Frozen is delightfully old school. The latest production from Disney is based on an old fairy tale, features a couple of cute creatures, has some fun song/dance numbers, and builds its story around a princess. While not breaking ground in any way, Frozen plays with the Disney format enough to provide a fresh spin on a tried and true formula. Glad to see Disney’s studios picking up where Pixar has been dropping the ball.
Frozen is a story about two sisters: Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel). Elsa has the ability to create snow, but she has trouble controlling her powers. After a near-tragic accident involving Anna, Elsa agrees to hide herself from her sister to protect her (Anna also has her memory wiped.). Years pass until Elsa’s coronation ceremony requires her to appear to her kingdom. At the ceremony, Elsa’s powers create an eternal winter, and she flees to the mountains to prevent further harm to the kingdom. Anna then takes it upon herself to bring about the return of Spring by confronting Elsa. Along the way, she enlists the help of 13th heir to a neighboring kingdom Hans (Santino Fontana), Iceman Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and Sven (his trusty reindeer), and Olaf (Josh Gad) the snowman brought to life by Elsa.
Frozen is one of the most beautiful animated movies I have seen in a long time. The kingdom is alive with beautiful blues and greens, giving the Scandanavian setting natural energy and brilliance. When the storms hit, the snow looks and feels very real with the way the hair flows and individual snowflakes can be seen. The ice vacillates seamlessly between menacing and extraordinary (the ice castle rivals the beauty of the kingdom). Credit goes to the animators for fully fantasizing the Scandanavian setting, giving Frozen a larger than life feel that services the story very well.
The story itself contains a frustrating mix of clichés and ingenuity. For instance, the central conflict doesn’t involve a man, or over-the-top villain: it is an uncontrollable force that focuses the conflict on the two sisters, easily the backbone of Frozen. However, as the story moves on, traditional Disney storytelling gets manufactured in: a pointless love triangle is created with three of the characters, one of the characters is forced into a villainous role for no reason, and the songs in the third act feel very out-of-place for some cheap laughs. These choices are especially frustrating because of the care taken for the early part of the story. There would have been so many better directions to go. For example, Olaf is carefully constructed that threats to him would carry emotional heft, or the final realization for Elsa and Anna could have been reversed for a more emotional catharsis. I feel like one or two more drafts would have put Frozen into rarefied air in the Disney animated realm.
The voice work falls on the good side of animation: no one is really noticeable as themselves (except maybe Josh Gad). Kristen Bell gives Anna some spunk and optimism that the effervescent Bell possesses in numerous amounts herself. Idina Menzel sells Elsa’s melancholy, but is otherwise nothing too special. Josh Gad approaches the too cute line with Olaf, but stays on the right side, pushing his innocence and joy in his words. Alan Tudyk also shows his voice range with another loopy character (an old duke).
Frozen is being compared by some to the great Disney films of the last era: The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, etc. Though the storytelling and songs are not quite on that level, Frozen is just as beautiful (if not more so) and in the discussion. If you have a little niece, daughter, cousin, etc, just go out right now and buy either a Princess Anna or Queen Elsa doll for Christmas.