With contributing writer Maggie Yankovich.

For as long as Disney has been making princess movies, the ideal it has promoted has been that young girls should just sit around and wait for their own “Prince Charming” to come and rescue them.

“The Princess and the Frog” breaks this format within the first five minutes.

The message instead is that wishing on a star can only get you so far; you need to work hard to make your dreams come true.

However, that doesn’t mean you should forget and ignore traditional Disney themes like love and family. I think this new message is an improvement, especially because this generation expects everything to be handed to them.

While the story of “The Princess and the Frog” is very well known, Disney’s new movie puts a spin on the traditional characters. The princess is a strict and hardworking New Orleans waitress (who absolutely hates frogs), and the frog prince is a womanizing playboy who lives solely in the moment and has been cut off from Mommy and Daddy’s money.

Also included in this story line is a fast-talking voodoo man who is in deep debt to his “friends on the other side” (who are some really freaky African masks), a jazz-loving crocodile (whose only wish is to play his trumpet on a paddle-wheel boat amongst people), a loveable, backwoods Cajun bayou firefly, and an eccentric, but wise, blind voodoo priestess.

Of course, one cannot forget Charlotte (whose only dream is to be a princess and who has no problem with kissing frogs) and her father, “Big Daddy,” (played by New Orleans resident John Goodman).

But not only are the characters of “The Princess and the Frog” relatable and the plot heartwarming, but the animation is spectacular. I can say from experience that it truly captures the look and feel of New Orleans: from the old mansions in the Garden District to the shotgun houses, from the bayou to the beignets, and to the parades during Mardi Gras.

The music of this movie also adds to the effect. Composed by Randy Newman, it stays true to Disney’s history of great musicals while also paying a tremendous tribute to the jazz music of mid-1920s New Orleans.

My personal favorites are the opening song, “Down in New Orleans,” sung by Dr. John, the dark and mysterious “Friends on the Other Side,” sung by Keith David (who plays the evil Dr. Facilier), and “Almost There,” sung by Anika Noni Rose (who plays the ambitious protagonist Tiana).

Rose clearly demonstrates that she has what it takes to voice a Disney Princess, while David gives life and class to Dr. Facilier, making him one of the best Disney Villains of the last 20 years, ranking up there with the likes of Scar, Jafar, and Lord Frollo.

I have to say: when I started watching the film, I was convinced that the ending would consist of Charlotte, who is the equivalent of a New Orleans princess, becoming the evil step-sister and ultimately making Tiana’s life miserable.

I was thrilled to find out that she was nowhere near this stereotype, but instead one of Tiana’s best friends, with a great personality to boot (not only does she not shy away from fixing her bra in public, but she has no qualms about throwing around Big Daddy’s money.).

All in all, there is not one imperfection in this movie. I am extremely excited that Disney has returned to old school, hand-drawn 2D animation.

The icing on the cake is that the directors are the same directors of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” arguably two of Disney’s best films. If Disney was smart, it would continue to balance out the 3D and Pixar films with the 2D, bringing back the age of Disney Princesses.

Alex Dunn can be reached for comment at [email protected]