertaining, the movie is a trailblazer, because it?s the first mainstream cartoon feature with a ?woman of color? for its protagonist.

Focus

Set in New Orleans in the ?20s, the movie tweaks the original fairy tale to focus on lovely but poor Tiana, a cook and waitress who dreams of owning her own chic restaurant as soon as she?s saved enough money to buy a dilapidated building in New Orleans.

Unexpectedly, however, she crosses paths with a visiting prince who is turned into a frog by nasty Dr. Facilier, whose strongest suit is voodoo magic. As per the original tale, Prince Naveen has to be kissed by a princess to remove the curse that?s been put on him?but, Tiana is no princess, so the traditional story is flipped in a big way, until we end up with two frogs, the prince and Tiana.

Conclusion

?Now, that?s a crazy, spaced-out twist! But, to its credit, the production makes it work, and the film fairly flies to its madcap and yet oddly touching conclusion.

In the process, it introduces us to a groovy gallery of other anthropomorphic animals and insects that add more color and zing to the already lively proceedings. They include a trumpet-tooting croc and a sassy, little firefly who accompany our froggy friends as they seek the help of a 198-year-old voodoo priestess to become human again before Dr. Facilier achieves his ultimate goal to enable absolute evil to rule the world.

It?s difficult to keep a ?road? movie like this interesting, but its makers are up to the task, and their inventive storytelling keeps the plot developments fairly bouncing along. The only relatively slow interlude is the overlong trip to the old priestess? secret lair in the swamps.

But, the film gets over this small hump soon enough, so we?re back on easy street in time for the movie?s big, bright finish.

So, ?The Princess and the Frog? can be described as a winner in more ways than one. It?s bright, light, creative, thematically daring and briskly diverting?and its insights into life and love are not to be sniffed at, either. It?s certainly more of a viewing treat than recent animated features like ?Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs? and ?Planet 51,? so it?s a should-see in our book?and, hopefully, in yours, as well.