Log in / Sign up
 
    Share this page

    Frozen

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
    Click here to show this review.
    Frozen (2013) Rating: 4,5 / 5 “Frozen” is a return to form and an update of an old genre for the Walt Disney animation studio in the sense that it’s an animated musical fairy tale but it’s got all of the sensibilities of a modern story. Our story follows two sisters, Elsa (Idina Menzel) and the younger Anna (Kristen Bell) Elsa possesses the ability to freeze objects and create snow or ice out of thin air, much to her sister’s joy. The two frequently have fun building snowmen, skating on frozen floors and playing with each other until an accident gravely injures Anna. While playing, Elsa accidentally shoots her sister with a beam of frost and it nearly kills her. To prevent this from ever happening again, Elsa and her parents use magic to remove all memories of Elsa’s frost powers from Anna’s and separate the two children in the hopes that eventually Elsa will learn to master her abilities. Years later, Elsa is about to be crowned queen of her kingdom but is still unsure about her powers. The ceremony ends in disaster, with Elsa plunging the kingdom in an eternal winter and being chased out of her home. To save the kingdom, Anna must venture out into the dangerous storm and find her sister. Along the way, she is aided by a scruffy mountain man named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven and an animated snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad) First thing you need to know is that this is a musical story. The story doesn’t stop when the music swells up though so they are well integrated with the plot. We’ve got character development and important plot points in these songs and they frequently reprise them when the two characters or the mood the originated from returns. I’m not sure if these songs are going to live on as classics like “Under the Sea”, “The Circle of Life” or “Be Our Guest” but these are pretty good. The songwriters knew that musicals are met with a certain amount of cynicism nowadays, partially because for a while every animated film featured musical numbers regardless of whether it was appropriate to the mood or not. For this reason, the songs don’t take themselves too seriously and feel less like classic orchestral pieces than pop songs you would hear on the radio. It gives the movie its own unique sound and when the end credits were done, I was thinking to myself that I would hold on to a couple of these and want to hear them again outside of the film. Like I said, this is a film that’s very self-aware of what it is. There has been a lot of criticism of the princess characters in some of the films from Disney’s golden age, and even from the studio’s new batch of masterpieces in the 90’s (but that’s a whole other piece of writing though) and the people responsible listened to the criticisms and addressed them here. The two main characters are independent, intelligent, and very capable of taking care of themselves, have a sense of humour but have their flaws as well. When Anna falls in love with someone she’s just met, there are several characters that call her out on it and ask her if she really understands the meaning of love. What a refreshing point to have in a film. Nearly every song you hear on the radio is centered on relationships, nearly every film concludes with a guy and a girl getting together and there’s a ton of pressure on people to fall in love, find that perfect relationship and live happily ever after. The film goes on to say that there’s more than one kind of love and that a happy ending isn’t necessarily about finding a prince charming. Another refreshing aspects is that for the most part, there’s no villain in the film. No evil witch or ominous dark shadow overlooking the kingdom, it’s Elsa being afraid of her own abilities which she cannot control and accidentally setting the story into motion while her sister, determined and accompanied by her friends goes on to rectify the situation before the storm gets out of hand and it’s all too late. I’m making it sound like this movie is all deep and serious but it’s very funny too. Olaf and Sven are great comedic additions to the story (and hey, isn’t it strange to see an animal sidekick that doesn’t talk for once? ) but all of our main characters get along well, tell jokes to each other, make fun of one another when they fall head-first into snow and there are some great visual gags, as there should be in an animated film. Speaking of the animation, you may have heard ahead of time that they have been perfecting the process of animating snow and as a person that’s very familiar with the white stuff I can assure you that they got it dead-on. The film looks gorgeous and if you’re an animator, you’re going to want to get this film on Blu-ray so you can pause it and examine the environments created here. If I have some criticisms, it’s that at first, I was only feeling lukewarm about the story and wasn’t really sure where it was going. By the time the story wrapped itself up though, you’ll be enthusiastic about telling other people about it. It’s a film aimed at children that adults can enjoy because it’s very smartly written. There are memorable characters here that I would be very pleased to see return, even if it was just in a short film depicting further comedic adventures. Two more things to say before I wrap this up: Do not come in late for this movie because before the film starts, there is an animated short in the same style as “Steamboat Willie” that’s very fun to watch whether you’re a big fan of Disney’s black and white shorts or not because once again, it plays with the audience’s expectations and is aware of the sensibilities of the 21st century. There is also a little segment at the very end of the credits that’s a nice gag. “Frozen” fits right at home with the great animated films of the ages like “Pinocchio”, “Aladdin” and “Snow White”; you won’t even mind that it isn’t hand-drawn. (2-D Theatrical version on the big screen, January 2, 2014)

    9
    HelpfulNot helpful  Reply
    adamwatchesmovies@  4.1.2014 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

    Well said! What can we add to such a detailed and accurate point of view?! You expressed exactly what I was thinking about the movie! Thank u.

    HelpfulNot helpful Reply
    r.b_@  8.1.2014 age: 36-49 56 reviews

    Show all reviews for this movie
    Note: The texts posted on this page reflect personal opinions of our users. We are not responsible for their content.

    Did you see ''Frozen''?

    There is a problem with your e-mail address and we are unable to communicate with you. Please go to My Account to update your email.

    How do you rate this movie?

    Select stars from 1 to 10.
    10 - A masterpiece, go, see it now
    9 - Excellent movie, a must see
    8 - Great movie, don't miss it
    7 - Good movie, worth seeing
    6 - Not bad, could be much better
    5 - So so, okay if you don't pay
    4 - Not good, even if you don't pay
    3 - Poor movie, not recommended
    2 - Very bad, forget about it
    1 - Worst ever, avoid at all costs

    Please explain. Write your comment here:

    Please choose a username to sign your comments. Only letters, digits, dash - or period. Minimum 4 characters.

    Your age and sex:

    We publish all comments, except abusive, at our discretion.