We'll admit to having had a knee-jerk reaction to some of the early teaser footage released by Disney of their forthcoming and much-ballyhooed return to hand-drawn animation, The Princess and the Frog, which struck us as hopping a little too close to the outdated-caricature pond for our tastes.
(To say nothing of the plot, which revolves largely around the romantic adventures of two lily-dwelling amphibians -- not exactly the most engaging of protagonists.) Can't say a new Disney Channel sneak preview has done much to reassure us, introducing a new character to the mix that already includes Louis the trumpet-playing alligator and Ray the crooked-toothed, generally retarded-seeming Cajun firefly: Meet Mama Odie, the blind, 200-year-old "magical fairy godmother" with a "seeing-eye snake" who might have easily been the mascot for popular turn-of-the-century pantry product, Mama Odie's Sambocakes and Waffle Batter. [YouTube]