Review of Olaf's Frozen Adventure (2017) by Adrian R — 24 Nov 2017

Remember when Pixar movies had funny shorts (made by talented up-and-comers of the company) as a warm-up act? Well, those days may be over.

If you go to see COCO, which is is a gorgeous charmer of a movie that deserves to be named among the studio's best, you will first be subjected to a bloated TV special set in the FROZEN universe. At a whopping 21 minutes, there's really no way it couldn't wear out its welcome, but it does so in record time. It is overlong. It is uninspired. It is strangely self-aggrandizing (the best holiday tradition is, we learn, basically FROZEN!). But most importantly it is exhausting. So brace yourself, show up late, or just make sure to bring some friends to roll your eyes with as this shameless marketing imposition breaks into its third finale song...

We get it, Disney! You have another Frozen movie coming down the slalom! We're not going to forget! When you unleash the juggernaut sequel in 2019, we'll all be there! But please, we don't need another half-baked placeholder. Step off, mouse! COCO deserved better than this.

The Pixar shorts of old were an amuse-bouche. Olaf's quest is a cold, bland first course that compliments nothing that comes after it.