The story, about a hard-working young woman named Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) who yearns to open her own restaurant, hits all the right notes where it concerns her father (Terence Howard), mother (Oprah Winfrey) and humble lifestyle. When she finds herself puckering up with a cursed prince (Bruno Campos) in the form of a frog, the film becomes standard "road movie" fare.
Having said that, the film's got more heart, irreverent laughs and eye-popping visuals than most of the animated films that have been released in the past five years. When all is said and sung, "The Princess and the Frog" is a respite from the rash of 3-D CG duds that the major studios love so much.