Review #1,125: 'Frozen' (2013)

Disney cannot seem to do much wrong these days. With Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm now under their wing, and billions of dollars rolling in as a result of those franchises, it's easy to forget that they were built on beautiful, groundbreaking hand-drawn animation that had children and adults alike utterly bewitched. With Pixar taking the lead as the modern-day innovators of animation, it's been a while since Disney delivered a 'cartoon' that really resonated with audiences on the level of, say, Dumbo (1941), The Jungle Book (1967) or The Lion King (1994). That all changed with Frozen, with the film raking in over $1 billion at the box office and receiving an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, as well as triumphing in the merchandise department. It's also now near-impossible to avoid hearing 'Let It Go' at Christmas time.

In the land of Arandelle, sisters Elsa and Anna enjoy a close friendship, with Elsa possessing the powers to manipulate ice and turn the most miserable of rooms into a dream-like playground. They are also princesses living in a huge castle, with their much-loved parents ruling the land as they play. After Elsa accidentally injures her sister as they play in the snow, her parents take her to a group of trolls who heal her, but insist that her memories of Elsa's powers are wiped to protect her from future harm. Elsa agrees, and locks herself in her bedroom, shunning the confused and lonely Anna. Years later, the king and queen are lost at sea, so the town prepares for the Elsa's (voiced by Idina Menzel) coronation. With the soon-to-be-queen unable to control her powers, she flees Arandelle, leaving it frozen in her wake. With the Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk) hoping to seize power in her absence, Anna (Kristen Bell) goes in pursuit of her sister, with hunky ice trader Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his dopey reindeer for company.

I was somewhat perplexed for the first third of Frozen. Early versions of the script had a more formulaic good sister vs bad sister dynamic, with an evil Elsa hijacking her sisters wedding and deliberately trying to kill her. The changes implemented were undoubtedly for the better, making for a much more interesting central relationship in the process, but this may also be the reason that several aspects are left unexplained. The origin of Elsa's powers raises the biggest question mark, with the film expecting the audience to simply accept her abilities as one of the quirks of a magical, fairytale land. Do we need a full explanation of how the princess can conjure an ice palace a la Dr. Manhattan and give life to goofy snowman Olaf (Josh Gad)? Well, no, but a little perspective would not be quite as jarring. The memory-erasing of Anna also seems somewhat harsh, with the extent of her injury never quite explored.

Still, Frozen succeeds by taking a formula that has served Disney well for decades and tweaking it for a modern audience. Instead of a snarling bad guy, we get the conflicted Elsa, a young girl with unfathomable powers who plays the role of anti-hero on occasion. The central love story is not between a beautiful princess and a handsome hero, but between two sisters whose bond is stronger than any destructive power. While I'm sick to death of hearing Let It Go, the moment Menzel belts out the infectious tune during the film is a wonderful moment. The remainder of the songs aren't quite as catchy, but the lush animation proves to be a wonderful distraction, and the comic relief Olaf is a genuinely funny, incredibly weird creation. While it's no masterpiece or even a game-changer, Frozen has all the makings of a Disney classic (arguably it already is). While parents may say they don't make 'em quite like they used to, I remember hearing the same thing back in 1994 when I saw Simba earn his crown.


Directed by: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Voices; Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie