Disney’s ‘Frog Princess’ will be hand-drawn

The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called “The Frog Princess,” which will be set in New Orleans and feature Disney’s first black princess.

John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Disney and the Disney-owned unit Pixar Animation Studios, said the movie would return to the classic hand-drawn animation process instead of using computer animation that has become the industry standard.

He called the film “an American fairy tale.”

Princess Maddy will be added to Disney’s collection of animated princesses used at the company’s theme parks and on consumer products.

“The Frog Princess,” set for release in 2009, will be scored by Randy Newman, who also wrote the music for Disney’s “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Cars.”

John Musker and Ron Clements, who co-directed “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” and “Hercules,” will co-direct. The pair also wrote the story for the film.

Ready, set – d’oh!

The Simpsons will hit the big screen this summer – where else? – in Springfield.

Which particular one? Well, that’s still up in the air.

“The Simpsons Movie” will premiere in July in one of 16 Springfields across America – from Oregon to Massachusetts – and 20th Century Fox is hosting a competition for the honor.

Fox will pick the winner after reviewing short film entries showcasing each community’s positive aspects and links to the Simpsons, who live in their own fictional Springfield.

Theirs, of course, has a nuclear power plant and several prisons – amenities most real-life Springfields lack.

The prime-time animated series created by Oregon-born Matt Groening is in its 18th season. Groening has said he chose Springfield because it’s one of the more common city names in the United States.