Lionsgate have just sent us the brand new UK trailer for their new movie, For Colored Girls. The movie is based on the award winning play, ‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf’ and has been adapted for the screen, Produced and Directed by Tyler Perry.

The cast is rather exceptional and includes Thandie Newton, Whoopi Goldberg, Omari Hardwick, Kerry Washington, Anika Noni Rose, Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine. The movie is released in the UK 10th December and I’ve embedded the trailer below the synopsis or click the poster to enlarge:

Adapted for the screen from Ntozake Shange’s Obie Award-winning play ‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf’, this adaptation for screen is a poetic exploration of what it is to be of colour and female in this world. The story, a milestone in American Theatre, speaks as powerfully today as when it was first performed in New York in 1975. Through this remarkable adaptation we are taught about existence and hardship from the perspective of 20 black women. Exploring themes of love, abandonment, rape and abortion the film’s outstanding ensemble cast deliver visceral and intense performances; including BAFTA winner Thandie Newton (Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Crash) Janet  Jackson, Macy Gray and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg (Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Ghost). And featuring a song from Leona Lewis.

Acting as both writer and director for his latest film, Tyler Perry’s new poetic drama, For Colored Girls, has just released its latest poster.

The film is an adaptation of the play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, and features an excellent female ensemble including Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Macy Gray, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, and Whoopi Goldberg.

Below you will find the poster for the upcoming film due out on November 5th.

Here’s the third and final exclusive interview that we gave for The Princess and the Frog which is out in UK cinemas today! Part one with Andreas Deja can be found here and part 2 with Directors, John Musker and Ron Clements here.

The movie is the first hand drawn animation for 10 odd years from Disney Animation Studios and it was so nice to see the medioum brought back after such a long break. You can read our review here but suffice to say, you won’t be disappointed.

I was lucky enough to meet Anika Noni Rose, a real life Disney Princess who plays Tiana in the movie. I ask her how she prepared for the role, how she reacted when she found out she got the part and what it was like to work for the Mouse House and where she draws her inspiration from.

Part One of the interviews with Andreas Deja (Supervising Animator for Mama Odie) can be found here and part two with directors, John Musker and Ron Clements can be found here.

Disney’s latest movie is a beautiful work of art with a magical touch and a soul stirring soundtrack that made me realise how much I’d missed hand drawn animation in this brave new world of CG.

It was John Lasseter who refilled the inkwells and restocked the paint pots of Disney’s traditional hand drawn animation studios after their doors closed following the completion of 2004′s Home on the Range, and it was a bold move from a man who introduced the screening personally via a pre-recorded message. You’ll know the man and his works, and you should also know that he has an overwhelming passion for what he does: celebrating wonderful stories, beautifully told.

The Princess and the Frog is a film that combines the very best of Disney’s talented storytellers, and you can practically feel the love that was poured into each frame of this film. I’m not sure whether it was the physical act of animating by hand, and certainly I’m not going to place this above the CG classics of Pixar, but there is a timeless quality to this film in the fairy tale narrative and the magical invention that the writers and animators place throughout that makes this film truly special.

I’ve become tired of lazy animated features that rely on celebrity voice-overs and anachronistic pop culture twists to engage the audience. No-one can spin a yarn like Disney, and this film is redolent of old-style Disney, who are capable of creating a funny, boisterous and thrilling romance that calls back to early classics such as Lady and the Tramp as well as the more recent Aladdin.

The story is borrowed and adapted from E.D. Baker’s The Frog Princess and the scene is set in the glowing gloaming of New Orleans, and the town is alive with music and song. The central relationships are quickly built as we are introduced to Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) and Charlotte as children and their friendship straddles the poverty line with Charlotte’s wealthy ‘Big’ Daddy (John Goodman, perfect as usual) and Tiana’s humble family with big dreams. Charlotte wants to marry a Prince, Tiana wants to open a restaurant. It’s simple and as the years fly by in the opening credits we see that even as young adults Tiana and Charlotte haven’t changed all that much.

Enter Prince Naveen, a fiery, loquacious lothario who steps off the boat eager for an adventure and falls foul of a voodoo curse courtesy of Dr. Facilier and is transformed into a frog. Circumstance conspires and Tiana kisses the frog and, contrary to popular legend is herself transformed into a frog. So begins their quest to return to human form and, along the way, perhaps fall in love. This is a Disney film after all, and I won’t go into the details of what happens, suffice to say that even though you know where the film is going the fluidity and zest of the script results in a perfectly paced fantasy adventure; following the Disney formula has never been so much fun.

I loved the songs, the spirit of New Orleans captured perfectly and every sparkling tune manages to rise above the morally didactic standard. In particular the bayou sequences are charming and the characters they introduce (a jazz loving gator named Louis and a lovesick firefly named Ray) are instantly lovable companions to the amphibious couple of Tiana and her Prince. Overcoming obstacles and escaping dangers the merry gang bond and discover their heart’s desires with great dialogue and proper old school slapstick. This is like a greatest hits of Disney and it manages to be refreshing and familiar without being derivative – no mean feat, and a testament to Lasseter’s faith in his hand picked writers and directors John Musker and Ron Clements.

The perils are real and the shadowy voodoo monsters are genuinely scary, perhaps a little too much for younger children, but in my experience this is a good thing and kids love to be as scared as thrilled during the course of the film. Every actor does a great job, by sheer coincidence I watched Dreamgirls the night before I saw this film and Anika Noni Rose shines just as brightly here, able to convey a pitch perfect performance as Disney’s latest addition to their Princess stable. Bruno Campos as the Prince and Keith David as the sinister Shadow Man are excellent and embody the black and white of their respective characters with just the right hint of shades of grey.

The animation I’ve touched upon but I wanted to reiterate the magnificent work done by Disney’s animators. Watching Snow White gives a good indication of the care and expertise of Disney’s earliest feature animators and the standard of work has survived the decades in-between. The animation has a grace rarely seen on the big screen and in the era, when we are deluged by animated features, it is a rare thing to be sat amazed at the quality of work on screen.

Disney have created a film that is as impressive in its execution and inventiveness as it is in its charm. There are moments in this film, such as the chorus of fireflies and the final chase through the graveyard that will sweep you up, and while the film’s plot won’t surprise anyone it is the wonderful combination of craftsmanship and showmanship on the part of Disney that has created a stunning work, to be enjoyed time and again.

Disney’s The Princess and the Frog is out in the US on the 11th of December, UK readers will have to wait until the 5th of February to catch this gem.

Last week has been a busy but great one for HeyUGuys. One of the things that kept us busy was the the press conference for Disney’s new movie, The Princess and the Frog which is the first hand-drawn animation for just over 20 years. The last completely hand-drawn animation was The Little Mermaid back in 1989. Man, I can’t believe it’s that old!

Directors John Musker & Ron Clements, the latest Disney Princess Anika Noni Rose, Supervising Animator for Mama Odie, Andreas Deja and Producer Peter Del Vecho were all in London town looking forward to seeing the movie hit cinemas across the country this Friday (5th February).

During the interview, the directors talk about the story and how The Princess and the Frog came into being, Anika talks about how she moulded her character into the Tiana and the now know and love and Andreas Deja talks about how 2d animation has been enhanced and what we can look forward to seeing from Disney in the future.

You can check out the full press conference in it’s entirety below. The Princess and the frog is released this Friday, 5th February and you can read our review here and all our coverage of the movie here including exclusive interviews with the directors, Anika Noni Rose and Andreas Deja here.

I’m fresh out of the Princess and the Frog press juncket where I got to interview the leading lady, Anika Noni Rose, Directors Jon Musker and Ron Clements and Supervising Animator, Andreas Deja. The footage from those interviews should be ready to go early next week but in the mean time, check out this wonderful evening that was held in London last night.

Disney put on a special screening of the movie where celebrities including Anika Noni Rose (Princess Tiana), John Musker (Director), Ron Clements (Director),
William Tempest (fashion designer), Amanda Holden, Stacey Solomon (X Factor), Sinitta, Gail Porter,  Rt Hon. Paul Boateng, Donal MacIntyre were able to bring along thier kids and really experience the Disney magic in it’s full flow! At the event, Anika sang and was accompanies, rather randomly on piano by my friend Craig! It’s a small world!

We’ve also got a load of photos from the event which you can check out below the embedded video. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks for our coverage from the Princess and the Frog which will be vast! The movie is released in cinemas February 5th.

It seems that we’ve been bringing you new posters for nearly a year for this movie now…. that’s because we have an here’s a couple more! With all these new animated movies coming out, it seems nice to have a movie that will take us back to the good old days of Disney and they’ve done it in the form of The Princess and the Frog.

The movie features voices of Anika Noni Rose, Terrence Howard, John Goodman, Keith David, Jim Cummings, Oprah Winfrey and Jenifer Lewis and is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. If you’ve not seen the trailer, you can check it out here. It’s set for release 12th February which feels like a long time to wait but no doubt it’ll come around fast.

Source: Filmofilia

Here’s yet another poster from Disney’s latest 2D movie, The Princess and the Frog. This will be Disney’s first 2d movie for years!

It’s released in the UK 12th February 2010 so you can ignore the date on it! It’s directed by Ron Clements and John Musker and features the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Ritchie Montgomery, Bruno Campos, Terrence Howard, Oprah Winfrey and John Goodman. Click the poster to enlarge.

Much like Sony have done with 2012, Disney have released the first five minutes from their new 2D animation, The Princess and the Frog. I’ve embedded the clip below along with a 30 second clip showing how some of the animation was achieved. The video clip also features some animation which is as yet incomplete.

The Princess and the Frog features voices from Anika Noni Rose, Terrence Howard, John Goodman, Keith David, Jim Cummings, Oprah Winfrey, Jenifer Lewis, is directed by Ron Clements, John Musker and is released 12th February.

Synopsis: Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. From the creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (ANIKA NONI ROSE), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG marks the return to hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, with music by Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman (“Monsters, Inc.,” “Cars,” “Toy Story”).