Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I have a little girl, and with that, the responsibility of protecting her from/helping her deal with the big, messy, broken world her mother and I brought her into.  It’s changed the way I look at things significantly; one of the things I’ve found myself pondering the last few months is the Disney Princess Industry.   Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty,) Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan (who, as far as I can figure out, aren’t actually princesses) seem to dominate the imaginations of little girls the world over.  And they make a lot of money for the mouse with the big ears.   There are princess dresses, figurines, cakes, furniture, bicycles, and even Pez dispensers.   I know I’m a big fuddy duddy to even say this, but I have strong reservations about my daughter growing up thinking she’s a princess and/or idolizing princesses.   I am not a king, nor do I want to be.  Aristocracy and feudalism were extremely oppressive systems, through which a few, because of their genealogy, lived in luxury and privilege at the expense of the many, who lived in poverty.   In the era of democracy, why do we idolize aristocracy?  Why can’t we be, or strive to be, noble, honest peasants?

I’m saying all of this because I think that Disney’s newest Princess movie actually holds a mirror up, briefly, to the Princess obsession they have created.   “The Princess and the Frog” opens with a pan across the bedroom of a very rich, very princess-obsessed little girl, whose names is Charlotte.   If this girl’s father doesn’t keep the Disney store in business singlehandedly, at least he’s on a first-name basis with its employees.    The little girl who lives in this room isn’t the protagonist of the movie; no, that would be the daughter of her maid, who custom-makes Princess dresses for her.  She’s not the villain either, though it appears she might be for a while.  In the end, she is just a dopey, good-hearted girl, willing to marry anyone who has an HRH in front of his name.  She’s certainly not someone whose praises you would sing, or whom you’d want your daughters to emulate.   Is this how Disney sees the target audience of their Princess franchise?

The hero is Tiana, who has no interest in being a Princess – so inevitably, she becomes one in the end.   She is a hard worker, working double and triple shifts as a waitress in New Orleans, trying to save enough money to buy her own restaurant.  This is her father’s dream, but he died before he could realize it.   A real live Prince – Naveen of Maldonia—is coming to Nawlins for Mardi Gras, and in her giddiness, Charlotte throws away enough money for Tiana to start her restaurant.   But Naveen gets tangled up with a Shadow Man, and ends up a frog.  And then, wouldn’t you know it, Tiana ends up a frog, too.   They escape the big party hanging on to a floating balloon, but then find that they have to journey through the bayou back to the city before midnight so the spell can be broken.   Tiana and Naveen are aided by a jazz-loving alligator and a toothless firefly named Raymond (who reminded me of no one so much as Bubbles from “The Wire.”  Baseheads in Disney cartoons?  A sure sign of the apocalypse.)

Disney goes back to the drawing board, literally, for “Princess and the Frog,” and the results can only be described as charming.   Especially in the muddle and mess of all the recent 3-D films, with pop your eyes but ultimately just don’t look all that great, it’s kind of fun to see “Princess” done old school.  The colors are bright, the lines are simple, and it all feels a bit nostalgic.

There’s a surprising twist near the end, but don’t worry, Tiana gets to marry her prince and start her restaurant and live happily ever after.   But along the way, a major character dies.  This is shocking territory for Disney; while plenty of parental figures die in Disney stories (think “Bambi” and “The Lion King”) as a way of moving the plot forward, I can’t remember a tear-jerking scene like this one in a Disney film…well, ever.   It’s heartwarming in the end, but if you’re a parent, you might want to consider whether your 4 year old will make it to the end.

Channing Tatum plays a guy with a talent for fighting; mostly, he’s good at taking a beating and getting back up.  He has no belts of any color, no secret history in a monastery in lands of snow and mystery, no Miyagi uttering pithy sayings and one-liners on the side.   Neither do any of his opponents; in fact, “Fighting” rarely bothers to tell us anything about his opponents.   They’re just guys who fight.   And in most cases, they’re quicker, stronger or nastier than he is.   But they aren’t tougher, so he wins.

Despite its subject matter, and its title, and the fact that the only people who are likely to bother seeing it are fans of WWE and Tekken,  “Fighting” isn’t super-violent.   It’s not stylized, either.   It’s quick and messy, direct and no-nonsense.   Nothing happens here that seems unlikely – except perhaps the Tatum’s ability to win fights and then hang out at clubs and hit on girls hours later.   “Fighting” isn’t interested in wish fulfillment or cartoon fantasies; as such, it breathes life into an overly conventional genre, and comes away as one of the very few fight movies that we won’t be watching ironically in ten years.

Seems like lately, superheroes are allowed to do just about anything.   They can be dark and conflicted, angry, impulsive, alcoholic, unreliable, tortured by inner demons, even from hell themselves.   What they can’t be allowed to do, though, is have fun.  Spiderman gets punished for having fun.   Wolverine doesn’t know the meaning of the word.   And Batman?   Don’t ask.    So “Iron Man” does the unthinkable – it actually gives us a superhero who has fun in the superhero suit, and actually, is a lot of fun outside the suit as well. 

Robert Downey Jr. is not the type of actor you cast as a superhero.   He’s way too old;  Spiderman, the new Superman and Batman are all under 30.   Downey Jr.’s 43, though he looks 35.   On top of that, Downey Jr.’s quick, witty, and just a touch effeminate.   He made perfect sense wearing that scarf in “Zodiac.”   Strangely, he also makes perfect sense in the bright red Iron Man suit.  The thing is, he’s so much fun to watch out of the suit, it’s almost a disappointment when he puts it on.

Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark, a wealthy, brilliant arms manufacturer who never sleeps, drives fast and expensive cars, and beds a different model every night.   He gets whatever he wants – except Pepper Potts.   Played wonderfully by Gwyneth Paltrow, she is Stark’s assistant, the kind who plans his meetings, picks up his dry cleaning, and, occasionally, takes out the trash.   The chemistry between them is palpable and delightful.

On a trip to demonstrate some of his high-tech toys, Stark gets kidnapped by the kind of terrorists who seem to prefer caves to more normal dwellings with things like fresh air and sunlight.   They demand that he make them a weapon, with the defense-industry equivalent of a hot glue gun and elbow grease.   Instead of building the Mother of All Bombs, Stark builds a giant iron suit and escapes.    He then builds a better suit, but so do his enemies, who arranged the kidnapping in the first place.   And, of course, the movie ends with a showdown.

Director Jon Favreau has a talent for storytelling; he makes every scene count, full of effervescent energy, wit, and verve.    Stark spends a good half the movie refining his suit, and he shares more amusing banter with his tools than other fully human sidekicks get in some movies.   But the fully human sidekicks are no slouches here, either.   Terrance Howard takes a turn as Stark’s military liason, and a bald Jeff Bridges makes a wonderfully sinister Judas.  And the action scenes don’t disappoint.   Besides the fact that it’s awfully fun (and righteous) to watch an arms dealer destroy his own products, the scenes are gracefully choreographed. After being battered with images in action scenes from movies like “Hulk” and “Transformers” it’s a refreshing change.

Recommended

• to fans of the old school comic books – back when the heroes were having fun.
• to anyone interested in light, fun, funny, charismatic action films.   Haven’t seen much of that for a while.

Not Recommended

• if you prefer the dark and conflicted the witty and fun.

“Iron Man” was released yesterday, September 30, on DVD.