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What's Next, A Black President?

By William Goss | Posted Under Box Office Round-Ups | Comments (44)



the-princess-and-the-frog.jpg

You know what they say — once you go black, the glory of hand-drawn animation is sure to return. (Or something like that.) At any rate, The Princess and the Frog, Disney’s first animated musical about a black woman who isn’t even a princess before she’s turned into a frog, went into wide release this weekend after a two-week NY/LA engagement and danced its way to the top of the box office to the tune of $25 million. It’s sure to outgross the 2-D animation department’s last costly flop, 2004’s Home on the Range, and it may yet pave the way for the studio’s first Latina icon … Oh, who are we kidding? Let’s just be grateful for The Emperor’s New Groove and Lilo & Stitch … Yeah, that’s right, I actually like those flicks, wanna fight about it?

Speaking of fighting for black people (or something like that), The Blind Side has stuck around as the season’s unparalleled feel-good flick with $15.5 million in second place, bringing its total gross to $150 million and making its Oscar chances all the more feasible (oh, why’d they have to make this a ten-nominee year?). Speaking of fighting for black people AND awards, Clint Eastwood’s prestige-coasted Invictus opened to a modest $9 million, although that’s certainly better than any other Nelson Mandela rugby pic this year.

In fourth place, you’ve got your glitter vamps (New Moon - $8 million); fifth, your Scrooges (A Christmas Carol — $6.9 million); sixth, your war vet love triangle (Brothers — $5 million). Seventh place went to the end of the world with 2012 ($4.4 million), eighth place went to the end of the world with Old Dogs (also $4.4 million), ninth place went to the best B-movie out there with Armored (not great, but fun; $3.5 million), and tenth place went to the worst B-movie out there with Ninja Assassin ($2.7 million).

Up in the Air added over 50 screens to take eleventh place with $2.5 million; expect this to expand steadily through Christmas. The Lovely Bones, Peter Jackson’s (misguided) adaptation of Alice Sebold’s novel, opened with $116,000 at three locations, earning the weekend’s highest per-location average with $38,000; it won’t go wide until January 15th, as Paramount wants to keep things focused on Up in the Air as the Film of the Moment. And down in fourteenth place, Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox quietly outgrossed his The Darjeeling Limited, and I must once again encourage you to seek it out while you can. Trust me, the black princess is gonna be around for a while.









Don't Get Me Started | Pajiba After Dark 12/13/09













Comments

Quite the tanking for Mr. Fox.

Posted by: sansho1 at December 13, 2009 5:47 PM

Wes Anderson rules.

Good to see New Moon isn't in the top three.

A very big cheer for hand drawn animation. Shit is getting ridiculous. What with all the 3D stuff and that irritating obsession Zemeckis has with that rotating-whatever-technique-it's-called he uses which should be reserved solely for videogames. Nothing looks as charming as good old fashioned hand drawn animation. No not even the good stuff Pixar produce regularly. There I said it so you don't have to!

Posted by: barf at December 13, 2009 6:55 PM

I refuse to watch The Princess and the Frog unless it has Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy or Martin Lawrence as the overweight, all-knowing, sassy Fairy Godmother. Or a cameo by the Boondocks.

Oh no he did-int!

Posted by: fitzwilly at December 13, 2009 7:08 PM

Fitz: it has Oprah, Terence Howard and John Goodman. Black enough for ya?

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 7:10 PM

I am hearing some terrible things about The Lovely Bones. It's not surprising, really, as we should all know by now that Peter Jackson shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a screenplay, much less an adapted one.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed LOTR as much as anyone, but it was massively butchered adaptation and a bad script. PJ should stick to directing and get some good writers.

Posted by: figgy at December 13, 2009 7:12 PM

The Princess and the Frog actually...doesn't look /that/ awful, based on the previews I have seen. I mean I still kind of think it's pandering (some of the press releases Disney did about how it's time they did something 'multicultural' were....ugh) and it won't make me forgive Disney for the last 20+ years, but 2-d animation is far from inferior. Abandoning it for computer generated stuff is like abandoning the paintbrush in favour of photography. It's its own art form, and it's wonderful.

Now can someone explain how a (presumably) American becomes a Princess in New Orleans? Is this a Mardi Gras thing?

Posted by: ameagari at December 13, 2009 7:18 PM

Don't apologize, William, according to the imdb trivia for The Emperor's New Groove "Playwright David Mamet has said he considers the script for this film to be one of the most brilliantly innovative which Hollywood has produced in recent years."

And yes, I quite like it myself and enjoy having that nugget of information to quiet the haters. It's just fun. Squeaken.

Posted by: Intern Rusty at December 13, 2009 7:21 PM

I am glad to see that The Princess and the Frog did so well. It was delightful and well-cast.

I too am a lover of The Emperor's New Groove. The lines are snappy and the delivery really sells them. What would have been disastrous in the hands of Jim Carrey was well-executed by David Spade (I can't believe I just typed that). And of course, you can't pass up Eartha Kitt.

Posted by: bonnie at December 13, 2009 7:35 PM

It WOULD be nice if it were a TRUE black representation.

FACT: this so called "black" princess is just Ariel in black ink.

This is probably the most racist movie since "The Birth of a Nation"

/AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I don't wanna READ IT! it is RACIST!

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 13, 2009 7:40 PM

None of the Disney princesses are exactly icons of racial representation, Slim. I mean, what exactly is 'being black' anyway?

Posted by: ameagari at December 13, 2009 8:05 PM

Hate to break it to you Goss, but black folk are branching out. But you still can sit in your basement and watch old Tarzan movies and wistfully think about the good old days.


Yo Phil, hit me with some Oh! Susanna


Posted by: Guess Who! at December 13, 2009 8:14 PM

See, I can't tell if he's joking or not. Maybe if I drink another 40...

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:16 PM

This was a really good year for animation, there was Coraline, Ponyo, Princess and the Frog, and the phenomenal Up. It'll be a challenge to pick the best of the lot this year. (Suck it, Wes Anderson. If you're not even gonna bother to direct your film in person, you don't get included.)

Posted by: George at December 13, 2009 8:16 PM

George: Don't forget the surprisingly hilarious Cloud with a Chance of Meatballs, or the little-seen but great A Town Called Panic.

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:18 PM

*Cloudy

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:18 PM

See, I can't tell if he's joking or not. Maybe if I drink another 40...

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:16 PM
-----------------------------------------

THAT'S RACIST!!!


Is this what your cronies are into now, Rowles?

I DEMAND you ban this asshole.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 13, 2009 8:19 PM

Now, am I supposed to make a sandwich out of the chicken and the waffles, or how does this work?

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:20 PM

Now, am I supposed to make a sandwich out of the chicken and the waffles, or how does this work?

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:20 PM

------------------------------------------

No, you are supposed to get two pieces of wood and some accelerant...

You know, the usual.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 13, 2009 8:23 PM

No BSlim! Let Goss stay, we must be tolerant of other people’s views. Besides I love this guy, he’s so low on the pecking order that Rowles basically uses him as filler.

Posted by: Guess Who! at December 13, 2009 8:24 PM

Goss, you’re nothing more than a carnival barker that stands out in front of his reviews begging people to come in and read them.

Posted by: Guess Who! at December 13, 2009 8:34 PM

And what do you have to show for yourself beyond a couple of bitch-ass complaints?

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:36 PM

Goss, you will not last long in this business if you have thin skin. I don’ t have to show you anything I’m the customer, if anything you’ve got to impress me. So far I’m not feeling you. Hey BSlim, you want to get in on some of this, he’s tasty.

Posted by: Guess Who! at December 13, 2009 8:43 PM

Quit nibbling, Guess, that tickles!

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:44 PM

Emperor's New Groove? Who doesn't like that movie? Just incredible hilarious manic energy throughout, and Patrick Warburton has one of the best voices ever.

Posted by: Mick J at December 13, 2009 8:45 PM

You know....*dramatic pause* I KNEW that Rowles was a degenerate, but never, NEVER in my wildest dreams (or nightmares) did I think he would let losoe such a minion as this Goss fellow.

You guys remember Caligula? How he had his right hand man get women and livestock for him..... for ORGIES? Goss is THAT guy. (Oh and he also persecuted Jews and black people for him.)

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 13, 2009 8:46 PM

I'm confused. Did Disney make a Jewish princess cartoon already?

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 8:48 PM

No, no Jews yet. But we're OK with it because
a)Disney was anti-Semitic. We don't want some movie about Eva Braun. Or worse, a nice PC movie about Jews. That would just be insulting. We hold grudges, dammit.
b)We're the Chosen People. We don't need some cartoon to demonstrate our awesomeness.

Posted by: esme at December 13, 2009 9:05 PM

You all should watch Holiday Inn. Not only is it a nice film to watch for Christmas time but it also shows a beautiful slice of Americana from the early 1940's. White people in black face and a mammy housekeeper.

White folks sho is crazy!

(sigh...) America, where did we lose our way?...(single tear running down cheek)

Posted by: fitzwilly at December 13, 2009 9:07 PM

John Goodman is white.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000422/

Dan Conner, Walter Sobchak...

Posted by: Mebe at December 13, 2009 9:09 PM

That was the joke, Mebe, that he was the best they could do.

(Apparently, that joke was the best I can do. Sigh...)

Posted by: William Goss at December 13, 2009 9:10 PM

What?

Let's analyze it, shall we:

Snow "White": born optimist, who will always see the bottle half full no matter how grim things may seem and uncredited editor of Mein Kampf.

Cinderella: made a servant in her home and is constantly derided by her evil stepmother Lady Tremaine and two stepsisters. Although she is abused and humiliated, she maintains hope through her dreams and militant anti-semite organized the first dwarf chapter of the KKK.


Aurora: playful, shy, gentle, and a fairly naive girl, who loves animals, suspected of harboring Nazi war criminals after WW2 .


Ariel:the youngest of 7 daughters. Her older sisters are Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella and Alana, known consort of Rudolph Hess.


Belle:believed to be a young woman living in the French countryside with her father, an inventor and developer of the V1 and v2 projects.


and so on and so on.

I think I've proven my point.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 13, 2009 9:31 PM

Goss, I got it. And laughed. And consequently made a fool of myself in public. Becoming a Pajiban has not been beneficial to my public image.

Posted by: esme at December 13, 2009 9:34 PM

Goss, I was just being a smartass. ;)

Posted by: Mebe at December 13, 2009 10:22 PM

Touche, BSlim. Touche.

Posted by: ameagari at December 13, 2009 11:24 PM

Aw Goss, I like you. And I'm in the power demographic. Cater to me and things'll go great. Besides, all you gotta do is challenge BSlim to a facebook dance-off and he bails. FYI.

Posted by: replica at December 14, 2009 1:07 AM

I like Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch. I was also one of ten people in America that actually liked Treasure Planet. But I know no one else did.

I'm hopeful that The Princess and the Frog is as good as advertised.

BTW, early reviews from across the interwebz is that Avatar is actually not the suckfest we'd expected. Color me surprised.

Posted by: Fredo at December 14, 2009 1:37 AM

Fredo, when you invited us to color you surprised, I immediately imagined that we'd color you blue.

Also: I love The Emperor's New Groove! I was expecting to hate it, but I thought it was hilarious.

Posted by: Jelinas at December 14, 2009 1:56 AM

I'm also happy to see drawn animation doing well. I worry that it's becoming a lost art.

Posted by: Whorish Mouth at December 14, 2009 8:30 AM

Lilo and Stitch is easily one of the best animated films of the Aughts and should have won Animated Film at the Oscars over Spirited Away (beautiful to look at, way too obtuse, it won because the Academy was trying to make feature-length Animation seem more credible, something they no longer care about). I see no need to be a Lilo and Stitch apologist as it's top notch animation. How many other domestic animations deal with aliens, Elvis music, and child custody battles? Brilliant. Fuck me, I bought the damn video game and had fun playing it until my brother staged an intervention and sold it back to Gamestop for store credit. I choreographed a dance for a camp talent show to Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride, converting more people to the side of all that is good and Lilo and Stitch. For one cannot be in the wrong when one enjoys Lilo and Stitch. Won't you join the side of light?

Posted by: Robert at December 14, 2009 9:18 AM

"Now can someone explain how a (presumably) American becomes a Princess in New Orleans?"

Posted by: ameagari at December 13, 2009 7:18 PM

She's not a pricess. That's why she gets turned into a frog when she kisses the prince/frog, instead of the prince/frog getting turned into a prince. I haven't seen the movie yet, but that's my take from the reviews, so I'm also wondering how they are spinning that she is a princess. Maybe she gets to be one by marrying the prince?

What do I know? I'm a JAP. (That's Jewish American Princess, for those of you not familiar with the acronym.)

Figgy, you take that back about LOTR's. I personally loved the Wall Street Journal review of the first movie, and I quote, "At least Peter Jackson didn't fuck it up."

Posted by: BWeaves at December 14, 2009 10:24 AM

Hey Slim, you forgot Ariel's oldest sister Aryana, who died defending Utah beach whilst fighting for the baddies.

Posted by: John Denver's Wingman at December 14, 2009 10:24 AM

I loved LOTR, BWeaves, but PJ really did fuck up a lot of the book. The second movie mangled the book so much that I can't even watch certain scenes of it anymore.

Posted by: figgy at December 14, 2009 12:18 PM

Idina Menzel's character at the end of Enchanted technically counts as a Jewish Disney Princess. For all of six seconds. Bask in the multiculturalism! BASK IN IT!

Posted by: welldressed at December 14, 2009 4:05 PM

(reads title)

Why not, it worked in Blazing Sad-
oh, never mind. I'll see myself out.

Posted by: lordhelmet at December 14, 2009 5:22 PM


















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