Frozen: Movie Review

“Frozen” is the latest animated offering from Disney and it shares quite a bit in common with 2010’s “Tangled”, which is not a bad thing.  Both films are about princesses who spent their chilhood locked away from the outside world. When they do leave their homes for the first time, they team up with young men who they eventually fall in love with. Aside from a few plot points, they are extremely similar.  Oh and did I mention that they are both musicals?

Princess Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) and her younger sister Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) were nearly-inseperable as children, until the day that Elsa’s ability to freeze things around her almost took her siblings life.  Afraid for the lives of their young girls, the King and Queen decided to close off the castle from the rest of the city and keep their daughters within the walls of their home.  Thanks to the help of magical trolls, Anna’s memory of her sister’s power has been erased from her mind.  Elsa, afraid of hurting her sister again, decides to shut Anna out completely.  That is until Elsa slips up by exposing her powers at a party and then runs away, but not before causing a permanent winter that is disastrous to her people and their land.

Refusing to let her sister go, Anna heads out on a journey to find her sister and bring her home.  While on the hunt for Elsa, Anna meets Kristoff (voices by Jonathan Groff) and his trusted reindeer named Sven. Even though they can’t stand each other in the beginning, we all know they are destined to fall in love.  Along for the ride is a living snowman named Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad) who provides much of the film’s more comical moments, including one awesomely hilarious song about how he can’t wait for summer.  “Frozen” has a handful of great musical numbers, but not all of them are memorable.  The songs are what keeps it from being on the same level as “Tangled”. 

The story about the two sisters is very touching and it is a dynamic that we do not see often in films like this.  We feel for Anna’s pain, not knowing why her sister will not talk to her (before she eventually finds out why).  “Frozen” has a whole lot to offer and I am sure families will flock to it this holiday season.  There isn’t anything going up against it.  Disney has a winner here.

By: Marc Ferman