Since “The Princess and the Frog”, Disney has been in something of renaissance. The films created since that first stepping-stone are still fun and cherished Disney Classics. Some recent modern classics include “Tangled”, “Wreck-it Ralph” and “Winnie the Pooh”, and it’s with a happy heart that “Frozen” has joined this list. This is an amazing feat considering the production for the film has been off and on for the past seven years, finally rescued the same crew which worked on “Tangled” and “Wreck-it Ralph”.
“Frozen” takes place far in the coastal kingdom of Arendelle, where there are two young daughters of a royal couple. The younger being, Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel). However, Elsa was born with an ability to create and manipulate snow and ice. This is fine as the two sisters play very well together until Elsa accidentally hits Anna with magic which can freeze her. Thankfully, the parents take the sisters to the helpful trolls lead by Pabbie (Ciaran Hinds). The parents react by placing gloves on Elsa and forbidding anyone from entering the castle unless it’s for business.
However, the royal couple dies in a boating accident and Elsa and Anna grow up to be completely different people. Anna is fun and outgoing, while Elsa is very afraid and doesn’t want to be around people. The movie picks up on the day of the coronation day of Queen Elsa. The castle must be opened up to visitors. These visitors include the short tempered and sneaky Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk) and the gentle and nice prince Hans (Santino Fontana). All seems to be fine until Anna wishes to marry Hans only after meeting him today. Elsa firmly objects. During this, Elsa accidentally shows off her power and runs off into the mountains, causing Arendelle to be frozen over. It’s now up to Anna, mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven, and a magic snowman that wants to feel heat named Olaf (Josh Gad).
This movie wastes no time in letting the audience know that it’s a musical with the first number showing the ice selling business of Arendelle. The music throughout this movie, for exception of one song, is really beautiful and reminiscent of classic Disney films like “Dumbo”. Some songs belong right up there with “A Whole New World”, “Under the Sea”, and “Be Our Guest”, with the best song in my opinion being “Let It Go” sung by Elsa, a tragic and enlightening song.
The character of Elsa is actually one of the highlights of the film. When was the last time in a Disney movie where a Queen was a nice person and a main character? Not many come to mind. She isn’t doing the storm because she’s malicious, in fact she didn’t realize she’s causing the storm at all. You want her to see what’s she’s doing. Also the fact that she manipulates snow and ice leads to a lot of great animation moments. This film is benefiting from the fact that it’s in 3D since the snow and ice effects are beautifully done, especially during “Let it Go”.
That isn’t to say that the other characters are bad either. Anna, at first, seemed like the typical wide-eyed Disney heroine similar to Ariel from The Little Mermaid. However, during the film, she learns that she shouldn’t strive for a husband. Her driving force is to get her sister back, a nice change of pace from other Disney films. Kristoff is funny, and you sympathize with the fact that the guy needs to sell ice during a blizzard. He’s rugged and has great chemistry with Sven. He doesn’t always take charge of the trip to get Elsa and when he does it’s for logical reasons.
Olaf, the comical relief talking snowman, had me nervous when the trailer came out, as he seemed like more of a way to market the films to kids than an actual character. When you start watching the film, he needs to grow on you, and his wide eyed wonder is actually pretty adorable. He gets a whole song about his obsession with heat.
“Frozen” is a definite must see, must have for your collection. The animation is beautiful, and used 3D imaging to its benefit. The characters are charming and likeable without resorting to cheap pop culture jokes. The songs are really well done and up there with other Disney musicals. There’s even a good twist that came out of nowhere and actually makes sense. Disney is really hitting their stride right now. Let’s hope it continues into their next animated film.