Movie Review

Will Frozen Warm Your Heart or Leave You Out in the Cold?

            I recently saw the new Disney princess movie Frozen and I was pleasantly surprised. I was interested in this movie purely because Disney made it. If Disney hadn’t made it I probably wouldn’t have seen it because the commercials didn’t include enough details to tell the audience what the plot was. However despite the inadequate previews I thought it was a great movie.

            The plot of the story centers on the relationship between sisters Anna and Elsa who are left to rule Arendale. The main conflict begins when Elsa accidentally uses her powers to control ice that she has never learned to control to plunge Arendale in to an endless winter. It is then up to Anna to help her sister Elsa thaw the ice with the help of some unlikely companions while trying to keep the kingdom from falling in to the wrong hands.

            Kristen Bell who I thought brought youth and optimism to the character voiced the vivacious Anna. Broadway star Idina Manzel voiced Elsa and brought to the table not only killer vocals but compassion. Every good children’s movie needs a few laughs and the majority of the movies laughs were supplied by the bubbly snowman named Olaf, voiced by Josh Gad. As one of Anna’s love interests Kristoff was voiced by Jonathon Groff who made the tell it like it is attitude lovable.

            I think this movie is worth the hype; the music was beautifully written and composed. However I thought it was unnecessary when the main characters were singing their lines when hey should have just been talking. For example in the scene where Anna is at Elsa’s ice castle and is trying to bring her back and their fighting they did not need to have them sing what they’re saying. Even though this is a Disney movie they don’t have to sing everything that only works for Les Mis.  The movie was incredibly character driven and the love triangle, which is becoming a formula for popular movies these days, was a bit cliché and predictable but it worked because it is a children’s movie.

            I thought the morals and themes this movie taught were values I would try to teach my daughter if I had one. Unlike many children’s movies especially princess movies Frozen proposed the idea that two people don’t have to get married or even have an instant connection with each other right after they meet. Instead the movie suggested that two people should get to know each other before rushing in to relationship. The movie also majorly promoted self-empowerment and acceptance by making it the main message of the movie. Both of these themes have continued Disney’s shift toward modern morals and values.

            Frozen is definitely geared toward children and that comes across when watching it. Because this movie mostly lacks the not so subtle adult humor sometimes inserted in kid’s movies I would recommend this movie for any age kid. However it is a princess movie so it probably won’t appeal as much to boys. This movie is true to its PG rating. Not only do I think children would enjoy it but I think parents accompanying their children and other adults would enjoy the movie because its themes and the fact that it is not over the top childish. Overall I enjoyed the movie it definitely holds its own amongst its Disney counterparts, the music is perfect for the movie and the story was well developed.

Rating out of letter grades including pluses and minuses: A