There are two movies I've been hard pressed for my opinion on. Requiem for A Dream and Frozen. The former I will eventually get around to doing, but the latter I saw at long last yesterday. So it's time to finally review it. I've promised i'd do it, and a Lannister always pays his debts.
Set in the fictional kingdom of Arendelle, Princesses Anna and Elsa are sisters who have been separated by their parents due to Elsa's strange wintery powers. When the King and Queen die, and Elsa comes of age, she is coronated and is reunited with Anna for the first time in years. However, when Anna asks for her sisters blessing in marrying a man she just met, Elsa accidentally unleashes her powers, putting Arendelle in state of eternal winter.
First, let's talk musicals. I personally have never been a fan. I couldn't really get on board with the whole idea of spontaneous song. And as great as the acting and story was in Les Miserables was, I got a migraine from what turned out to be a two and a half hour song. Don't get me wrong, musicals are great, they're just not my thing. The only musicals I can consistently watch are Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder version) and any movie involving The Muppets.
In Frozen, as much as I didn't want to, I found the songs kinda catchy. They're certainly the kind that would annoy the hell out of a parent after hearing it 20 times in a row in the car, but for the pre-adolescents that the film is targeted to, they get the job done. I certainly enjoyed them, and that is saying something.
What I really enjoyed was how different the film feels from other Disney fare. It's darker, more human, well rounded. Sure, the prospect of true love at first sight is all well and good, but it's enormously refreshing to see a character point out how ridiculous the idea of marriage after a few hours is. It's in a way satirical of the common Disney love stories, as well loved as they may be.
The characterization is also interesting. Especially for a children's movie. Characters like Elsa and Hans are fully fleshed out instead of being the flat one-sided characters in these types of movies. They are conflicted, they have choices to make, and they struggle with those choices. There are broad shades of gray that they all play to. It's a bit darker with higher stakes, but it certainly has enough humor and cute Disney moments to appeal to a broad range.
The vocal performances are pretty vibrant. People like Kristen Bell,
So to sum it up, Frozen is a worth a look. It's not going to be my favorite animated film, or musical, but it's got a lot of substance to it. It really depends on if the story is your cup of tea.
B+
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