Frozen:
****/*****, or 8/10
Say
what you will about conservative Disney, there is some form of
modernization in progress in that studio. You might even label it a
feminist wave of sorts. Frozen marks Disney's first feature
length animated film (co-)directed by a woman and only the second
whose screenplay was written by such a creature. Not counting Pixar,
since then it would have to contend with Brave, a movie where
the girl power backfired, as did the quality of the piece as a whole.
And while Frozen largely stays within the trite-and-true
boundaries we've come to expect from Disney's fairy tale movies,
including princesses, charming princes, faraway lands, comedic
(animal) sidekicks and plenty of catchy songs, enough of such
regularly exploited material is directionally changed to make the
film feel as fresh and cool as the imagery the title inspires.
Jennifer Lee's directorial debut introduces not one, but two
beautiful young princesses, Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) and her
younger sister Anna (Kristen Bell), heirs to the kingdom of
Arendelle. Both are kind, independent and energetic spirits, but the
older girl carries a terrible secret: she's basically a mutant with
the power to control ice and snow, except she doesn't control it at
all, since her fear to wield it controls her instead. She has cause
to be afraid of her powers, as she nearly killed Anna at play as a
child. Her parents tried to keep her out of harm's way by largely
keeping her confined to her chambers, much to the dismay of her
sister, who had her injury and memory of the incident erased by a
nice wizard troll (this is a work of fantasy, need I say more?).
After the death of their parents and the coming-of-age of the elder
sister, a coronation takes place where Elsa is crowned queen and
where Anna – hilariously – meets her apparent groom-to-be, the
latter event uterly disrupting the former as Elsa unwittingly gets
pushed so far she sparks an endless winter that covers the entire
kingdom in frost. Fleeing the palace to built her own on a high
mountain precipice where she finally starts to accept her powers in
her moments of isolation, Anna is determined to bring back her sister
and get her to undo her unintentional damage to the realm, which
leaves her land vulnerable to the shady ambition of certain visiting
foreign dignitaries. Accompanied by a simple but reliable young
backwoods man named Kristoff, his carrot obsessed reindeer Sven and a
wacky living snowman named Olaf, Anna sets out on a tough voyage to
reunite with her wayward sister and bring summer back to Arendelle.
And, in typical Disney fashion, to discover True Love in the process.
But not in the usual sense of old.
Frozen
proves a worthy successor to the similarly themed, equally wonderful
Tangled (2010), which also re-established Disney's formidable
talent to craft charming, adventurous and romantic fantasy films for
all ages after over a decade of creative drought, as well as updating
its female characters to the 21st century, a time in which
the main focus of a woman is no longer a man to marry (but also not
excluding the possibility as not to upset the traditionalists in the
audience). Frozen introduces two solid female characters who
care first and foremost about eachother, though one of them does not
allow herself to show said fact. Both women are sizzling with
recognizable character flaws and strengths, familiar emotional family
conflict and the talent to burst into song, so despite their
ultimately antagonistic nature (though the traditional 'good versus
bad' set-up is carefully avoided in their strained relationship), you
root for them and their sibling affection both to survive against all
odds. Simultaneously, while the sterotypical good looking prince to
wed is not an image to be discarded, it develops into quite another
direction than is usual, and the expected notion of cheesy True Love
messages doesn't end up covering the usual sexual connection between
boy and girl. The voice cast delivers impeccable acting and shares an
audible chemistry, standout performances including a hilarious
Scandinavian tradesman (jå!) and Olaf, the token sidekick, who is
not nearly as irritating as he could have been and actually warms
everybody's heart with his simple but unattainable desire. Similarly
enjoyable are the clan of stone trolls, Kristoff's surrogate family,
a group of Smurfesque creatures with the ability to succesfully
camouflage themselves as rocks, and who unfortunately don't nearly
have as much screen time or background exploration as we would have
liked. And if you're afraid the reindeer talks (since animals with
the ability to speak are an oft dreaded Disney staple still), fear
not: his master does so for him to witty, almost self-reflective
results. The songs are a welcome return to tradition; though for a
moment at the start of the film they seem to comprise most of the
dialogue, better balance to the music is applied later on. Apart from
pleasing the aural senses, Frozen offers a delightful visual
feast as well with its wondrous winter landscapes and ever present
snow motifs, but considering the darkness of many scenes coupled with
the obligatory 3D effect, not all the imagery ends up looking as
amazing as it could have been. However, many of the 3D shots in the
lighter scenes hit their mark, especially those involving snow and
icicles, so seeing the 2D version instead isn't wholly recommended
either.
In
a time where Pixar is increasingly going down the drain creatively
because of its lack of inspiration and its current focus on prequels
and sequels, a thoroughly wonderful and ideologically original pure
Disney film like Frozen is a welcome sight. Even the coolest
minds and the coldest hearts will find it hard not to melt due to
this film's built-in warmth, and with the dominant motif of snow and
ice, Frozen proves to be a perfect Holiday movie for old and
young alike.
