This news is going elicit one of two responses. Either a warm, fuzzy feeling inside as you celebrate the on-going appeal of 2D animated musicals in a world of techno-jargon, or else twist coldly and bitterly in your heart as you realise that Disney’s almighty grip on the kids market is going nowhere.

The Princess And The Frog opened in the US this weekend and has so far made a whopping $24.2 million in 3,434 theaters across the country. The plot has been described as a ‘New Orleans Fairytale’ based on the old Grimm fable of the Frog Princess and showcases Disney’s first African American heroine. It’s undeniably nice to think that the ‘classic Disney’ creation still has appeal for kids growing up in the dominating shadow of Pixar block-busters. We just hope that the lead female choice is not equally old-fashioned. We can’t help but think rather uncomfortably of Disney princesses past; big eyed, beautiful and above all else: in need of a man to come and help her out. We’ll reserve our ranting until we actually get a chance to see it – it’s not released in the UK until next Feb – but with Pixar giving young audiences accessible and loveable male lead after male lead; it would be nice to think that Disney could re-assess the balance somewhat, rather than just carrying on the old stereotype