Directors Ron Clements and John Musker, in a dazzling return to their Little Mermaid and Aladdin glory days, enliven The Princess and the Frog with a brisk pace and clever eye. Chief among their accomplishments here is a deft balancing of emotional highs, from broad comedy to tear-jerking pathos to heart-warming romance. And they also know how to �borrow� from the best, with sly allusions to everything from The Wizard of Oz to Cinderella.

In addition to being Disney�s first hand-drawn feature since 2004�s Home on the Range, The Princess and the Frog is also Disney�s return to the animated musical; you�d have to go all the way back to 1996�s The Hunchback of Notre Dame to find one as committed to all this singin� and dancin�. And, as the film�s songwriter and composer, Randy Newman more than rises to the occasion; tapping into a variety of musical styles, from jazz to gospel to zydeco, his songs provide ample opportunities for the animators to knock the production numbers brilliantly out of the park. Almost every one is a showstopper, from Tiana�s own �I want� solo �Almost There� to �Friends on the Other Side�, Facilier�s requisite �villain song�, to Mama Odie�s rousing �Dig a Little Deeper�. Seriously, if they could figure out a way to do the frogs, this show is halfway to Broadway already.

It�s fitting that in this banner year for great animation that one of 2009�s brightest toon movie stars comes from the studio that started it all over 70 years ago with another story of a princess. Snow White � and Walt � would be proud.

Toon Talk Rating: A-

Coming Soon:

• The Toon Talk Top 10 of 2009!