It's finally December, and all the children (and adults) who have waited for Frozen 2 to pick up and continue the adventures of Anna and Elsa are finally beind rewarded.
Naturally, this is the perfect time for Disney As Adults to take a look back at the prequel and see how the first movie holds up now that it is no longer surrounded by so much hype. Six years after Frozen's release many fans still claim that it is one of the best - if not the best Disney film that has come out in many years. Let's see what we think about that.
As we mentioned in the last installment, director Quentin Tarantino recently made the comments that fellow Disney princess tale Tangled is a better movie than Frozen. We decided to take on the task of deciding that for ourselves.
The music of Frozen is probably one of the first thing people associate with the movie, especially considering that one song was so popular. What was it again?
Oh yeah. Well, we can't deny it's a good song, and the good thing about reviewing these movies outside of when they were released is that the song hasn't been overplayed recently and as an audience, we can focus on the plot without being taken out of the story by an annoying musical number.
Famed composer Christophe Beck lent his musical talents to score the film, with Idina Menzel of
Wicked fame signing on to voice the ice queen herself, Elsa. Kristen Bell holds her own in the duets and the songs, but the strong vocals from Mendel are what carry any song they feature in together.
Anna and Elsa are two sisters who are the opposite - the first is naive and looking to be swept off her feet by anyone willing to show her attention in an attempt to make up for the love she never got from her sister, and the other is a shut-in with an ice cold heart and dependancy on no one.
The obviously villainous Prince Hans is a see through villain, but only for someone with a developed mind for cinema. Children watching the film will have no clue that the 13th man in line for his own kingdom is playing Anna to get his hands on hers.
After a plot escalation caused by an unreasonable action - Anna accidentally ripping off Elsa's glove because she wants to marry the first guy she meets, the first day she meets him and subsequently causing the Queen to plunge Arrendelle into an icy storm that no one can stop.
The adventure truly begins as Anna heads out to bring her sister home - teaming up with unlikely allies as she goes. The most memorable of these is Olaf, a snowman who was brought to life by Elsa.
Quick side note: as Elsa builds Olaf in the beginning as a child, she says "Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs." This reverberates through his personality and desires when Anna meets the snowman later in her quest to save her sister.
Josh Gad is shockingly wonderful as the ironic snowman who's heart's desire is to see Summer, as he gladly sings about in his debut song
In Summer which kids are likely to love. The character injects much needed humor in what could be an otherwise dismal tale, and even, at times, a surprising amount of heart.
We learn once again that Elsa has the power to create life when her sister finally catches up with her and she creates an Abominable Snowman to chase them away. This inspires the thought: how much life can Elsa create and what is the limit to that power? That is likely a plot thread that is being explored in the sequel, if not another installment down the road.
The animation is brilliant in this film, which is great because it doesn't hold back when it comes to Elsa's ice powers, empowering the Queen to create an entire Ice Kingdom for herself to hide away in isolation in. Her powers are extraordinary and she's definitely a force to be reckoned with - something Olaf warns in a bit of a dark moment.
The impaled snowman is cute and definitely a funny moment for the kids, but thinking about it, this is an expression of what Elsa is capable of - and exactly the reason the people fear her. Something children won't be thinking of while they're singing, it's a good piece of plot for parents to catch.
The sisters deliver a powerful musical number called
For The First Time In Forever, both in the beginning of the movie and then again later on when they reunite for the first time. This song is strong both times, not just because it's catchy but also because it explores both of the film's characters through its lyrics - showing their drastic contrasts simultaneously. It comes together perfectly.
Something I can't help but wonder here: if Elsa can cause an entire storm without knowing it, and Anna and Elsa's parents' - the prior King and Queen of Arrendelle - were lost at sea in a storm... I mean, there's definite potential there, and sure, kids likely won't think that Elsa could have been the cause of her parents' disappearance, but it is certainly something for adults to mull over and possibly a plot thread we will see explored in the future as well.
When we meet the Trolls, also known as Kristoff and Svens family - the movie lightens up again and delivers another fun musical number,
A Bit Of A Fixer Upper, in which the Trolls try to set Princess Anna up with their loving Sven. It's during their song that we finally learn more about Sven. It's a perfect blend of character introduction and fun music.
Featuring members of the entire Troll family, young and old, it's a humorous piece which is also interesting because it picks on the male protagonist of the movie unlike the usual songs that put down the princesses that we've been noticing a pattern of.
The movie finally comes together in a climax that we won't ruin for you - but it's definitely a movie worth a watch if you've never seen it. It's interesting through and through and doesn't fizz out - with an ending that is likely to surprise children and leave families smiliing this holiday season.
Although time's passing seems to demand that audiences crave more and more distasteful humor and more adult rated entertainment, Disney proves that they are still able to deliver a wholesome tale worth watching.
In a surprising turn of events, our rating of
Frozen wound up matching that of
Tangled, and they both received four stars. However, the music of
Frozen was more memorable and many of the songs were infinitely superior, surely helped by the vocal talents of Idina Menzel. This gives Elsa's story a slight edge over Rapunzel's tale in our book. What do you think?
Fearless optimist Anna teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven in an epic journey to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, will the trio find Elsa in time to save Arendelle?
Frozen is now streaming on Disney+.