There will be spoilers in this review so if by some miracle you haven’t seen the movie stop reading and watch it. (I personally don’t care about spoilers but to some that is a big deal)
Here we go! The big controversial post . It was so big, it seems you either love it or hate it, and I am on the loving it side! Let’s get cold and talk some FROZEN!
Make sure to look at my initial review after seeing it in 2013. At the time I thought all the songs ran together like a Sondheim musical without a standout cabaret like number. Boy was I wrong on that one!
But I also said in my review
“It is worth your money and will be an experience that will stick with them forever just like the princess movies stuck with me. Plus, these are strong, independent women who come to their own rescue without the need of Prince Charming. Love that.”
I still like that. I think in many ways Frozen is the new Little Mermaid. It’s about a girl who is told by her parents she has to live a certain way, a way that isn’t right for her. She learns through the movie to be herself and that her parents were wrong. The only difference is Ariel is never led to believe her ambitions will hurt anyone but herself. They do end up hurting other people, but Ariel is never fearful of that. From the get-go Elsa almost kills her sister and the fear that could happen again causes her to be paralyzed into not living her life. In a way she is brainwashed into believing she is wrong and bad. Ariel is rebelling but Elsa cannot rebel because people will die.
But the appeal in the characters of Ariel and Elsa is similar. Both feel uncomfortable in their own skin and both break free through the course of their movies. They both have freedom anthem songs and they both greatly appeal to young girls for that reason.
Before writing this post I asked my twitter and facebook friends why their daughters liked Frozen. Some of the responses:
“My 11 year old loves the new songs, the twist they put on Hans and when Elsa saved Anna by unfreezing her with the power of love”
Another says
“My son loves Sven. He is 3. Whenever he sees a moose or cow anywhere he will say ”There’s Sven”
Another
“My oldest 5 says she likes the movie because the princesses are the good guys…she likes how they win”
So that gives you an idea of some of the appeal to youngsters.
Because I’ve seen this reaction from the kids in my life it has seriously bummed me out to see the negative backlash around Frozen. It makes me sad because I was allowed to love The Little Mermaid and nobody said I was stupid or it was awful. I had never even heard of anyone not liking Little Mermaid till a few years ago. It all goes back to my Content, Content, Content post. If you don’t care for it fine but do not make little girls feel badly because they do like it. Youtube is especially brutal. Every video of little girls singing Let It Go has so many hateful comments. Get a life people.
I’ve felt very defensive of the movie because of these girls and boys who love it. So, in the comment section if you hate it please try to keep the discourse to a respectful level as we have done so far on the blog. I will try to let you guys discuss and not get too involved.
The Production-
On the blu-ray there is a cool featurette about the history of The Snow Queen at Disney. Evidently in 1940 there was a plan to make a package film of the works of Hans Christen Andersen but it was eventually scrapped.
Evidently pitches for The Snow Queen happened after The Little Mermaid in the 90s and again in 2002 by exec Harvey Fierstein when it was rejected by the studio.
When John Lasseter was made CCO after the purchase of Pixar by Disney he assigned Chris Buck of Tarzan fame to begin working on the Snow Queen. Buck decided:
“he wanted to do something different on the definition of love”
Josh Gad was evidently involved early on when it was closer to the original story but in 2010 the concept was rejected again.
After the success of Tangled, they picked up the project again and in December 2011 Disney announced Frozen and gave themselves under 2 years to complete. Quite the ambitious project but I guess with so much groundwork being done on story and ideas that helped.
Immediately song writers for Avenue Q, Kristen Anderson- Lopez and Robert Lopez, were brought on board and the idea of the ‘frozen heart’ was developed with the songs.
They had a challenge of creating a fairytale movie without a traditional villain. Pixar’s Brave tried to do this but much less successfully. We had to always keep our heart open to Elsa. Buck said of writing “That was a concept and the phrase…an act of true love will thaw a frozen heart”
Jennifer Lee from Wreck-it Ralph was brought in as co-director and she said “Anna was going to save Elsa. We didn’t know how or why?” Lee then went on to rewrite the script again and with only 17 months left till it’s release. (Pretty amazing what they pulled off).
I guess in the original script Elsa was in fact more ‘evil from the start’ and didn’t want Anna to get back to Hans. Anna was also more brooding and resentful about her spot as the second daughter.
Then the Lopez’s wrote Let it Go and the song was so powerful they rewrote the script again with Elsa as a more nuanced character.
“Forget villain. Just what it would feel like. And this concept of letting out who she is[,] that she’s kept to herself for so long[,] and she’s alone and free, but then the sadness of the fact that the last moment is she’s alone..”
Then they decided to switch things up again and make Hans duplicitous and a sociopath type character. This had certainly never been done with Disney. Every character had been pretty obviously bad from the start even if the characters don’t see it such as Clayton in Tarzan or Radcliffe in Pocahontas.
2012 they got the voice talent on board and went with Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, and Broadway superstar Idina Menzel. In my opinion Frozen has the best singers in a Disney musical bar none.
That’s only a handful of the details out there. They did amazing things with the set designs, backdrops, story etc. I personally find them all fascinating but most importantly there is a definite sense of teamwork with Frozen because it was created under such time constraints all facets were working together at the same time. Beauty and the Beast was very similar.
And all that teamwork produced something very special. Something a lot of people responded to in a way a movie hadn’t done in a long time. With on demand and high def the days of people going to movies 12+ times were kind of passed us but Frozen had that kind of success and it made over a billion dollars. It stayed in the top 10 until March which was the same time it was released on DVD!
A Storybook-
I thought it would be fun to do something different for the story portion. I wanted to tell you about the story but also explain why it was different and why people responded to it. (I’ve been thinking about this review the whole time writing the blog). I was at Costco and found this ‘Busy Book’ and I think it does a good job explaining each of the character’s appeal, story and why they are different. 
ELSA
First we have Elsa
That sums up Elsa pretty well. Worried she will do harm she hides her powers and then runs away causing the freeze.
ANNA-
Then there is Anna
Anna really is all of the adjectives loving, energetic, fearless optimist. She is a really complex character who is stupid yet brave and combined with Elsa they are a great team. She also has great romantic comedy banter with Hans at the beginning and Kristoff as they search for Elsa.
OLAF-
Olaf is our fun snowman who I think is in the movie just the right amount to remain funny.
Olaf is big-hearted and willing to sacrifice himself for his friends. A terrific character.
KRISTOFF-
Anna meets Kristoff and he is not a fan of hers at first. They have a lovely romantic banter. He is a simple guy and wants to sell his ice in peace.
Kristoff is the pleasant side of Elsa. Kind of the character that is allowed to be who he is and isn’t stymied by his parents (or trolls!). He prefers to be alone but also has a ‘very kind heart’. I love Kristoff. He will tell you what he thinks even if you don’t want to hear it. Love that.
SVEN-
Then we have Kristoff’s friend Sven who I am so glad they did not make him a talking reindeer.
Sven could have been a throw-away character but they give him a lot of humor and heart.
HANS-
Finally we have our villain who again doesn’t start as a villain, Hans
THE SONGS and more Story
Let’s talk for a second about the songs, which I LOVE!
We start out with a very strong introductory song called Heart and it introduces us to the theme of ice and a frozen heart. The choral work is beautiful. Reminds me a lot of The Lion King intro or Hunchback of Notre Dame choral work.
We then get our introduction to Anna and Elsa. This involves Elsa hurts Anna with her magic winter powers. The trolls tell the family that they must shut magic out and hide it for everyone’s safety and until she can control it.
This is a bit of a plothole because why not explain to the family that love is the antidote? Surely she could work on that instead of being just shut in? But I put that along with Gothel telling Rapunzel her actual birthday or the Beast being 11 when the spell was cast. Somethings have to be in order for the plot to start, so not a major stumbling block for me.
Anyway, Elsa shuts Anna out because her parents tell her to. We then get a great song of storytelling and character development with Do You Want to Build a Snowman. The girls parents die and all along Elsa follows orders and keeps away from her sister to keep Anna safe.
The day for Elsa’s coronation comes and Anna is excited to finally be opening the doors. Elsa is naturally nervous. So we get a song called For the First Time. Kristen Bell is wonderful in this song.
The ball comes and Anna meets Hans and falls in love with him and they sing a very funny song- very well sung by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana. It pokes fun at the instant love tropes used in many previous Disney movies.
Anna and Hans ask Elsa for her blessing and she refuses causing them to fight and her powers are revealed. Elsa runs away and Anna goes after her.
Elsa realizes now everyone knows she might as well Let it Go! I don’t know if any of you have ever had a secret and then it is finally out but I have and it feels great. It’s out there and you can be you!
Anna meets Kristoff and Sven and together they meet Olaf Elsa’s snowman creation. He is a wonderful character and in the movie just enough to not get annoying. His song is well done by Josh Gad. Turns out he dreams of summer.
Anna and Elsa meet but Anna is unable to convince her to come back and Elsa doesn’t want to because she can’t face all the people and doesn’t know how to bring back summer. In an accident she strikes Anna in the heart and tells her to leave. This is all very exciting!
In probably the weakest section Kristoff takes Anna to meet his parents (although Olaf is very funny in these scenes). Turns out he was raised by the trolls from the beginning of the picture and they want Anna to fall in love with their fixer upper.
It’s not the best song but I don’t hate it and it is well sung by Broadway veteran Maia Wilson. I can certainly think of comic relief songs that are far worse.
The trolls tell Anna she must have an act of true love to reverse the spell. They all assume it must be a kiss and head back to find Hans. Unfortunately he is a true villain and has captured Elsa and refuses to kiss Anna, in an attempt to claim her throne.
I don’t think Disney has ever had a villain who has been so duplicitous. It is very effective and genuinely surprised me. I thought Hans was going to be a match for Elsa but no.
Finally we get our ending where Anna is frozen and Elsa devastated but it turns out her love for Anna is the act needed to break the magic.
To me the ending was just about perfect.
Some claim this is ‘false feminism’ but I disagree. The point of Frozen was not to make a feminist picture. It was to show a different type of love. Whether it’s the love of friendship Olaf shows, the loyalty Kristoff shows or the sisterly love between Elsa and Anna the film does an excellent example of showing the power of each kind of love. It’s not trying to be a female empowerment film. It could have as easily been about two brothers loving each other.
The fact that some people cheered it for not having a Prince Charming moment does not mean that was the main point of the ending. The filmmakers are not responsible for every person’s response. They were trying to make a movie about different types of love. Whether that is especially feminist or not is up for debate. I thought it was refreshing and moving. Most of the love in my life has been through friendship and I have always been very close to my 3 sisters so I related to the emotion very well.
Movie Review/Conclusion-
I watched Frozen every day this week, so 4 times before writing this review. I have a high tolerance for repetition. If I like it, I like it on the 100th airing as much as on the 1st. Seriously it does not damper from over-exposure like it does for others. I don’t know why but that’s just the way I am. So for me, the popularity of Frozen has no effect in dampening my enthusiasm.
I love it’s story of a girl who is told she can’t be who she is, that she is dangerous, and then her eyes become open and she becomes empowered. It is the Little Mermaid for girls of today and I love seeing that. I love young girls have an anthem in Let it Go like I had Part of Your World. That’s a great thing.
I think the story is a lot of fun. I love the ending. I totally buy them focusing on a new type of love that we haven’t seen in a Disney movie. Whether it is feminist or not I don’t really care. It’s the love of sisters and I certainly relate to that. I love the surprise in the villain, which I think is very difficult to do in a fairy tale. Movies like Treasure Planet look beautiful but fail to surprise me. Frozen did just that.
I think the comic relief is in just enough and there is real heart to it as opposed to say Trashing the Camp segments of Tarzan which are much more grating than In Summer or Fixer Upper. All the singing is the best in any Disney film. It really elevates even so-so numbers.
I loved the world they created. Elsa’s castle is gorgeous. The costumes and character designs look great. Even Elsa’s hair is cool. Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Olaf aren’t stock characters but have nuances we haven’t seen in a Disney film. Kristoff is kind of a loner and glad to be so which is refreshing. Anna is very interesting and complex. She is naive, silly, impetuous, free spirit but in a realistic, sweet way. She is allowed to make mistakes in the script and can even be sarcastic.
Elsa is this brainwashed girl who grows throughout the film. She is a villain for a bit but you always like her so she’s not the villain. It is very well written. Most Disney movies have one heroine and I liked there are 2 and together Anna and Elsa balance themselves out well.
Like I said, I know there is tons of backlash but this is my blog and my opinion and I love Frozen. I think it is a terrific movie with great characters, songs, story and animation. I am sure there will be tons of people who feel differently and please share but remember to be respectful and keep the language clean. I worked really hard on this post so please actually read my thoughts before responding.
Thanks and GO FROZEN!!!
Overall Grade/Conclusion- A+
I don’t love the film, but I do like it.
Cool. I’m glad you liked it.
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who “hated” it, per se.
I actually haven’t in real life but the trolls are brutal on it. Just online, especially youtube. I’ve seen posts where they aren’t even talking about Frozen and they spend the whole time in the comments going on and on about how horrible it is. Even when I really didn’t like something I tried to recognize a few good things. I think sometimes the fangs come out online. But you are right in real life everyone I know really likes it or is a little tired of it but likes it.
Good review. Some people have compared Frozen to The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast as being the new peak for Disney in this re-Renaissance period, but I think it bears much more similarity to The Little Mermaid. Stellar soundtrack, big box office hit, brings Disney to the forefront of pop-culture, regains the general public’s interest in Disney animation. I never thought about Elsa and Ariel being very similar, but now that you bring it up, I guess they both sing about the same thing. Glad we’re on the same page.
Me too! Ariel and Elsa both satisfy this need on a lot of children that they can be different than their parents and that is ok. I certainly needed that message and I think a lot of girls and boys do.
It really is a special film! Glad you enjoy it too.
I agree that it’s a great movie. I’m actually not a huge fan of Idina Menzel. She seemed like an odd choice for Elsa to me. For some reason I didn’t mind her speaking parts, but I’m just really not a fan of the broadway singing style. Idina is a belter, and that just grates on me. While all of the music would be considered “broadway style”, none of the other singers are belters like that so I find their singing more pleasant. I’m not in love with the song Let it Go, but I’m not sure how much of that is the song itself and how much of it is Idina. Overall I was a bit disappointed with the music, but I agree that some of the vocal performances are great, and many of the songs have grown on me since my first viewing. I wish the quality of song writing had been as high as in Tangled. Would have been amazing with the superior vocal performances of Frozen.
That makes sense. I know a lot of people who don’t care for the belt and Idina is the queen of the belt. In fact, my grandma always asks me why I am singing like that when I sing belt style.
This was an amazing review. I give this an A+ too. Sadly, my sister Nikki didn’t like this film even a little bit, though. 🙁 🙁 🙁 Oh well! Everything was great from this music to the visuals, to even great characters. Honestly, though, I agree with those who say that this film is Lion King and Beauty & The Beast of today. I’d say Princess & The Frog was Little Mermaid of today. But that’s at least me. Now, you just have Big Bero 6 in the next three weeks or more, eh?
Thank you so much! It was tough to write because I didn’t want to feel defensive. I really don’t care if people don’t like it but when they deride or criticize others who do that bums me out. I’m surprised your sister didn’t like it but luckily there’s plenty of other Disney films to enjoy together. I think some people will probably come back to it in a few years and realize it was the hype not the movie itself they didn’t like.
As far as the plans for the blog, I am definitely reviewing Big Hero 6 and the next few weeks plan on posting lists and thoughts . I just posted my favorite villains and yesterday my complete ranking 1 to 53.
I’d like to keep the blog going and am open to suggestions. Some ideas I’ve had are-
Apocrypha reviews- meaning films not official Canon but really good like Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks etc.
Studio Ghibli, Pixar could be cool but I love them all so much I’m wondering how interesting they’d be to read? .
Jim Henson Studio movies and TV. That would certainly have variety and be a lot of fun.
Let me know if you have anything, even just an individual film, you’d like me to review and I’d be happy to do it.
Aside from Big Hero 6 I will be taking a break for most of November because of my involvement in Nanowrimo challenge (National Novel Writing Month). I write a 50,000 word novel in one month. Hopefully all these stories I’ve been watching will help inspire me!
That’s awesome! Just curious, what if I suggested to you a Don Bluth or Dreamworks marathon? Anyway, again, I’m glad you like this film as much as most other people.
I’ve thought of both but I really don’t like the Shrek movies so the idea of watching 4 doesn’t excite me and there are so many bad Don Bluth movies. If I could just watch the beginning one’s I’d be in.
Thanks for reading and will consider it. Definitely will keep the blog in play with something.
Well, as far as the Don Bluth films go, what if I suggested that you review Secret of Nimh through All Dogs Go To Heaven, skip Rock-A-Doodle through Pebble & The Penguin, and then at least review the last two films Titan A.E. and Anastasia? Then, as far as Dreamworks films go, how about reviewing all four of the hand-drawn ones and then reviewing most of at least the good ones and maybe even a couple or few of the bad ones?
I’d be up for that. What do you think of the idea of reviewing Jim Henson movies (Muppets, Dark Crystal etc)?
I’m definitely up for that. Oh, and I guess there are actually five hand-drawn animated DreamWorks films if you count the direct-to-video prequel “Joseph: King Of Dreams.” My bad!
I like King of Dreams so would probably be up for watching that. Sad the hand drawn are so scarce these days.
Yes, it is tragic that hand-drawn is scarce these days. Anyway yes, I enjoyed Joseph: King of Dreams too. I actually watched it on Netflix a couple weeks ago and I’m proud to say that it’s better than I remembered. You know, it’s interesting, but you know how in Wikipedia, they have the critical reception portion where it mentions what some critics have to say about a film? Well, I was reading the critical reception section for Joseph: King of Dreams and here’s what one of them had to say, and I likely quote, “it puts all the Disney direct-to-video sequels to shame.” I don’t know about you, but I actually happen to agree because, while I definitely do at least like the Aladdin sequels, the second Lady & The Tramp, and maybe even the second Little Mermaid and Lion King to a degree, I would say that I like King Of Dreams better than all of those combined. But I’d be curious to hear your thoughts regarding that.
I’d agree! I love its song Better than I
Yes, me too! I also like the reprise of the song Bloom when Asenath is singing that one.
This was definitely very good. I loved Wreck-It Ralph, and it seemed to me not a masterpiece, but what The Great Mouse Detective was in 1986. Frozen more than builds up to that with no Oliver & Company in the middle. This is a genuine Disney classic that shows that Disney movies still have a firm place in our culture.
There were parts that fell flat or me but people are watching it over and over just as much as The Little Mermaid or Beauty & the Beast and I’m sure I would have loved it just as much as the others when I was 6.
I do disagree with a few things, Olaf felt a bit like a re-tread of Louis from Princess and the Frog. And this is another reason this isn’t quite the new Little Mermaid; People don’t often give credit for how strong that movie was in that Sebastian, Scuttle, and Flounder all had very individual personalities along with a solid role in the story. They weren’t mere comic relief. But again you can’t beat The Little Mermaid, it already happened and no one can overestimate just what it was in 1989.
The twist was good but also similar twists had been done before in Wreck-It Ralph and even Home on the Range. And I do find it strange that the common description of the movie describes the second act without any of the build-up set in the first act. And I also find it strange the movie mostly revolves around Anna going to look for Elsa, with the real villain (outside of the Duke of Weselton) not emerging until they get back, which did make the ending feel a bit rushed in my opinion. I also expected at least a few more songs after Fixerupper and perhaps a reprise of Let It Go before the credits would have added to the ending though I am sure many will dispute that.
But again these are just parts that didn’t work for me mostly. And most of the film did work for me, it was definitely a return to form for Disney, and I’m sure it will be loved for generations.
All very good points and I agree. I guess the twist is the first time I can think of in a fairytale princess movie which usually have such a clear villain (evil queen or witch usually). These fairytales are so well known to us that it can be tough to surprise and I was caught off guard by Hans.
I do think it isn’t as good as Little Mermaid but that’s my co-favorite but I do think the idea of a girl uncomfortable in her own skin is present in both. But you are right about being a little rushed at end and top heavy with the songs.
We see pretty close to the same on this one. And I didn’t hate Wreck it Ralph. Just not as excited about it as everyone else but I do like it.
But I’m so glad girls have their Frozen and Tangled. So fun for them! 🙂
What bums me out is to watch a video of girls singing Let it Go and see the most disgusting comments. Or even reviews of Big Hero 6 are loaded with people dogging on Frozen and people that like it including little girls. Why do people do that?
Let little girls have their movie.
I hate when people do that, too. I’m glad they took down the option to comment on Rotten Tomatoes reviews, because it was disturbing to see what they had to say to basically any critic who didn’t agree with them completely. I hope I never meet any of them in real life.
My father always discouraged me from reading YouTube comments because he hates them so much. I wouldn’t do that for Let It Go videos.
I’ve also heard this same argument against the backlash made elsewhere, people saying that boys and girls have a movie they love and can relate to alike and shouldn’t be shamed for it. This is near impossible to argue with and it made me think.
I disliked that the titles were re-named Frozen and Tangled from Rapunzel and The Snow Queen just for cross-gender marketing. It is true that girls will see movies called Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 eagerly, which isn’t true for most boys in regards to the opposite, I just felt it was cheapening. And with Tangled I doubt it even mattered much when you saw the content. When I saw that in the theater there were 2 boys discussing with each other about how they would stomach the first few minutes or so then cut out to go in to Harry Potter. They were victims of social mind-sets in a way I never was at the same age, but they could tell what the movie was and how much the studio was trying to cover it up.
If those titles allow little boys and girls to both embrace a movie, then I have no complaints. You said you grew up loving The Little Mermaid and were never shamed for it, and while I can’t relate to that kind of personal identification or seeing it when it came out I grew up liking The Little Mermaid, watching it plenty of times without being shamed for it. So maybe what I was really annoyed by was the need for that kind of marketing, and what that implied about our culture. I know it was a profit-oriented decision, and apart from making a killing at the box office, I only wonder if it really mattered.
Very true those gender neutral titles aren’t fooling anyone. I think having Flynn narrate Tangled helped bring in the boys but it also gave us a way to learn about the backstory of the flower and all that you needed in Tangled so it worked.
You are right about youtube comments. I guess as a youtuber myself sometimes I cant help myself but it just seems like we have this side of our culture that likes building things up but likes tearing them down even more. You see this with public figures where people get gleeful at their downfall. Hate that.
Another good example is Gravity. I thought it was a masterpiece. Some didnt care for it which is fine but the trolls went out and were all over the place on that movie. In the words of Elsa let it go! I guess it’s a survival part of human nature to glory in downfall or nitpick success but it is certainly an unpleasant part. Sigh
When the first trailers for ‘Frozen’ started to appear, I was anxious. I think advertising Olaf and Sven over the story and characters had everybody nervous as to whether the film was going to be good. And I was right there with them, cheering for Frozen to be the best film it can be and win the crowd. Of course, the fact that it snowballed into a massive hit was probably planned right from the start, and eventually I just got over my ‘Frozen fever’ and wanted to move on. I think its overexposure led to me being annoyed with it to the point which I understood people’s frustrations with it. But rest assured, I DO like this film, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s on par with ‘The Lion King’ or ‘Beauty and the Beast’, never mind above them. More on ‘Lion King’ and ‘Beauty’ later though.
In addition to the themes of familial love, responsibility, forgiveness and compassion at the heart of the film, the message of learning to be both outgoing but also cautious with people is a great lesson, and both the extroverted Anna and introverted Elsa exemplify these morals excellently. Like in ‘Tangled’ and ‘Big Hero 6’, having the film be 3D animation works exponentially to its advantage since it allows them to show off Elsa’s ice powers. Olaf, Sven and Kristoff are indeed very entertaining comic relief, all utilized very nicely. The songs are very memorable indeed, even ‘Let it Go’ grows on me once I allow it NOT to ring in my head every once and a while! I don’t know how to feel about the fairly obvious subversion of Disney clichés, they’re either too on the nose or cleverly integrated thanks how Anna is written. But I’d still say that it just about gets away.
If I did have some problems, it’s that the parents’ actions strike me as rather forced, and when they died I felt no emotion for them because they instigated ears of emotional isolation for Elsa (albeit unwittingly), and when they died it just felt kinda hollow, at least for me. I’m not sure Elsa and Anna have that strong sisterly bond and dynamic that Lilo and Nani did very well, probably because they don’t spend much time onscreen together. Finally, I don’t think the villain-reveal was very well handled; Anna’s own arc of learning to not be so trusting is a very good lesson, but it’s still too late for Hans to make a strong impression outside of that infamous twist: imagine if he went full-Gaston in his villainy afterward, slowly breaking his civilized façade as he grew more and more relentless and conniving the closer he got to his goal, how much more convincing could he have been then? I might be completely wrong, but I just think there wasn’t enough time for him to truly BE a villain, because his setup is interesting: almost like Gaston if he was likeable to start off with and truly went to the dark side over the coarse of the film.
Oh well, I’ve rambled long enough, and all things considered people are probably going to keep loving ‘Frozen’ long after I’m around. Maybe once the intense marketing has ebbed back a bit, I can finally say the film is a classic like ‘Cinderella’ or ‘Sleeping Beauty’, because I sure as heck want to!
That’s a very fair critique. I honestly don’t have a problem with people disliking it or being more neutral. It’s just that for me part of the magic of Disney was the hype. I remember sitting up at night with my sister singing Little Mermaid and debating about who sounded the most like Ariel. Who had the prettier hair. Wishing I could be a redhead like Ariel etc. I can’t even imagine how much fun we would have had with Frozen, a movie with 2 sisters and there were 2 of us. That’s such a gift. Without Little Mermaid I don’t think I would be into movies or music in the same way that I am. It really inspired me. I just want little girls to be able to be as hyped up and enthusiastic as they want to be. That’s all. My sister said my niece was getting flack in kindergarten for liking Frozen and that made me so sad. You see images on instagram or social media of girls with Elsa and the comments are so mean. It really bothers me.
Anyway, as far as some of the flaws. I don’t think it is much more plotholey than Beauty and the Beast which is my favorite Disney. The beast after all was 11 when the spell was cast. I think the parents are kind of like the parents in Tarzan just there to make them orphans. I would like in the sequel for Elsa to question her parents a little bit because they acted out of fear which is different than say Triton in Little Mermaid. Triton has knowledge of the dangers he is trying to prevent Ariel from.
I love the relationship between Anna and Elsa and I’m also excited for the sequel to dive into that more because I assume we will get more time for them together (Nani and Lilo we get way more time with them together). I think it is cool that even with this barrier between them Elsa still won’t consent to the engagement. She still cares about her sister.
As far as the villain goes they could have developed him better but I liked the surprise. That’s tough to do in a fairytale but I wouldn’t be surprised if we get more of him again. I just think the world has so much potential especially with 2 female leads instead of 1 like most Disney movies. They did some really cool stuff with Once Upon a Time.
I also thought they had just enough Olaf and that Kristoff was a lot of fun.
I’m not saying it is perfect. Like I said I see the plotholes but for me I love the music, the ice setting, the 2 sisters, the message of letting go and the few surprises you get in the end. But like I said if it isn’t your thing that’s cool. Just let little kids obsess. They need their Disney moment.
I think a lot of people will have the experience you talk about. They will come back to Frozen (and I think Big Hero 6) and realize it is a pretty good movie.
You’re right that children deserve their chance to relish in Disney magic while they can, and if Frozen is that movie for many of them then by all means they should go right on. But, just to reassure you I’m not trying to take that away from them, they’re completely innocent as far as Frozen’s explosion of popularity goes. If anything, I wonder if there’s an element of jealousy to it with older fans not having that same fresh interest as children do, I’ve been told that Frozen’s popularity is very similar to The Lion King’s popularity when it was around. Had this film been around when you were little, I imagine it would have been perfect. 🙂
If I didn’t like Elsa or Anna I would have been much harsher in my initial post, but I do like them and ultimately wish we’d seen a little bit more of their bond. I guess that’s a good sign that the film had me wanting more from its characters. In the end, the film did a much better job with its heroes than it did with it’s villains; the surprise twist certainly shocked me, don’t get me wrong, but that card can only be played once. On repeat viewings, it feels like playing the waiting game whenever he’s on screen. You do raise a good comparison to Tarzan’s parents, and if that was the aim the writers were going for, I guess it works. Maybe some extra viewings away from the infamous hype-machine would be beneficial, after all. But you keep loving ‘Frozen’ because I’m not going to stop that!!
For sure. You’re critique was totally fair. I know you don’t want to take that from girls. I was just trying to explain why my post might have come across a little defensive. I really want those girls to have that experience and I’ve been getting a little frustrated with backlash lately and how quickly it seems to come up. I feel like we used to be able to unabashedly enjoy things longer. Now it seems like I turn into a defender of things far too quickly and I’m left thinking ‘but that was so much fun…’ and others have moved on.
Which goes back to your point about the Lion King. That is a very good observation. I think you might be right. I know I’m a little jealous of the sublime experience they are having. Very good point
I know a lot of people rolled their eyes with the Frozen sequel but I feel like a lot of yours and others concerns could be alleviated in a sequel so in some ways it could be the perfect movie for it. Like I said before you have 2 lead female characters, sisters, who now will get to spend more time together. I think we will get a new villain and I doubt they will do the same bait and switch. Once was enough. It’d be cool in the sequel for Elsa to meet someone else with similar powers that she has to face off against. That kind of happened in Once Upon a Time.
I just feel like there is so much potential with the stories to make it even better so I’m very excited!
I respect people like you that have some positives to say about. I’m not a big Wreck it Ralph fan (its ok) but I try to be positive as well as share some of my critiques. That way we all learn and have a fun discussion. Thanks for reading my silly thoughts and sharing yours in a thoughtful and positive way.
I have 5 nieces btw so this subject is close to my heart.
That’s a great review too, and I particularly like the opening song, but for me, alas, there is no end in sight to the problems I find here. Hans is “a villain” I guess, but has everyone forgotten the scene where Hans saves Elsa’s life in her winter palace? He actually saved her life – for his own reasons, etc., but he did so.
But he is still pretending to be on Anna’s side there