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A bit of a glimpse at THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG!!!
Hey folks, Harry here... I collect animation cels - and pencil animation. I love the medium. When Disney decided to lose the tradition of turning Lead to Gold via the medium of 2D animation - a part of my love for Disney died. That the studio was blaming a series of badly developed animated films on the style of animation and not on the fumbling stupidity of micro-management, or simply never having a solid story. Well, I can remember writing those editorials back in the day - and I was so sooooo happy when Michael Eisner left the Mouse House because I hoped that perhaps it would signal a return to traditional animation.
Today, I got an email from a fella named Bert pointing out this YouTube video which gives most of us our first indepth look at THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. I have to say, I'm still not sure where this story is headed exactly, but I'm really loving the look of the film thus far. I imagine that we'll see our first big trailer for this in front of UP - I hope. But we'll have to wait and see. Here ya go...
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Good original Disney films are DEAD Harry. It's all marketing and merchandising now. Disney has NO heart. Just a money-making-machine.
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I hope this is a return to the quality "2nd golden age" (platinum age??) of mermaid through (arguably) Hunchback. Don't know what happened after that, but it all went for a crap. Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Stitch, Brother Bear, Rosanne Barr as a cow - all sub-par for even non-disney animation (good casting on that last one though).
I'm hoping for a third golden age at the mouse house. -
Yep, it's a Disney animated movie alright! It looks OK but we still can't tell how it'll stand up to past glories. At least they've actually gone for the traditional look, and YES great for having a black Disney princess.
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But the good kind. I hope it won't suck.
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as can be for a 2D disney movie. The biggest problem with the Disney 2D cartoon movies has been story.
It can be beautifully drawn, but if the story sucks. The film will do poorly. If you look at Pixar and they talk about it alot, they spend a long time gestating the storyline until they get it right. The Story is at the heart of any cartoon.
If the story is as good as 'The little Mermaid' or 'Beauty and the Beast' then they'll have a hit.
But Disney faces an uphill climb. Hopefully some of Pixar's pixie dust rubbed off on Disney. -
This was maybe an unusual, but damn good piece of Disney animation! Far away from being crap.
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Having been a huge fan of Disney's animation from The Little Mermaid through to, well, probably Mulan I do hope this is good and re-captures those glory days. But i've got to say, when a proper hand drawn Disney film is set in the States, there always a sense of, well, crapness. The stereotypes ooze out of the woodwork, something i'm sure you Americans (who lets face it, this film is mainly aimed at) enjoy, but something that rubs your european cousins up the wrong way. What was that film with the sassy cows in a farm.. I remember it being utter bile... Disney should stick to the classic Fantasy Fair set in 'non-descript' European (or lets face it, AFrican - for one of the best) countries and not 'sully their own'... From what i've seen (and lets face it, 30 seconds is not really enough to form a true opinion) it may just be too stereo-typical for Europe (or for me anyway).. .But.... lets hope it re-captures some of that magic of Disneys 2nd glory wave...
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AICN is reporting on this crap? Pixar I understand, but a PC Disney film? Why are we just now hearing about Moon on this site? That's exactly the type of film that should be reported on and cheered on here...instead we get this crap.
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Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet. Don Clements and Ron Musker directed and wrote those three as well as this one, and they have been continually above par with their combo of drama and comedy when it comes to Disney flicks.
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this is a last minute attempt by Disney to get an black princess in the roster.
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...the "new renaissance" that began with THE LITTLE MERMAID (does 4 good movies in a row make a renaissance?). Disney is due for another Golden Age, and I personally can't wait for a new wave of quality, hand-drawn storytelling.
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Yeah, it is a tad odd that they've covered every race as far as female leads except black, but whatever.
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As Pixar has proven, at the end of the day it doesn't matter if the animation is 3D, the stories are excellent. This looks so ridiculous, I can't believe it's the same directors as Little Mermaid, Aladdin, etc. A couple of clips taken out of context, sure, the film on the whole can be great, but so far this just looks so amateur, in regards to the characters and the story. Particularly Beauty and the Beast, some Disney films of the 90s were quite adult in their stories and didn't just play to the children in the audience, as Pixar does. I hope I'm not disappointed, I grew up watching those films, thank God Pixar was there to pick up the pieces and continue the legacy.
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You know, the guys who wrote and directed ALADDIN and THE LITTLE MERMAID. Those guys. This is their new movie. If that doesn't get your interest in animation, ain't nothing will.
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We've been covering MOON for over a year now - and I wrote my review back in late February. And we've always covered animation and any film that interests any of the editors of AICN - along with pretty much anything our readers submit that they're passionate about.
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this will usher in a renaissance of 2D animation long overdue at Disney.
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Like it... See it opening day.
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I never want this artform to die and if this stinks it up it's over
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this will usher in a renaissance of 2D animation in general, not just at Disney or Dreamworks.
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outstanding, and superior, series of 2D animation on TV from the early 90's until today. I can name so many. On the big screen, not so much.
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...of animation. There is another. Animation is thriving in both the far East and Europe; so, if this fails, it doesn't necessarily signal the end of the art form.
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WOW....
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As JJ Abrams CREATED the film business!
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... when I was a kid Disney was the shit. The only good stuff they do now is with Pixar, but I'd love for this film to launch a new age Disney traditionally animated stuff. Does this film have songs, does anyone know? A disney film is only as good as the songs - the kind of catchy ones you're embaressed to find yourself randomly singing in public.
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As JJ Abrams CREATED the film business!
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Man, he's looking old nowadays. That's what happens when you stay out of the spotlight for awhile.
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We've heard about Moon on this site for a long time.
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I stand corrected guys! I missed your coverage! My bad!
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Is it just me, or is this movie giving off an extreme SONG OF THE SOUTH vibe so far? Everybody in this footage sounds like Beyonce or the "Ragin' Cajun". I'm all for ethnic diversity in animation, but if three shiftless black crows show up and go "Oooooo, Mizz Mercy, y'all sho' nuff in de troubles!", I think someone should contact the N.A.A.C.P.
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While not known as the States then, Pocahontas does take place in America, and is known as one of Disney's best films - very little crap involved.
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... although, the animation does look great. By the way, LILO & STITCH (as well as the sequel originally intended for theatrical release) and THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE (as well as the sequel originally intended for theatrical release) were great. I didn't even mind that semi-abortive PETER PAN sequel that went straight to video. The shit didn't start hitting the fan til HOME ON THE RANGE (Roseanne's pretty much the kiss of cinematic death, anyway) and they decided to go CGI with CHICKEN LITTLE.
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Was a great little film. I rented it to use as reference for a children's book i was illustrating and it caught me off guard of how good a straight to dvd sequel it was. I never seen the origina,l so cant compare.
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Why do they think setting things in New Orleans is a good thing? Is it just because everyone's insane there? They could have put this in Ireland, thrown in a few Leprechauns, and called it a day. Boom, just wrote your next movie for you Disney.
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The animation was good, but the storyline was awful and the character Stitch was the most annoying creation Disney had made in 15 years.
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And they had all sorts of Princess and the Frog stuff lying around everywhere. Early posters, character designs, pencil tests, etc. Looked encouraging.
They also had lots of Rapunzel stuff, too, their 2010 release. Found this on Youtube:
http://tinyurl.com/cnpdv7 -
What the fuck are you on about, mate? I can't make heads or tails out of what you're saying or trying to say. (By the way, it's "fantasy fare" not "fair" - you're a smart one) "Stereotypes" for us Americans, what the fuck? Aren't all animated characters stereotypes to a certain degree? And why is it automatically better if set in Europe or Africa? I don't get it. Unless you can explain your problem much more specifically and with examples, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to write your opinion off as the half-assed vaguely xenophobic ramblings of a 13 year-old. But if the shoe fits... And to those who are too cool for animation news - oh shut up. This already looks very funny and lively, with great character animation on that frog, so I'm looking forward to it.
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Yeah, it's a Touchstone movie, but still part of the Disney group...
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...Lasseter is attempting to bring back a style he essentially killed off. So cool. Great guy!
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...most of the troglodytes, like Charlie_Allnut, aren't interested. Maybe if the frog is a lonely nerd who brutally murders the princess and her whole family, then maybe this feature would please the black trench-coat worshiping fanboys who see everything in terms of either steely, emotionless alienation or faggy gays showing feelings for things and stuff.
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Fuck you haters. At least they're giving 2d another shot.
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that doesn't want this thing to knock it out of the park. The world is a happier place when Disney works it's magic. Best of luck.
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They'll be keeping their fingers crossed... they might finally have an African American princess that isn't a feline.
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I have a feeling that some of the dialog is temporary, and will be re-dubbed later.
I hope this is a return to Disney's hey-day--Honest, artful, sincere, thoughtful animation. I want to be able to share that with my daughter... -
was in Anastasia. Long live Bluth! Well, at least Anastasia. Check it out on Hulu if you don't believe me. Unstoppable animation.
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And so did a BUNCH of people... he's a major mascot in the parks now for a reason.
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Coinciding with the first black president. I love it.
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Didn't try to have moments of high drama and wring tears out of you - and I appreciated that.
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I hope this film is successful to bring back the 2D animation. I would love to apply for an opportunity to be an animator.
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There are still very good feature animations being done in Japan and France.
I just hope Disney would hire Michel Ocelot to direct one of their movies, that would add something fresh to the company. If you read this John Lasseter please hire Michel Ocelot! -
it was rotoscoped and looked no better than the worst crap by ralph bakshi.
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Why not Ireland? because then the princess couldn't be black! (black Irish maybe,) but not black!
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These guys directed "The Great Mouse Detective", "The Little Mermaid", "Aladdin", "Hercules", and "Treasure Planet" all of which I found very entertaining ("Treasure Planet" is very underrated). Plus, Lasseter has faith in them and that should be good enough for anybody.
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So having black people sing in your movie is considered racist now? The only people crying about racism in this movie are asshole publicity seeking whores.
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If Dumbo can do that and still be called a classic, then there's no need to bring in the NAACP over this one. Lilo and Stitch was a whacko, left-field masterpiece full of immortally quotable lines. Emperor's New Groove was a decent save off the rebound from what was meant to be a high-end, Lion King-style drama. Hunchback is an underrated classic and Mulan is a lot of fun. Everything else since Lion King sucked. Yes, I'm really glad Disney have at least one handdrawn left in them. But I still think Rapunzel is the key to their return, not this.
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Okay, Lilo & Stitch wasn't crap. And, actually, neither was the emperor's new grove (I laughed quite a bit). HOWEVER, neither of these equal the quality of the late '80s-'90s films that Walt's ol'complany pushed out.
Re: stereotypes. I have to agree with judderman. The crows in Dumbo were racist, out-and-out (though with a great song...love that song). This doesn't quite strike me as racist - except for swamp dwelling inbred cajun hillbillies and fireflies. And are those really demographics whose sensetivities anyone is overly concerned about? -
call me easy but that Frog's line got a little laugh outta me. but it seems this will be a musical as well...thats too bad. not that i was ever seeing this in theaters anyway but yeah, enough with the musicals. its just an excuse to pad the movie and considering most only last 75mins anyway, thats sorta sad.
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HAHA
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Hey Rebeck2 - sorry if it came over as being xenophobic - it wasn't meant too. I was just trying to highlight the Disney films that I have enjoyed tended to be the classic ones that (in most cases) didn't reside in the States. And the ones that did occur in the states, in my opinion, didn't work as well for me. Maybe that is because i come from a European viewpoint and there are some character types that seem 'stereotypical', or maybe it's just bad luck. Oliver & Co, Farm Yard Sassy Cows and now Princess & the Frog just don't seem to do it for me... Though, i've got to say - Lilo & Stitch, Hawaii - and i loved that one... There you go, it's not all xenophobia! :)
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But I like that Lassiter (sp?), the big cheese from Pixar came over to Disney and immediately wanted to make more 2D movies. His company essentially created the 3D animated movie boom, which brainless executives thought meant, "Make all cartoon movies with computers! That's what people like!" Someone from Pixar realizes that it was the stories of Toy Story, Finding Nemo, etc, that made those movies hits. The 3D was just the gimmick that got people to take notice.
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It's got a jazz playing alligator and a cajun firefly! That IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY! I'm so there on opening night.
REMEMBER SAMMY JANKIS!!! -
*snap*
*snap*
*Chicken neck*
Mmm-Hmmmm! -
The disney-girl porn industry needed a black chick.
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detectivesoap, Bluth's best animation was in The Secret of NIMH, bar none.
dingbatty, true it should hopefully, usher in a renaissance of 2D animation in general, but sadly Katzenberg is on the solo bandwagon feeling 3d in 3d is the way to go - which I'm thinking should last through 2 more films before he abandons that plan.
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I wish I could say they are trying to hard but it doesn't look it. Classic Disney . ...righhht. I remember them limiting themselves to one or at least 2 comedy reliefs back then but not everyone in the film. They really still think whether you pick 2d over 3d somehow makes up for story telling or worse is equal to it.
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I don't think they chose 2D as a gimmick for storytelling. Lasseter likes hand drawn animation. And I don't think he's going to put together a bad story. He believes in story first and I think this film will follow that model. At the end of this month we'll get a look at the actual trailer for the film when it's attached to Up.
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Easily the most visually beautiful Animated film Disney had done in years, with a story that was character-driven and pretty deep. My only complaint was that they should have had swordfights.
Had the film come out AFTER Pirates of the Carribean instead of before, it would have been a bigger hit. -
May 06, 2009 3:11:46 PM CDT
Don't blame Lasseter for "killing" 2D animation...
by nasty in the pasty
...blame the extremely lackluster Disney offerings from the early 00's (Lilo & Stitch excepted). If Disney were still making films as good as Beauty & The Beast and Aladdin, people still would have seen them, but the early 00's were the worst period in Disney animation since the 70's and early 80's (The Aristocats? The Black fucking Cauldron?). Enchanted's 2D animated wraparound segments were a bracing return to the studio's classic style, and The Princess & The Frog looks visually terrific (and yes...nice to finally see a sexy sistah in the Disney Princess lineup. Pocahontas and Esmeralda were dark-skinned, but not exactly "black"). As long as the film's story holds water and it's marketed correctly, Frog should do solid business and hopefully help rebuild the shamelessly squandered 2D animation industry. We're already seeing the last gasp of the "farting CGI animal" craze (only Ice Age 3 looks like the same-old same-old this year), and there's a lot of stop-motion to appreciate lately (Coraline is the best movie I've seen this year). Fingers crossed that this will be a big hit.And did I mention Princess Tiana is hot?
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The designs by Mike Mignola were great. The Stema punk/WWI tech was also great. The story couls have been better. It needed more Quido Sarducci and less Alex Keaton.
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Just wanted to point out that everything from Disney since The Lion King sucked, except for Hercules.
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Is the prince like French-Indian or something? I mean I get that this is for the princess franchise so the guy is almost irrelevant, plus he's a frog most of the time I'll bet, but still, he's a shade or two lighter. Also, don't know where Lasseter gets off saying that Alan Menken doing the music would have been like Disney repeating itself. How often has Pixar gone to Randy Newman (as they do with this movie)? Try a Menken scored Pixar movie and then I'll believe that line of BS. Oh whatever, I'm still pissed they're making a CARS sequel instead of an INCREDIBLES sequel. Idiots!
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Could be good - may not be - but I'm prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt until I've seen it. Don't agree that all disney since Lion Kings sucks - most have redeaming features - and Emperor was a complete hoot imho (made doubly enjoyable in that Sting was royally pissed off about having pretty well all his songs ditched..)
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...has no sense of humor whatsoever.
This new movie looks interesting. -
MSNBC To Catch A Predator vibe going.....I was expecting Chris Hanson To come in from another room with hidden cameras demanding answers.
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Wasn't offensive to African Americans in any way, If It was---How come the same bit was used In the "WIz"--An African American MOTOWN PRODUCED Musical?
Different song---same concept, They even had African American performers In Crow Face! They heckled the Scarecrow instead of Dumbo, who happened to be played by Micheal Jackson.
Very strange film--- -
I have a sense of humor...
I think the fact that you liked EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE is hilarious.
I think I would have liked the more serious version it was when it was known as Kingdom of the Sun. -
May 07, 2009 12:53:27 AM CDT
There's a review at Cartoon Brew of Princess and the Frog
by feralangel
Posted by someone who saw a rough cut of it...and it sounds rad cool. The reviewer says the film (which included full animation, plus pencil tests and boards) still needs some tweaking and polishing, but that the audience that saw it loved it and even cheered at the end. The reviewer BTW was no plant, according to the Cartoon Brewmaster. So I'm hopeful for this. And if I may digress..."Lilo and Stitch" was NOT crap. It's one of the funniest, sunniest films Disney has ever made, a modern-day "Dumbo". So stuff it Stitch-haters!
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May 07, 2009 12:56:55 AM CDT
Yeah, the crows in Dumbo were a tribute to black music IMO
by feralangel
The crows singing "When I See An Elephant Fly" is my fave part. The voices were provided by a popular black singing group, and no racial slurs were intended. What's sad is that, given today's politically-correct climate, that wonderful scene would have been cut were Dumbo made today. Christ, look at the crap some people are kicking up over the multi-racial prince in Princess and the Frog!!! Idiots.
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Except the Waterboy. Even Van Damme doing his best cajun accent could not save Hard Target.
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and it was the best Disney film since the Lion King because it refused to follow the same tired formula. I'm hoping they learn that lesson with the Frog Prince.
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Well, first thing's first, this film looks amazing. The majority of people who criticise it only do so because they're too cynical to care for Disney anymore. I guarantee that a film like Wall-E or Ratatouille would come under heavy criticism if it were made solely by Disney.
Secondly, in regard to the racism issue, it seems to me quite contradictory to suggest that the black people in this film are stereotyped. In fact, I find it strange when people refer to many supposedly racist undertones in Disney films. People say the crows in Dumbo were stereotypes, but the fact is stereotypes are born from common characteristics within a particular group. The crows in Dumbo display attributes which were identifiable with black people of that time.
Not only this, but the crows had to be represented as a minority group to best serve the story. As outcasts they identify with Dumbo. If these were WASP types it would hardly make sense for them to care at all for someone so low on the food chain. In fact, the crows are the very characters who encourage Dumbo's confidence. People who see racism in instances like these seem more concerned with finding faults than solving them.
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