day 3.213

what i love (this week)

the song

world of color at disneyland is life changing. above is the theme song, which was stuck in my head all day today after seeing the show last night. you can see the full show here.

the show

haven't even seen an episode and i know i'm already hooked. style network's big rich texas is filmed in the dfw, and features a family i happen to know. weird, right? weird.

the movie

saw a preview screening of friends with benefits, the no strings attached rip starring mila kunis and justin timberlake this week- review to come closer to the film's release!

the look

melissa mccarthy is hilarious.

day 3.209

demi's "skyscraper"

this is what a comeback looks like. adding her name to a long list of child stars-turned-adult phenoms, demi lovato transitions from disney to mainstream with "skyscraper." the release of "skyscraper" follows a tumultuous year, including a break-up from joe jonas, a rehab stay, publicly admitting her battle with depression, bipolar and eating disorders and leaving her disney channel sitcom. lovato proves she has the voice and experience to join the pop diva ranks alongside christina aguilera. while the song's nothing groundbreaking, lovato voice packs soul, power and punch. check out "skyscraper," above, to hear lovato's raw emotion pull through.

day 3.142

what i love (this week)

the song

in this week's lackluster episode of glee there was a shining moment: quinn and rachel's mash-up duet of "i feel pretty/unpretty." the duo's solemn take on the tlc song (one of my favorites) proved the episode's message of "be yourself" better than the finale number to gaga's "born this way." i can't get enough of this mash-up, especially with the rainy weather i've been having. nothing's better for a rainy day than a 90's r&b ballad (ok, a lot of things probably are, but i'm going to stick with it).

the movie

i'm not ashamed to say i still watch every disney channel original movie. ok, i'm a little bit ashamed, but i accept it. the latest movie, lemonade mouth, is far from a good (or even entertaining movie), but the soundtrack is what gets me. i couldn't help myself from re-watching the performances on my dvr, especially the rap solo on this song.

the show

the best show you're not watching. the end.

the look

i mean, i had to.

day 3.141

movie review: disney's prom

a night to remember, a movie to forget. disney's prom follows a group of high school seniors as they prepare for the night of the lives (so far): prom. the movie comes off as a whole-hearted attempt at a tween-themed love actually. but what it lacks is a consistent message, or any message at all. the characters all seem to wind up at the same place they were at when the movie begins. there's little to no character development; we know little about any them, other than that they all go to school together and they're all going to prom (duh!). the main couple (friday night light's star aimee teegarden and newcomer thomas mcdonell) are cliffs-notes versions of grease's danny and sandy. it's a classic take on "opposites attract," but with little conflict or drama. the trailer's documentary-style interviews would have been a nice addition to the movie, giving it some depth and interest. instead, we get cardboad-cutout performances by a cast of virtual unknowns. disney would have been better off releasing prom as a made-for-tv movie. it's a fluffy mix of the network's kid-coms (sitcoms for kids) and a teen soap, but i highly doubt many parents will want to take their kids to the theater to see a tv-quality show. skip the flick, unless you're feeling nostalgic for high school. and if you are, god help you.

day 3.40

goodbye, hannah!

i give to you the final episode of hannah montana.

day 3.4

she's just being miley

you would think disney would implement some sort of anti-drug campaign by now, right? miley cyrus is the latest disney princess to be flung back into the scandal spotlight. a video of hannah montana herself taking some hits from a bong were leaked today. no word on who sent the tape to tmz, but i would venture to guess it was one of miley's "friends" at the party where it was taped. in the video (above) miley goes on a quick trip through happy town, with almost the entire clip filled with her giggling. the video was supposedly filmed at a birthday party for miley at her l.a. area home. don't these starlets know not to do stupid things? or at least not tape them? it's not that hard to avoid being filmed - it's not like miley wasn't aware she was on camera! miley is quickly turning into just as big of a liability for disney as lindsay lohan became after she left the mouse house.

billy ray cyrus addressed the controversy on his twitter saying:

sorry guys. i had no idea. just saw this stuff for the first time myself. im so sad. there is much beyond my control right now.

now if only miley had never deleted her twitter. can't wait to hear her response to the video in the coming days. i guess the good news is that what miley did was completely legal - she was apparently smoking the herb salvia, and not mary jane. the mexican herb is legal in cali, but can produce similar side effects to weed.

day 2.362

get tangled

tangled is disney's redemption movie. after the flop that was last year's the princess and the frog, the rapunzel-focused tangled is a return to the disney magic of the 1990s. while there aren't nearly as many musical numbers as princess and the frog (or any of the earlier disney flicks), the film's styling and storyline are far more entertaining. tangled puts a different spin on the rapunzel story that i had never heard/seen before, which made it a lot less predictable than i was expecting. and, because it was a children's movie, it definitely passed the watch test - i think i might have looked one time. mandy moore and zachary levi are perfect fits for their characters (rapunzel and flinn rider, respectively), and the mosty unknown supporting cast does a great job bringing the crazy group of characters to life. definitely check out tangled to get back in touch with your younger self.

day 2.333

funny ladies

last night, nbc aired the "women of snl" special. the show highlighted the great skits featuring female players over the show's nearly 40 year history. but it wasn't the retrospective that made the special great, but the 10-minute opening. the women of snl - from cheri o'teri to maya rudolph and kristen wiig - parodied bravo's real housewives franchise reunions, each taking on a different housewife. check out the skit (hosted by real real housewives host andy cohen) above. as far as i can tell, cheri is teresa from new jersey, rachel dratch is caroline, tina fey is kim zolciak from atlanta, ana gasteyer is ramon from new york, molly shannon is bethenny and kristen wiig and maya rudolph share some sort of split role of danielle.

sharpay sneak peak

it's finally here. over the summer, ashley tisdale filmed sharpay's fabulous adventure, a spin-off of the high school musical franchise. check out the video above, which gives you a sneak peak into the movie. it looks like the flick will pick up where hsm3 left off, with sharpay going straight from high school graduation to the great white way. obviously this won't be an oscar winner, but it does look like adventure carries the same spirit of its predecessors. the film should premiere on disney channel sometime early next year, with a dvd release to follow. this may be your last chance to get a new high school musical fix, as it looks like moving forward with the franchise's fourth installment have stalled.

day 2.287

miley's not a "robot"

miley cyrus is continuing to shed her disney image. the soon-to-be former hannah montana recently performed new tracks from her upcoming album (can't be tamed) at a concert in lisbon. one of the songs was "robot," which basically sounds like "hey, disney! i'm not hannah montana." check it out above.

day 2.262

miley's last first single?

reigning tween queen miley cyrus is continuing to shed her disney image, this time with new music. "can't be tamed" is the lead single off of cyrus' summer album, also titled can't be tamed. just from the cover art, it's pretty obvious cyrus is trying to say "look, i'm an adult" because, really, only an adult would put herself in a life-size bird cage and pose seductively. the song has a rock-y vibe that will probably appeal more to cyrus' older fan base than the hannah montana clan. "can't be tamed" deals with boys thinking they can make cyrus their kept woman and, well, she can't be tamed. duh. listen to the song for yourself. it's no "party in the usa," but it will definitely be a hit. while cyrus may be trying to shed her good girl image, disney is probably more excited than ever. cyrus is on hollywood records, an imprint of the mouse house's recording studio. this is the first time that disney has had real commercial crossover with an artist - someone who can get played on both radio disney and your local hits station. they tried to make it happen with hilary duff, but she just turned into a guinea pig. raven was their second attempt, but disney finally hit gold with cyrus. the sad (for some) news is that miley has said multiple times that can't be tamed will be her final record, at least for the time being. she'd rather focus on her movie career, apparently. i guess we'll see how that goes. my guess is that cyrus will be releasing a fourth album sometime in 2012.

day 2.100

quite possibly the world's creepiest song

miley cyrus may have just one-upped herself in the category of doing things inappropriate for her age. the disney star has recorded a duet with vh1's hot ticket bret michaels. the over-40 rocker's "nothing to lose" features the underaged cyrus. as far as i can tell, the song is about falling for someone and then getting busy with them. real cool. no one at disney caught this? really? way to protect your talent. while this won't damage miley's career, it might tarnish her reputation. who wants to be acquainted with a washed-up rock star looking for love in an std-infested tour bus? not me. it's understandable that the duo's voices compliment each other (they're both husky and don't have much range), but couldn't there have been a father/daughter message or something? oh well. better luck picking projects next times, miles. ugh.

day 2.52

montana says sayonara to disney

hannah montana is officially over. well, technically. the fourth, and final, season is set to enter production this month, ending lensing sometime this summer when. while the third season hasn't even finished airing, disney stockpiles episodes out of convenience and to keep the look of their series as consistent as possible - they want the kids to look and stay young. this 4 year run is quite the feat for disney and may make hannah montana the longest running show in the network's history. before that's so raven, all disney series were limited to 65 episodes - which in the normal tv world is the equivalent to 3 seasons. while hannah is sure to stay on the net through 2012, both through new episodes and reruns, miley cyrus is officially done with the series. the final season will focus on character miley stewart getting older and trying to figure out if she can really be hannah forever or if she'll just have to be herself. um, isn't that the plot of the entire series? the show's final season will reportedly also include miley and co moving out of their plush malibu pad, but no word on where they're going. let's hope miley sticks with the mouse house (and they're many production imprints) as to avoid the less-than-stellar careers of the disney stars before her, like hilary duff and raven symone. the star already has the last song and the wings series - a fantasy about fairies based on the book of the same name- lined up for disney, so i'm pretty sure she's on the right path.

just in time for the demise of hannah montana, disney has released the first trailer for their the series' replacement, good luck charlie. the series stars two disney vets - cory in the house's jason dolley and wizards of waverly place's bridget mendler. the series looks network sitcom worthy, a bit of a departure for the net. as the traditional sitcom dies off on network television, the writers and creators of past mainstream hits are turning to children's networks where the format is still favored. hence, the shows become more sophisticated and adult-friendly. check out the trailer for the series above. i don't think the show will do anywhere near the success of hannah montana, but it's sure to be more popular than recent additions to the disney lineup like jonas. maybe i'm finally becoming too old for the disney channel, because i'm less and less interested in what they're offering to the public. this show looks promising, but the fact that the sprouse twins haven't aged in about 5 years creeps me out.

day 2.50

oh, mariah

last night, mariah carey made quite the appearance at the palm springs international film festival. after being named breakthrough actress for her work in precious, the known diva took to the stage looking similar to post-glitter breakdown mimi. while the video above cuts out some of her speech, most of the crazy is there. luckily (i guess) mariah wasn't having a mental breakdown. she was just plastered beyond belief - and even admitted to it. watch the clip above as carey shares some bizarre - and uncomfortable - inside joke, pay reference to the woman who was supposed to play her part in the film, but had to drop out (helen mirren) and just make a complete ass of herself.

two belated movie reviews

over the past couple of days, i've seen two movies that have been at the theater for a little while but still deserve reviews. first up, the princess and the frog.

the princess and the frog is probably the lamest disney princess flick i've seen. maybe it's because the last time i saw a disney animation film in the theater i was 9. or because i'm almost 20 now (though that's kind of the same reason). this latest offering from the mouse house has just done ok at the box office - it would be making good returns if it weren't a disney cartoon. if the film had been released over the summer, taking care of an entire 3 months in which children need entertainment, i think it would have done better. and may have looked better. tpatf's animation quality is pretty low for disney. it's not just because it isn't computer generated, but because it just appears simplistic. maybe that's what they were going for, but other disney classics - like cinderella and beauty and the beast - have awe inspiring animation. i think disney built this flick up too much and didn't take into account that the thing that makes all their past movies great is that they are fantasy based. while the film takes advantage of magic, it takes place in the real world - something people are attempting to escape when they make the trek to the movies. watching princess tiana and her prince as frogs for the majority of the movie is trying. i would much rather see them as people and everyone else in the film as a frog. the honor of being disney's first black princess is almost discredited by the fact that tiana is slimy (i'm sorry, mucus-y - you'll get it if and when you see the movie) for the flick. the villian is some weird blend of aladin's jafar and cruella de vil, which isn't a good thing. the best character of the movie - tiana's friend lottie - is barely in the film and doesn't get a musical number, even though broadway star jennifer cody voices her. on that note, the music of the film isn't memorable or timeless - you won't be singing anyone of it's tunes when you leave the theater because you won't be able to recall any! bottom line is, if you're a disney fan, check out the princess and the frog - but don't hold you breath for it to live up to the ad campaign's hype that it's "the best disney film since the lion king," because it definitely isn't.

i read a review of did you hear about the morgans? brushed the film off as just a tbs-rerun worthy flick. well, is that bad? i don't know about you, but the movies that get played over and over again on channel like tbs always entertain me - and the morgans doesn't disappoint. while the film can feel slow (my watch check - a sign that i'm bored - total was 3 or 4), the storyline is entertaining. the film is a bit predictable, but that's expected in any out-of-town-ers romcom, right? hugh grant gets a belly laugh one-liner pretty much every scene, though they're often tossed in at the end of the scene and can become later-laughs (meaning you laugh after the fact and it's just awkward in the theater). my biggest problem with the flick - which follows a separated couple having to be relocated in the witness protection program after witnessing a mob-like crime - is sarah jessica parker's wig. the hairpiece itself deserves a razzie award for worst acting by a wig in a comedy. i don't understand why someone insists (maybe it's sjp herself) that the actress wear this banged mess in her romcoms - i'm pretty sure it's the same look from failure to launch a few years back. why doesn't someone go "hey, people want to see carrie bradshaw - not carrie's unfortunate looking cousin." while the film won't - and isn't - getting any award show buzz, it does its job: it entertains (and in under 2 hours, no less).

day 324

why, ashley tisdale? why?

ashley tisdale has released the music video from her latest single, "crank it up," and i have no clue why. the single is fine - it's a catchy, dance-pop tune - but i don't understand why ashley tisdale is the one singing it. a graduate of camp disney, ashley is in that limbo of where one goes after their done with the mouse house. she's no longer the spunky teenager from the disney sitcom, but isn't a leading lady in hollywood either. i can't imagine radio disney is playing this music and i know our everyday, top-40 stations don't have the tiz in their cycle. so, where does this music get heard? are they making money off of this? it just doesn't add up to me. plus, the music vid for "crank it up" is one big mess. for some reason, someone slapped some black angel wings on ashley's back and told her to dance around in a dingy hotel room. what that has to do with listening to music and going to a club, i don't know. it seems like ashley may have cut her mickey mouse strings too soon. had she stuck with the disney channel, i'm sure she could have had her own tv show, movie series and so on. what any of these disney stars are thinking when they sign record contracts, i don't know. it's only the one in a million (hello, miley cyrus) who actually gets to reach more than just the tween audience. better take note, aspiring tween sensations.

j. lo out, lola in

it looks like jennifer lopez is reinventing herself once again. who does she think she is, madonna? not quite, more like beyonce. jennifer has decided to take on her own sasha fierce-esque persona in the form of "lola," her new alter ego. the reinvention campaign began this morning with the release of lola's first single, "fresh out the oven," which features pitbull. it's the kind of music you expect from j.lo and fits right in with her pre-existing music catalog. so why release it as lola and not as jennifer? i have no clue. it seems like this "lola" business is going to blow up into a pretty big thing though. in addition to the single, whoislola.com has been launched along with twitter.com/_whoislola. i'm guessing that, because jennifer has been removed from the music scene for such a long time, they want to drum up buzz with this crazy scheme. it could work, or it could turn into another garth brooks/chris gaines debacle. google it if you have no clue what i'm talking about. the who is lola? campaign is reportedly going to culminate in a jennifer lopez hosted snl featuring musical guest lola. hopefully we won't have to wait until then to get an explanation for lola.

day 268

update, update, update

there's a lot of news floating around today that we must discuss, but none of them are enough for a full blown blog post. let's get started. victoria beckham has already filled paula abdul's recently vacated crazy shoes as a guest judge on this year's idol auditions in denver and is about to make another, unprecedented stop with the idol crew. eonline reports that the former spice girl was seen boarding a flight to boston alongside some other idol-ers; boston just so happens to be the next stop on the audition train. this is fueling rumors that victoria is set to fill those crazy shoes permanently. i think this could work; she's more famous than paula and pretty much everyone forgets she started as a musician. the only thing is america doesn't care about the beckhams as much as the beckhams (and the uk for some reason) think america does. case in point, victoria and david were supposed to star in a reality series based on their big move stateside. but, when buzz wasn't big enough and no one seemed interested, the program was shortened to a one-off special on nbc that garnered almost no ratings. putting posh on idol may be a good way to finally get her ingrained into the american pop lexicon. plus, she'll probably play the same role (she even said was trying to) as paula. she's far less credible than everyone else on the table, but had a successful career. hopefully the similarities stop there. however, there are still very likely chances that paula-gate is just a big publicity stunt and the rainbow-fairy judge will be back starting with the post-audition rounds.

because of budget cuts, america's next top model is going to look quite different this cycle. first off, all the girls were required to be 5'7" and shorter. 5'7" is usually a model-minimum (i'm pretty sure this is just another part of tyra banks trying to make sure no one looks prettier than her on the show - she always picks the less likely contender of the final two in fear of being threatened by her beauty - just saying). in addition, the show will have less model credibility. paulina poriskova was let go earlier this year because she was too expensive (how or why is beyond me - i didn't even know who she was until she embarrassed herself on dancing with the stars). so, in her place, we'll be seeing a revolving cast of celebrity faces. no word on whether or not any of these guest judges will be models (which would add some cred to the show), but names announced so far are kim kardashian and lauren conrad. how those names make sense in the modeling world, i don't know. but, in the teen-viewer world, they're huge. and, let's be honest, this show has never made a star so ratings are everything. it's probably the only reality competition show still on the air who has never made its winner a household name. the show premieres on the cw september 9th with the always boring casting special

in e! reality star baby news, kendra wilkinson has revealed that she and new hubby hank baskett are expecting a baby boy. all i can say is thank baby jesus. the world does not need a baby kendra running around. and between her and hank's genes, a boy is more likely to turn out attractive. but, kendra won't be the only vowel-net star becoming a mom. kourtney kardashian revealed today that she is expecting her first child. i know what you're thinking - what the buckcherry? i had the same reaction when i received the e!news text. kourtney hasn't revealed any details about the pregnancy, just saying "you'll have to watch." what great timing to announce a baby bombshell when you have a new show desperate for viewers premiering this sunday (kourtney and khloe take miami). i just hope the baby's daddy isn't that creepola ex-boyfriend scott (above) we got to see kourntey cavort with on keeping with the kardashians. and, because the show is finished filming (as far as i know), i see this baby news coming as the shocking, cliff-hanger season finale that will lead viewers into an all new season of keeping up. if they don't do that they're stupid. while it may not seem it, kourtney actually is the oldest kasdashian sister and recently turned 30. so, while she might not be following a traditional path of love-marriage-baby, she is mature enough (at least on her driver's license) to have a child

and, finally, disney has acquired the film rights to the diary of anne frank. while it's great that frank's story is being told, i don't know if disney is the right place for this. i'm scared that we'll be seeing a trailer touting "miley cyrus is...anne frank" too soon and that's just something that doesn't need to happen.

day 264

disney goes green

disney has decided to use it's multi-faceted performers selena gomez, demi lovato, miley cyrus, and the jonai to pass on the message of "going green" to the tween crowd. and, what better way to do so than a power pop ballad entitled "send it on." the song - shockingly - premiered yesterday on radio disney. i'm all for getting kids involved with community service and learning about the world around them, but i think i liked it better 10+ years ago when nickelodeon called the program "the big green help." yes, for once, disney has stolen an idea from nickelodeon. the bigger problem i have with the song is that the production of it probably wasn't "green" at all. i'm guessing each of the disney darlings was flown in on a private jet to record the single and then film the music video. i'm guessing only the jonas brothers traveled together. and i'm guessing the 320957096173917 lights used in the production were left on more than they were needed to. wouldn't it be better to record these stars actually going out and doing service work, like nick's "green help" used to do? i distinctly remember larissa oleynik (aka alex mack/the girl from 10 things i hate about you) planting a tree or something. we all know that these kids are super busy because disney is milking them for all they're worth, but in the time it took them to record the single that is probably not even going to recoup the cost of its production and film a flashy video to be run on disney commercial breaks, all 6 "stars" could have done a group community service project. the actors were probably paid out the wahzoo for the promotional stunt, too. money that could have gone to a charity that's actually doing something good for the environment. instead of a single, why doesn't disney sponsor a huge national beautification or recycling campaign? when video surfaces of miley cyrus cleaning up a park or changing every lightbulb on the disney lot to a cfl bulb then i'll be content. until then, i'll continue to hurt my chances of ever working for the mouse house (not that i was ever counting on it).

day 259

just a thought...

it's been a while since i did a "just a thought..." piece, so here we go. disney, i really don't know that it's necessary to make your stars do every and anything. not all of them are as talented in all aspects as others. for example, let's listen to the latest musical offerings of selena gomez. i'm all for selena acting; i actually think she has talent and will have longevity as an actress. but, because she's part of the mouse-house machine, gomez is now also a "musician." other disney stars - like miley cyrus and demi lovato - were originally brought to disney because singer/actor combos were necessary for the projects (hannah montana and camp rock). therefore, it's understandable that they would put out records while continuing to act. however, selena gomez was brought to disney because she can act. hell, it took two failed different pilots (one a spin-off of lizzie mcguire, another a spin-off of zack and cody) before a vehicle - wizards of waverly place - was chosen for selena. obviously the company had faith in her acting abilities and wasn't looking for a singer. they're very much turning selena into a hilary duff; she acts and kind of sings. it's one thing to be able to carry a tune, which selena obviously can, but another to be a singer. demi lovato definitely has some singing chops (though they might be a big rough) and miley is...well, she's just being miley and is disney's major cash cow so there's no explaining her other than she's a phenomenon. to drive home the hilary duff comparison, selena was even cast as hilary's successor in the cinderella story franchise. plus, selena's song kind of seem like demi's cast-offs; not-quite-moody-enough tween pop-rock up tempo ballad-ish things. why stretch one star so thin when there are plenty of other talented artists out there? i understand that disney basically used hilary duff like a guinea pig (and pretty much effed up raven's career) and struck gold with miley, but not everyone is going to fill that mold. get some musical artists on hollywood records that aren't necessarily actors/only promoted on disney. doesn't it seem weird that no one on hollywood records ever gets airplay on a station other than radio disney? it seems like disney could make even more money if they had an artist who was successful without having to be a disney darling. hell, even the one act they had - the jonas brothers - were forced into their own sitcom and, let's all face it, are headed towards some sort of dissolution post-kevin jonas marriage. isn't it creepy that a married 20something is playing a high schooler on a children's program? it's one thing on the cw, but disney should actually use teens. just a thought.

oh, and i feel bad for brenda song. she's been with disney since, let's face it, she was a fetus and they gave her the crapiest role on their crapiest sitcom. and no record deal!

day 247

and i thought where the wild things are looked creepy...

the first official trailer for tim burton's take on the disney classic alice in wonderland has just hit the internets and let's just say this is a "what the eff?" moment. burton is well known for his "darker" take on traditional tales, but this just looks plain creepy. if i were a child - based solely on this preview - i don't think i'd be able to sleep for days. johnny depp (burton's muse for some odd reason) looks completely crazy as the mad hatter - which i guess in a way is fitting - but shouldn't the mad hatter provide comic relief? not induce nightmares? i don't see one joke coming out of this movie. hopefully more previews will come out between now and march that might change my mind, but i'm unsure. not even anne hathaway's involvement is a big enough draw to torture myself. check out the wacky wonderland trailer above.

day 233

disney channel loves west side story

with the previously announced high school musical: east meets west, you would think disney wouldn't try their hands at the whole west side story/romeo and juliet concept for a second go around until after the film's premiere. but, that isn't the case. the mouse house has green-lit the script for their other musical movie franchise, camp rock's, sequel, camp rock 2: the final jam. the second installment of the demi lovato/jobros series will follow mitchie (lovato) and the boys from "connect 3" (the brothers) will head back to camp rock for another summer, but will come to find that a lot of their close friends have jumped ship to newly opened camp star. some of the most talented kids and instructors are now traitors and camp rock is suffering. so, what are the camp rock-ites to do to keep the camp afloat? a big musical rock-off between the rival camp. duh. while joe was the only brother to really star in the original flick, nick will take romantic center stage in this go around. as joe's shane and demi's mitchie continue to go strong in their relationship, nick will find love with - shocker! - one of the rival campers. said camper is the daughter of camp star's owner, a talented pianist to be played by chloe bridges, who most recently appeared in the straight to dvd trequel legally blondes. the movie will start production this summer (hsm4 goes into production this fall) and some tracks have already been recorded (demi lovato tweeted she had laid a track called "never let it go"). american idol's newly married judge, kara dio guardi, is set to pen the music for the sequel. hopefully the jonai have improved their acting skills since the first movie, but from what i've seen of their sitcom jonas, i'm not so sure.

day 181

disney's newest princess

disney hasn't introduced an animated princess since 1998's mulan (with the exception of giselle in enchanted), but this holiday season, we'll be introduced to the newest one.  princess tianna, voiced by dreamgirls' anika noni rose, is the first african american princess and will first appear in the princess and the frog. the story is loosely based on the frog princess, the old story about the princess who kisses a frog to turn him into a prince.  above is the newly released trailer for the flick and it looks like tiana will fit right inwith the likes of cinderella, ariel, and pocahontas. this is the first princess movie located in "modern-day" america, in new orlean's french quarter.  the synopsis of the film is as follows:

a prince named naveen from the land of maldonia is transformed into a frog by the evil scheming voodoo magician dr. facilier.  the frog prince asks a waitress named tiana to break the spell by kissing him. however, the kiss doesn't break the spell, but instead turns tiana into a frog as well. together, the two of them must reach the good voodoo priestess of the bayou, mama odie, while befriending a trumpet-playing alligator and a hopelessly romantic firefly along the way.

the film also features the voice talents of oprah (as the princess' mother), john goodman (as tiana's rival's father), and terence howard (as tiana's father).  the film is scheduled to be released december 11th with all new music by randy newman, the music man behind every one of disney's pixar hits. princess tiana (whose age was upped from the typical 16 to 19, which is a lot more reasonable) isn't the only new princess on the disney block; rapunzel is also getting the mouse house treatment.  rumor is kristin chenowith is set to voice the long-haired princess.  the movie is being done in cgi (not through pixar), but with a traditional oil-paint look.  the film will be released in november of next year.  are you excited for new disney princesses?  i think it was about time.