"Frozen" is Walt Disney’s latest animated movie, loosely based on Christian Andersen’s "The Snow Queen." This spin-off follows two Scandinavian sisters: Elsa and Anna, princesses of Arendelle. The eldest of the two, Elsa (voiced by Broadway performer Idina Menzel), is born with magic powers—the ability to conjure up ice and snow. However, her gift becomes a curse as she grows older and loses control of when or what she freezes. To protect her sister from any harm, Elsa isolates herself, abruptly ending the close friendship the girls had when they were young. It’s heartbreaking to watch Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) reach out to her sister and get shut down. Come Elsa’s coronation, the sisters are almost strangers. A fight that night causes Elsa to run away from her kingdom, unknowingly freezing the whole land and sea on her way out.
At the top of a mountain peak, Elsa builds a spectacular, crystallized ice palace for herself, while performing an uplifting, goosebump-inducing number, “Let it Go.” The song, which might easily become a classic, is written by established songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez; Demi Lovato’s already made a cover of it. Elsa sheds her old dress for a sparkling light blue gown, letting down her white-blonde hair literally and figuratively. Meanwhile, on her quest to get her sister back, Anna enlists the help of Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), a rough and clumsy ice seller, and his reindeer Sven. Along the way they meet Olaf (Josh Gad from "Book of Mormon"), a talking snowman who had kids in the audience squealing with laughter. In a clever musical number, he explains how much he’d enjoy the summertime. (“Someone should tell him,” Kristoff declares). Surprisingly, I never got annoyed with Olaf as I had expected to.
"Frozen" will serve as a reminder to Pixar that Disney is still a force to be reckoned with. The movie has the happy ending you’ll expect—but it doesn’t quite take the route you might predict. It’s very much a tale that’s of-the-moment. “You’re gorgeous—wait, what?” Anna word vomits when she meets the charming Prince Han. Forbes writer Scott Mendelson notes that Elsa’s central issue parallels coming out of the closet, and that the film comments on contradictory standards of feminity. Indeed, Anna is one of the strongest, funniest Disney princesses I’ve seen.
Grade: A-
Rating & Runtime: PG, 108 mins
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