A Mommy Story

You may remember little while ago, I expressed some concerns over Disney’s new movie, Frozen. When we were at Walt Disney World back in February, we got our first glimpse of some of the art from Frozen and immediately were intrigued. The promotions that followed, however, left me feeling disappointed. Too much focus was placed on Olaf, the snowman, and I felt like the entire story was being lost in marketing cheap laughs between Olaf and the reindeer, Sven.

As we got closer to the movie’s release, I continued to be nervous. I’d heard bits of the music, and I knew it was breathtaking. I also recognized the names of several character voice actors and knew their voices would be equally beautiful with the music.

But I wasn’t seeing much of this in the movie trailers, and little of the story was being revealed, too. Would it live up to my hopes? Would it overcome the marketing I’d been so unimpressed with and prove to be a stellar story?

In a word? YES.

Synopsis

There are two Princesses of Arendelle: Elsa (Idina Menzel), the soon-to-be Queen, and Anna (Kristen Bell). Elsa has the ability to create snow and ice, yet has been suppressing these powers after a traumatic childhood incident involving her sister. After letting her cryokinetic powers get out of hand during her official July coronation, she goes into hiding, only for her emotions to trigger a magical, eternal winter that freezes the entire kingdom.

Anna, a fearless and daring optimist, must journey with extreme mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and reindeer sidekick Sven in an epic journey, encountering mystical trolls, a comical snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad), Everest-like extremes and magic at every turn in a race to find Elsa (now known as the Snow Queen), save their kingdom from eternal winter, and make things right before it’s too late.

Weaknesses

Let’s start with the things I didn’t like as much about the film, but please read on because the strengths still far outweigh the weaknesses.

So, the first thing to get out of the way is that Frozen bears about as much resemblance to the original Hans Christian Anderson tale of The Snow Queen as The Little Mermaid does to its source tale. So, if you’re a big fan of the classic fairy tale, please put it out of your mind in advance, because otherwise you will be sorely disappointed.

The other thing that absolutely must be touched upon is Olaf. Olaf, the enchanted magical snowman who wants to experience all things warm. Olaf, who has been featured almost exclusively in the previews for the film to the point that you might be surprised to discover that there are two Princesses in the movie. I quickly deemed Olaf to be the Jar Jar Binks of Frozen.

As I had feared, there is entirely too much of Olaf in this movie, which is entirely unnecessary. The film already had “cute creatures” a-plenty in the form of Sven, the reindeer, and the trolls who provide exposition and an additional source of magic and fun to the movie.

Fortunately, even though there is too much Olaf, there is also a lot less of him than I had feared there would be, and he even manages to add some to the plot. Not a lot, but some. I’ll admit that I even laughed at a few of his antics, but overall I wish he wouldn’t have been included.

Frozen also suffers from the lack of a strong villain, a la Urusula, Jafar, the Shadowman or Mother Gothelle. The story is more about struggles within yourself, and the sisters being able to connect to one another, and the external threats aren’t all that terribly significant.

Frozen has a fairly weak romance, too, but to be honest, I was totally OK with this. Disney has a very hit-and-miss record with making the romances of their leads believable and/or necessary, with Tangled and Princess and the Frog nailing it, and Brave showing us that you don’t really need it. The romance in this film is a bit contrived, and ultimately not all that important. What it does do, however, is gives us an excuse to include a couple of male characters in the film that were probably essential to convince young boys to come see it, and it allowed directors Chris Buck (Tarzan) and Jennifer Lee (screenplay, Wreck It-Ralph) to really play with the standard Disney tropes of in True Love’s Kiss in a way that we found really surprising and gratifying.

Now, with the negatives out of the way, let’s discuss some of the things that make Frozen worth watching – and there are plenty.

Strengths

First of all, the visuals of the film are absolutely breathtaking. Although I have heard some complaints that the new CGI-style of Disney animation means that Anna and Elsa bear a little too strong of a resemblance to Rapunzel from Tangled, I was able to look past any initial similarity to the point that the sisters quickly became distinct. Elsa has a cold reserve to her that you can see on her face, and the way she never quite smiles but often smirks captures the facial tics of her voice actress, Idina Menzel quite wonderfully.

Similarly, Anna’s slightly crossed eyes and freckles give her a wonderful humanity that we haven’t always seen in the Disney Princesses. Even the tomboys and outsiders and misfits are beautiful – and there’s no doubt that both Anna and Elsa are – but seeing some imperfections makes them a little bit more real.

Of course, visually, the real star of Frozen are the ice and snow effects, and those are simply amazing. There were real gasps in the audience when Elsa creates her Ice Palace, and the way that the snow swirls, and the ice grows and cracks is just amazing.

As characters, it’s hard not to love both sisters. Anna is outgoing, energetic, clumsy and forthright, while Elsa is cold, reserved and restrained – but still clearly empathetic and compassionate.

Anna’s quest to save her sister, and in turn, the kingdom, resonates strongly because at its core, it is more about Elsa than it is about Arendelle – which makes it a quest that is easier to relate to. Saving a kingdom is more than most kids can understand, but wanting to be with your sister is something that any younger sibling can understand.

Both are strong female characters in their own way, and I have a feeling this movie will result in two new Disney Princesses for the parks and toy stores. (Technically Elsa is a queen, but she belongs in the Princess lineup just as much as Anna.)

The Music

When it comes to Disney features, the music can make or break the movie. Many fans turned away entirely from Hercules because of the unexpected musical choices with the Gospel-style songs (although I am personally a fan), and to this day, I think that if Disney had made the music integrated into Tarzan the way they did the Broadway version, it would have ended up being a much bigger hit.

Well, Frozen is an absolute win in the musical category, and if you’re a fan of Broadway, then you will be very, very pleased.

The orchestral score from Christophe Beck is quite, quite lovely, and pulls you strongly in to the film right from the beginning. But as solid as the score is, the actual songs are where Frozen soars.

“Frozen Heart” starts the film off strong with a solid, sea-chanty-esque rhthym, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” establishes the relationship between the sisters and is heart-breakingly sweet and sad at the same time. “Reindeers Are Better Than People” is a cute little ditty featuring Jonathan Groff, and “Fixer Upper” is fun and energetic and will make great background music when walking through the Disney parks.

But there are three songs that everyone will be talking about.

“For the First Time in Forever” (and its reprise) is the adult counter-point to “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” and is absolutely essential to understanding who both Anna and Elsa are. It has a great build throughout, catchy lyrics, and really fun visuals. Think of it in the same vein as other Disney “I Want” Songs, and you won’t be far off at all.

“Love is an Open Door” is a really lovely love-song duet, and in a different film, could easily be the one that everyone will remember at the movie’s end. The opening and closing of doors is a recurring theme in Frozen, and when the song plays, it is easy to see how Anna can be swept away by her handsome prince.

Incidentally, although we’re past the point where this should be surprising, Kristin Bell has quite a lovely singing voice, and she’s really fun to listen to throughout.

But the breakout hit song of Frozen is, without question, “Let it Go.”

Anyone familiar with Idina Menzel’s career knows this, but that woman has an amazing voice, with a tone very unlike many others. She isn’t always technically perfect, but she is incredibly talented, and the imperfections in her voice are what allow it to bring so much emotion to what she sings. If you only know her from watching Glee, than this may surprise you. If you’re familiar with her from Rent, then you know she has the pipes, but you may not be prepared for her ability to reach in to your heart and twist. If you know Menzel from listening to Wicked, then you know what I’m talking about.

“Let It Go” may be her strongest song yet, even beating out “Defying Gravity” from Wicked. It’s a song that anyone who has ever felt different or felt the need to hide their true self in an attempt to fit in will strongly identify with and feel as if the song was written just for her.

The song is already listed on Disney’s “For Your Consideration” website for Best Original Song, and if there is any justice, it will be nominated, and Idina Menzel will sing it at the Oscars. But just as fortunate, that means that Disney has put the song up on the site for you to listen to. I implore you to do so. Here’s a link.

Summary

Frozen is a must-see film, and I believe it’s worth a trip to the theater to see it on the big screen. I don’t necessarily think the 3D version is needed over the standard version, but the beautiful animation should be seen on a large screen to fully appreciate it.

Our entire family loved this film. Even Cordy, who usually takes a couple of viewings to warm up to a new movie, left with a big grin on her face, exclaiming that it was a great movie. All four of us couldn’t help but notice some of the parallels between Elsa and Anna and Cordy and Mira.

Anna is the darker haired younger sister who is bubbly in personality, enjoys being social, and always wants to play with her older sister. Mira is so much like this, including her constant attempts to reach out to Cordy and her desire to help her older sister. Mira is already asking when she can have an Anna costume.

Elsa is the blonde older sister, who was born different, feels the need to hide her differences from the world, and generally wants to be alone. Sounds a lot like Cordy, who also was born different, wants to be alone a lot of the time, and struggles with trying to fit in and not let her autism rule her. It was an interesting talk on the drive home, as Cordy internalized the lesson Elsa had learned about accepting herself, differences and all, and not seeing her differences as a curse, but as a gift.

There’s a lot more to the story than I can possibly tell you without giving away the big moments. However, I can tell you it’s possibly one of the better sibling stories ever told, and like Brave, it’s refreshing to see a princess story that isn’t resolved by a male hero saving the day and ending with a wedding. These two sisters are smart, capable women who are stronger together than apart. The music is fantastic, the visuals are beautiful, and I think Frozen really did live up to my hopes for it, even if the marketing was lackluster. I’d encourage everyone to see this film – and trust me, it isn’t all about the goofy snowman.

Disclosure: We had advance screening tickets to this film. All opinions expressed here are my own, as well as a few from Aaron.