It seems that the halcyon days of Disney producing truly magical animated features are well and truly over. Sure, Pixar are at the forefront of pushing the boundaries of animated features, but their films aren’t proper Disney releases. In fact, you have to go back to the late eighties/early nineties when Mickey and co had their second wind with films like The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994) and Pocahontas (1996).

In the last decade though, Disney produced one of its most forgettable line-ups, which included Dinosaur (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Treasure Planet (2002), Meet the Robinsons (2007) and Bolt (2008). If you those titles mean nothing to you, it only proves that Disney has not only lost its way a little, but also its touch.

The release of The Princess and the Frog is an obvious attempt to return the Disney skool of old, as it is version of the classic fairy tale, made popular in particular by those Brothers Grimm.

Set in the jazz-filled air of New Orleans, it follows the struggle of Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), who is doing everything in her powers to make her dream of owning her own restaurant come true. After years of slaving and saving away, she finally has enough money for the deposit on a run-down building she’s fallen in love with. Her hopes are dashed though, when she is outbid. If she doesn’t put in a bigger bid within a matter of days, she will lose it.

Meanwhile, poverty-stricken Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) from Maldonia arrives in The Big Easy, with his disgruntled valet Lawrence (Peter Bartlett), looking to marry into a rich family. Unfortunately for him, he runs into Facilier (Keith David), a voodoo doctor with very dark intentions. Before you can say ‘Disney DVD’, Facilier has turned Naveen into a frog.

To make matters worse, frog Naveen soon hops across Tiana’s path, who feeling sorry for herself, decides that perhaps kissing the frog will turn him into a Prince. It doesn’t; in fact, it actually turns Tiana into a frog as well. The amphibious pair soon begin their adventure together, seeking the help of a voodoo princess Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) who lives deep in the Bayou. But they have to be quick, as neither time nor the grasp of black magic is on their side.

Based, as it is, on a classic fairy tale, this should have been yet another return to form for Disney. Not only did it have the story going for it, but its hand drawn world looks beautiful elegant in places. And yet it all feels so terribly run of the mill. It’s not helped by the fact that Randy Newman (who was responsible for the music in the Toy Story films) has supplied the film with some truly forgettable songs. Everyone knows that the best Disney soundtrack ever was for 1967’s The Jungle Book, so why they haven’t learnt yet that animated musical numbers since then simply bore the pants of audiences, both young and old?

And although some of the background art is beautifully rendered, some of the characters are definitely on the flat side; the two frogs themselves look like sock puppets that have been pulled out of shape after one too many washes. They managed to make dogs look pretty much like dogs in their last film Bolt, so you wouldn’t think that frogs would be that much more challenging.

A highlight, though, has to be the Disneyfication of the occult; the film is at its most watchable when Facilier is voodooing away, dabbling with the darkness of the underworld.

Sadly, the film also underwhelms with its vocal talent. Rose does a more than adequate job with Tiana - indeed, as she proved in Dreamgirls, she can carry a tune – but Campos appears to slip and slide his way through all types of accents; one minute he sounds vaguely Indian, the next French and occasionally there’s almost a smattering of Borat.

None of this will matter, of course, if you are six or under; but to those of us who were once captivated by the likes of spotted pups, cheeky tramps, singing bears etc, it’s difficult not to feel ever so DisneyDisappointed with their latest effort.