When I started seeing previews for Disney’s latest flick FROZEN, I admit that I rolled my eyes and thought we were in for another subpar film like THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG or TANGLED (although those two films do have a couple positive qualities). It just felt like another half-hearted attempt by the company to stay relevant and distance themselves from the Pixar movies that seem to be taking over. When Oscar buzz started picking up about the film I knew I had to see it and when I finally did, I was pleasantly surprised and it gave me hope that the Disney of my youth was making a comeback. I sincerely hope they continue making exceptional films like FROZEN in the upcoming years, because we really need some new Disney songs to sing-along to.
FROZEN follows the story of Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) and Elsa (voiced by Adele Dazeem Idina Menzel), two sisters who were once close, but were forced apart by their parents due to an accident caused by Elsa when she was a youngster. Elsa has some strange ability to control the winter elements, and when she unknowingly puts her kingdom in a state of eternal winter, her younger sister must go and find her to reverse the situation with the help of Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and a cute snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad).
One of the best things about FROZEN is that there is no princess that needs to be rescued by a handsome prince in order for things to conclude in a happy ending. It’s a story about the “true love” that exists between siblings, which is a really fantastic concept to be putting out there to kids. Being an older sister myself, I have to admit that I got very teary at how Disney wrapped everything up. It’s nice to see that they are starting to make their female heroines more independent and strong and not having them rely on some guy to come and save the day.
FROZEN feels like a true Disney blast from the past. Fantastic animation, great songs and something we haven’t really seen lately, an original story. It’s a film that will be a classic for the younger generation, much like THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and THE LION KING are classics for our generation. With two Academy Awards under its belt (Best Original Song “Let It Go” and Best Animated Feature), maybe this will be a turnaround for Disney animated features and we’ll start seeing some great musicals from them again. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
If you are a parent and have somehow managed to miss this film, then I would suggest go ahead and adding it to your collection. It’s really a cute movie, with a good message and songs that you will find yourself humming along to after a viewing or two. If you have a daughter then you will not be able to avoid purchasing FROZEN, but even parents of boys (like myself) may want to consider picking this one up. If anything they will love the snowman Olaf, because really, who doesn’t love the idea of a talking snowman who can’t wait for summer? So charming.
Video: Disney animated Blu-rays are the best video presentations around and FROZEN is no exception. The film looks amazing.
Audio: The sound is equally impressive.
D’Frosted: Disney’s Journey from Hans Christian Andersen to Frozen (6:58): Apparently, Walt Disney himself started the process of bringing “Snow Queen” to the big screen and this featurette covers the process Disney went through to make it happen.
The Making of Frozen (3:01): It’s only three minutes and it was meant to be a joke, but this wore on me. Basically, the cast shows up and sings “how did we make Frozen”. And no, they never answer the question.
Deleted Scenes (7:08): Four deleted scenes in total, all told in storyboards and introduced by the directors.
Animated Short: Get a Horse! (5:59): It’s nice to see Mickey in another animated short.
Music Videos: Technically, there are four videos, but they’re all different versions of “Let it Go”.
