Frozen (2013)
It's been awhile, but I return with a first for me- a review of a current movie!
Ya, I never thought it'd happen either. But I found myself with the opportunity to see a current movie and took it, and honestly, I do not regret it. Kind of funny considering it's a Disney flick, and my last foray into the Mouse House was not a pleasant one. Add to that, the fact that up until a few days ago I knew next to nothing about this movie except the name- I hadn't seen any commercials, watched any trailers, or watched/read any reviews.
So what brought about this viewing? Convenience and curiosity, a intriguing combination.
To tell you the truth, I wanted to see if Disney still had 'it'. This isn't the first time either- during the late 90s early 2000s I had taken a sort of exile from the Mouse House- nothing I had seen was any good in my eyes and I had written Disney off- then I was dragged with my family to see Lilo & Stitch, which again, I went into with next to no knowledge- and I LOVED IT! That movie gave me hope, and though I still avoided most Disney flicks afterwards, I knew they weren't too far gone.
Still, in recent years my faith was waning- those who read my review of the last animated Winnie the Pooh movie know this to be true, and though I liked Princess and The Frog (a movie I watched after a friend of mine gave me a death glare for having not seen), when I tried to watch Tangled (also on the urging of said friend) I could not get past the first song- it did not feel Disney to me.
And yet, here I stand, having once again walked into the mighty Mouse House, and strange as it may sound, I come out with glad tidings- they still got it.
Grab yourself a warm drink my brothers and sisters, because this is Disney's Frozen.
Note
An interesting thing to note before I get into the gist of things- this film draws it's inspiration from the Hans Christian Anderson's story The Snow Queen, and originally was set to be closer to the source material, in as much as Disney flicks are true to their source material. However over time the idea changed and in my opinion this is for the better- while The Snow Queen is a great story, it is a tad bit too dark to truly translate into a Disney flick, least in my opinion.
Plot
In the kingdom of Arendelle, The Royal Family have a problem- their eldest daughter Elsa, voiced by the very talented Indina Menzel, was born with the ability to create and control ice and snow. As she is still a child she has little real control over this ability, and one evening while playing in a winter wonderland she has created, Elsa accidentally freezes her younger sister Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell. Her parents rush to see the only ones they feel can help them the trolls who live in the nearby mountains. The troll elder, Grand Pabbie, tells them Anna will live, but that if Elsa had struck her heart the accident would have been fatal. He wipes Anna's memories of her sister's magic away, and her parents lock themselves away in the castle, keeping Elsa hidden as to protect her and others. The fear of hurting her sister weighs heavy on Elsa, causing her to hide herself from Anna, causing a rift to grow between the once close children. Elsa's powers grow, but her control over them remains tenuous at best. Things seem alright until the King and Queen are killed during a storm at sea, leaving Elsa to take the throne when she comes of age. The day of her coronation arrives, and while Anna is excited that the castle gates will finally open up and she can see people and the world, Elsa is much more apprehensive. During the lead up to the coronation, Anna meets the visiting Prince Hans, voiced by Santino Fontana, and the two quickly fall in love, leading to Hans proposing and Anna accepting. Unfortunately, Elsa, not understanding Anna's quick decision, argues with her sister and in her anger reveals her powers to the stunned crowd. Filled with fear, Elsa runs from the kingdom, unknowingly freezing everything in her path including all of Arendelle, and secludes herself in the mountains. Blaming herself, Anna leaves Hans in charge and heads off to find her sister. Along the way she meets Kristoff, a mountain man voiced by Jonathan Groff, and his reindeer companion Sven, and hires his to lead her up the mount. They also encounter Olaf, a snowman Elsa and Anna had made as children who was brought to life by Elsa's magic, voiced by Josh Gad, who knows where Elsa's ice castle is, and the ragtag group set off to find Elsa and bring summer back to Arendelle.
Thoughts
You may recall at the start of this review I mentioned not being able to make it past the first song in Tangled. The reason behind this is simple- it did not sound like a Disney song- it sounded like a Top 40 song sung by a pop star (which it was, as Mandy Moore voiced Rapunzel in that movie). The immediately took me out of the movie and I couldn't get back in. Frozen does not have this problem- the opening song, while short, sets the tone, and those that follow work perfectly in the narrative, save one, which I'll get to later. The animation is quite beautiful, proving that in the right hands, Disney's computer animation can look as good as some of the classic hand drawn movies of old. The settings are detailed, the characters more realistic then I expect in computer animated films, and the effects for Elsa's ice powers are breathtaking.
The characters are also a positive- they are likeable and feel three-dimensional, which you don't often see in kids films these days. Anna is your prototypical Disney Princess who wants something more, but you can understand why- unlike Ariel who has an entire ocean to play around in, Anna has not been allowed to leave the castle, and thus, when the opportunity arises she attacks it with repressed zeal. She is a caring individual who longs for the closeness she once shared with her sister, and, while she talks of finding true love and jumps at her first chance at it, she puts it to the side for the greater good and sets out to fix things on her own. What made Anna work best for me is the fact that I did not clue in that it was Kristen Bell doing her voice- unlike with Tangled where I knew right away, Bell was able to give Anna a voice of her own so as not to take away from the character. Elsa, likewise, is also caring but for her this has created a greater isolation then the one she already had to deal with- she too wants to be close to her sister again, but the fear of what she could do with her powers keeps her from opening up. For her, the castle has been a refuge, a place where she can't hurt anyone, and when the doors are opened that fear increases as now there are people inside who could be harmed if she lost control. When her secret is let out and she flees, for the first time she is in a position where there is no one to hurt, and she can cut loose and she what she is truly capable of. Others movies could have used this to make her more of an antagonist, similar to her literary counterpart, but the film instead makes her sympathetic- you understand her love of this newfound freedom but also see the cost.
Kristoff is an entertaining leading man, someone who is used to being alone- well, expect for his reindeer buddy, and the idea of being around other people isn't something he cares much for. You come to understand that this is due to his, somewhat unconventional family life (to elaborate would be a spoiler), but he too warms up when he finally has the chance to really spend time with others. Olaf is a good comic relief character, never going as far as to be overly annoying, he is boisterous and joyful, albeit a little naive but given he is a snowman who has just come to life you can't blame him. Sven joins the ranks of other classic Disney animal sidekicks, although unlike most he does not talk, he still has enough personality to fit in with the rest. Hans starts off as your traditional leading man/Disney prince, and really, besides that he doesn't get much to work with, but given he isn't in the film as much as the rest that is understandable. His role only really becomes important near the movie's climax, and the twist that evolves from this role certainly changes much of what we would normally expect from such a character or movie. What's interesting is the film lacks any true antagonist- sure by the end there is someone we could call a villain but this is more a secondary aspect and thus there is no baddie- no Jafar or Shadow Man or Ursala or Scar to root against or applaud the evil deeds of- and thusly no villain song, which are usually some of the best songs in Disney flicks.
Speaking of songs, the film has plenty, and for the most part, they are all good. The only one I found lacking was "Love is an Open Door", sung by Hans and Anna during their very brief courtship. To me the song is flat and just your standard "falling in love song". However given it's placement in the film and the slightly over the top lyrics, I think it can be seen as a parody of those types of songs as well. This doesn't make it good but it at least gives it a bit more credibility. Likewise Olaf's song "In Summer" isn't much to write home about but it's short and it's the comic relief's track- there have been much worse so I can let ti slide. For me the soundtrack comes down to three songs, the three I will be adding to my Disney playlist as soon as possible- First, we have "For the First time in Forever," a duet between Anna and Elsa showcasing their differing viewpoints on the upcoming opening of the castle doors- one side filled with joy and wonder, the other with apprehension and fear. The back and forth is so well done and you can feel where both Princesses are coming from. Second, we have Elsa's big number, "Let It Go", which shows off Menzel's vocal talents- the woman can sing, and for me, this makes up for the shitty solo song they gave her character in Rent (seriously, best voice in the cast and her character gets a spoken word thing? ). The song also acts as a catharsis for Elsa, as she has realized she no longer has to hide her powers or worry about what others will think. It also reprises part of her section of "For the First tine in Forever", only more uptempo which shows her character's emotional progression. Lastly, we have "Do You Want To Build A Snowman"- holy shit, this might be one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking songs I have heard in a Disney movie in years. The song, sung by young Anna, is her way to trying to reach out to Elsa and rekindle the closeness they once had. The song is the second in the film and immediately hits you with emotion- this one isn't pulling any punches it wants you to get all the feels. You get a sense of Anna's desire to just spend time with her sister as they grow up, only to be rebuffed and not know why. If any song in the film pulls at the old heartstrings, this is it. The only downside is these three songs are all early in the film, and as decent as those that follow are, none of them ever reach the heights of these ones.
If I were to say anything negative about the flick, it would be things related to the above- less memorable songs in the latter half of the film, lack of a true antagonist. Likewise the aforementioned twist, while it does help the story's conclusion, there was really no foreshadowing for it so at first glance it really comes out of left field. Even so, in the grand scheme of things these are all nitpicks and I can push them to the side as what remains in the films more then makes up for these small issues.
Conclusion
If you have been waiting for Disney to really capture that magic it seemed to have during the Disney Renaissance, the wait is over. Frozen is as close as I have seen them get to the movies I grew up with, and is more then worth a watch. It has good characters, great animation, and good songs that you will want to listen to again. If you haven't seen it, do so. If you have and liked it as I did, see it again. I'm certainly willing to.
4 Talking Snowmen out of 5
That's all out of me, until next time I'm The Drew and I Be Awesome.
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