Review of Frozen (2013) by Jack F — 16 Jan 2015

It took some time, but I finally got around to seeing this one, and I think the massive hype surrounding it may have had an effect on me. Don't get me wrong; I did enjoy "Frozen" and I'd recommend seeing it, but people talked this one up something fierce, and when you consider that its predecessor was the delightful "Wreck-It Ralph," well, my expectations were pretty high. And "Frozen" didn't really meet them.

Unlike "Ralph," a unique movie that has gotten better with each subsequent viewing, "Frozen" is your standard Disney fare, the type of story they've told over and over again. It's a tale of princesses, and true love, and anthropomorphic animals, and comic relief side characters, and extravagant musical numbers, etc. There's really nothing wrong with this; indeed, this was the Disney brand's bread-and-butter for years. But it doesn't have the same multigenerational appeal as a film like "Wreck-It Ralph." That's not to say adults can't or won't enjoy "Frozen" (as I said above, I did enjoy it); but the enjoyment, for me anyway, was far more fleeting. I enjoyed it as I watched it, but didn't give it much thought when it was over and, unlike "Ralph," I don't really have any real desire to see it again (though seeing as I have an infant child, that's probably going to be unavoidable).

I don't mean to make this sound like a negative review, because "Frozen" is absolutely worth seeing, especially if you have children. The animation is gorgeous, the voice cast is superb, and the musical numbers are vibrant and engaging (though I still don't understand the massive fuss over "Let It Go," which isn't even the best song in the movie). And make no mistake about it, there are certainly much worse children's movies out there. When Disney's name is at the top, you know that, at the very least, adults can enjoy it and not feel like their intelligence has been insulted.

At its core, "Frozen" is a fairy tale centering around two sisters: perky, naïve Princess Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) and the solemn, secretive Queen Elsa (voiced by Adele Dazeem...oh wait, I mean Idina Menzel). Elsa has good reason to be secretive, as she was somehow born with the ability to conjure snow and ice out of thin air. When she gets overly emotional, she has a hard time controlling this power, and during an outburst by her sister, she accidentally reveals her gift/curse to the entire kingdom. Shunned as a witch, she retreats into the mountains and, angered by her treatment at the hands of the people, encases the kingdom in a world of winter. Anna decides to find her and try to convince her to end the wintry reign; accompanying her is an iceman named Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff), who has an annoying habit of talking to his pet reindeer and then making the reindeer talk back, and a living snowman named Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad).

The bulk of the movie involves Anna's quest into the winter wonderland and, as you might expect, the visuals are astounding. Elsa creates an ice castle that is nothing short of exquisite; I was reminded of the ice bar/hotel from the James Bond film "Die Another Day." I also loved the attention to detail to such things as the ice monster Elsa creates to guard her castle. What could have been a simple creation is actually an elaborately designed beast that is quite fearsome (yet not bad enough to scare the kiddies, so don't worry about that).

And though the story is a bit lacking in my eyes, the characters are still a lot of fun, particularly Olaf. He's your standard Disney movie sidekick, basically there for comic relief, and there's no real explanation as to why or how he's alive, but Gad's charming voice work and the wonderful animation (as a snowman, he has a hard time keeping himself together-"Watch out for my butt!") make him quite memorable.

I think I just wanted/expected another "Wreck-It Ralph." Whereas that film was transcendent, "Frozen" feels a lot more routine. Some of this may be by design, as "Ralph" had an aspect to it that was built in to appeal to adults, or at least people who played video games, particularly old-school ones. "Frozen" is geared more for younger audiences. This is totally fine, but as I've often said, the best children's films ("Ralph" and most of the Pixar offerings) are the ones that have that broad, multigenerational appeal. These are the films that take chances; "Frozen" plays it a bit too safe. A good example of this: the movie misses a chance to have a meaningful discussion about relationships with the character of Prince Hans (voiced by Santino Fontana), instead opting for an easy-way-out solution. Compare this with, say, the last 10 minutes or so of "Monsters University.".

This is really kind of a fool's errand as I'm comparing different films, but it's just my take. "Frozen" is worth seeing. To me, it's just not really worth re-living.