THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (U, 97 mins) ****
Featuring the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Terrence Howard, Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings

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In an extraordinary career, producer Walt Disney redefined the boundaries of hand-drawn animation, initially on television and later, and more prominently, on the big screen.

In 1928, he released Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon with synchronised sound, and in 1937, the world whistled along to Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length animated film in history.

Now, in 2010, the studio casts its first-ever African-American princess in this enchanting reworking of the Grimm brothers’ fairytale, set in New Orleans around the time of the First World War.

Restaurant owner James (voiced by Howard) cooks the best gumbo in the city, while his seamstress wife Eudora (Winfrey) tends to their daughter Tiana (Rose).

When the old man goes off to war and never returns, Tiana is forced to make her own way in the world, dreaming of the day she might open her own restaurant and serve up her father’s signature dish.

Those dreams are put on hold when Tiana is approached by a smooth-talking frog, who claims to be Prince Naveen of Malvonia (Campos).

He asks for one kiss to break the spell that has been placed on him and she obliges, only to be transformed into a frog herself.

Trapped in their amphibious state and pursued by scheming voodoo man Dr Facilier (David), Tiana and Naveen must track down queen of the bayou, Mama Odie (Lewis), aided by a music-loving alligator (Wooley) and a crazy firefly (Cummings).

The Princess And The Frog is classic Disney fare, pitting two mismatched souls on a great adventure that ultimately brings them together.

Rose and Campos relish their characters constant bickering, while David hams it up a treat as the witch doctor who unleashes dark spirits to do his bidding.

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, who previously made The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, effortlessly meld romance, comedy and rousing musical numbers with old-fashioned family values that have become a staple of the Disney brand.

Most importantly, this colourful tale of female empowerment buoys the soul as it introduces a menagerie of cute and cuddly critters, who – like the plucky heroine – prove that anything is possible.

The soundtrack composed by Randy Newman swings effortlessly from Tiana’s heartfelt ballad Almost There, sung as she imagines owning her restaurant, to Mama Odie’s barnstorming Dig A Little Deeper complete with a gospel choir, and everything in between.

Walt Disney would be very proud.