Similar to what was done for Rapunzel, the producers at Disney crafted together another princess tale, this time concerning sisters with one having an unnatural ability to control the freezing temperatures. With the title change to Frozen there are more focus on non-female characters, Hans (name reference of the author) and Kristoff. But the girls here are strong willed and have the will to sacrifice themselves for the ones they love. That is what I loved about this movie, the theme of love is played out in a different way in this film, its a family's love, a sister's love. It's a very strong theme in the movie and really solidifies the movie for me as being the best animated film of the year.
It has also created one of the best christmas / winter characters that tops even the classic Snowman, Olaf. Portrayed with oblivious juicy wonder by Josh Gad Olaf is the classic animated character who makes his opinions known and does not feel pain to being stabbed with an icicle or melt in the sun, he even sings about getting a tan (showing how oblivious he is about the truth about what can happen to him).
As with any musicals the songs have to be strong, and have the emotion to push ones buttons, Frozen has it, it freezes it in place. Each song has its own unique quality. "Do you want to build a snowman" tells of the separation between the two sisters and how Anna (the younger sister) wants nothing more than to make a snowman with her older sister. A favourite of mine is "Love is an open door". The song pushes the love/fun aspect and its fills over with a loving sense, attracting one to letting on that love can be found anywhere, though the ending of the song may not ring so true to the endgame of the film. "Let it go" is another emotional triumph in how the older sister finally gives in to letting go of her powers.
The cast is also what gives the film its riveting power. Kirsten Bell (Gossip Girl, Veronica Mars) is just adorable as the young Anna, the classic heroine. Idina Menzel (Wicked, Glee) is such a power house in the role of Elsa, The Snow Queen. She and Kirsten have such vivd chemistry. All the boys are fabulous too. Josh as Olaf (as I said earlier) crafts such a classic disney animated character. Johnathan Groff and Santino Fontana are great as the love interests to Anna. A real short cameo surprise is Ciaran Hinds as the elder troll who tries to help the sisters. A none talking part is the part of Kristoff's reindeer Sven, similar to the horse named Maximus seen in Tangled.
What was a cool thing is how they kept true to the original story. The Snow Queen as elder sister Elsa and the evil trolls, turned into peaceful trolls in the film. The animation for not just the trolls but the other characters is such Disney-esque. The animation is just so crisp and the way they animated the ice effects is such an amazing site to believe.
Composer Christophe Beck (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Paperman) does an amazing job here on his scoring duties. Here's how I see how he won a spot here, his score for the animated Disney short, Paperman. The man proves he has talent for animated work, though sadly it is not being recognized enough. Hopefully, the film wins some recognizant, I think it would be well deserved.
Now I will go on to say this is the perfect christmas movie. It has strong themes about love and family, it has reindeer and snowmen and come on it even takes place during a cold snow storm.
With a terrific cast, fabulous visuals, an powerhouse of a musical backdrop Frozen is by far the best animated film this year, and come award season is sure to get at most some nods, but it more than enough deserves some wins as best animated feature.
Rating: A
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