'The Princess and the Frog' screens

Well it seems the fate of the Best Animated Film category at the Oscars is going to be pretty much sewn up soonish.

With 'Up' as a lock, and 'Coraline' looking really good we can now most likely add 'The Princess and the Frog' to the lock/likely list.

Although Justin Change of Variety was not blown away:

"Disney goes back to the drawing board with results more diverting than captivating in "The Princess and the Frog." Conspicuously outfitted with an African-American heroine and a vibrant 1920s New Orleans setting, this cheeky update of a classic fairy tale boasts almost as many talking points as merchandising opportunities, and should enjoy jazzy holiday biz starting with its Thanksgiving weekend bicoastal engagement and extending well past its Dec. 11 wide release. But whatever it accomplishes for Disney's reputation or bottom line, this long-anticipated throwback to a venerable house style never comes within kissing distance of the studio's former glory."

This would usually usher in a whole bunch of people immediately dismissing the film (me included - for some reason I think of Variety as holy) but Kirk Honeycutt at The Hollywood Reporter loved the film saying:

"This is the best Disney animated film in years. Audiences -- who don't care whether it's cel animation, CGI, stop motion, claymation or motion capture as long as it's a good story -- will respond in large numbers. A joyous holiday season is about to begin for Disney."

And over at Entertainment Weekly, Lisa Schwarzbaum echos that statement in her grade 'A' review saying

"Young viewers of The Princess and the Frogwon't give a croak that the marvelous new 
 adventure from Walt Disney Animation Studios has been created using the same hand-drawn, 2-D techniques that entertained those viewers'Bambi-loving grandparents more than 65 years ago. But adults should: This old-fashioned charmer holds its own beside the motion-capture elegance of Disney's A Christmas Carol, the engrossing stop-motion universes ofCoraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox, the CG-enhanced genius of Up, the wonder of 3-D technology, and, indeed, the unique, hand-drawn Japanese artistry of Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo as the year's deepest, most affecting, and most inventive movies"

Glad to see they are back. I for one cannot wait to see if it lives up for the gloriousness of its hey day. My childhood demands it.