Frozen (2013)

Frozen (2013)

7/10

Starring the voice of

Kristen Bell

Idina Menzel

Jonathan Groff

Josh Gad

Santino Fontana

Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

I grew up on Disney musical classics, and I loved them all. The songs were easy to sing along to and super catchy. As time passed, we all got older, and Disney kind of lost its grasp on the whole musical thing. They started producing non-musical animations, some of which struggled at the box office.
Then along came Tangled, which, to me, wasn’t as great as the old classics, but it did bring back some of that musical feel we were used to. Disney dared to make a musical again, and it was well-received and financially successful. So, Disney Studios dusted off their shelves, found this long-awaited project, started production, and the rest is history.

Frozen is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s book The Snow Queen, but with the dark setting removed and family-friendly fun added. When the music started, I didn’t feel the urge to skip it—it was fun to listen to. So, I sat there and enjoyed every bit of it.
The animation was simply pleasant. The light effects on the ice and the snow generated by Elsa were both fascinating and sad, just as the story intended.

I won’t say something like, “Frozen will keep you guessing,” because has familiar Disney tropes, and it is sometimes predictable, but it will keep you glued as the events unfold. You’ll be curious to see how it all ends, and that curiosity builds as more things are revealed. For that, I applaud the writers.

The story follows a young princess named Elsa, who has the ability to create snow and ice. One night, while playing with her sister Anna, Elsa accidentally freezes her. Their parents seek help from trolls, who heal Anna and remove her memory of Elsa’s powers.
To keep Elsa’s abilities a secret and to prevent her from hurting anyone again, the royal family isolates themselves from the world. But after the king and queen die, Elsa and Anna emerge from the castle as Elsa is set to be crowned queen.
The coronation turns the kingdom into a winter wasteland, prompting Elsa to run away. Anna then sets out to find her sister and stop the never-ending winter.

The voice acting was excellent, done with enough chemistry to draw you into the animation. The pacing can feel uneven at times, especially during the slower middle sections, and at times the singing just distracts from the story itself, making those sections seem like a drag. This is a movie I’d enjoy seeing again, and one you can take your family to watch. Plus, the way it is making waves and the money it is set to make in the box office, I can be sure Disney is already working on a sequel.