Big Z reviews Frozen - AKA let it go edition.
Movie: Frozen (2013)
Rating: PG
Starring: The voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Firefly alum Alan Tudyk, and top notch animation
Score: 8.8 out of 10 stars
Family Friendly: 5/5 (10 years ago this would be a G rating)
Recommended: my most rare rating - Anyone
Plot Summery (No Spoilers):
Royal sisters Elsa and Anna in a Nordic country grow up together, but Elsa has a major secret.
Plot Summery (Spoilers): (From Wikipedia)
Elsa, princess of Arendelle, possesses cryokinetic powers, with which she is able to produce ice, frost, and snow at will. One night while playing, she accidentally injures her younger sister, Anna. The king and queen seek help from the troll king, who heals Anna and removes her memories of Elsa's magic. The royal couple isolates the children in their castle until Elsa learns to control her powers. Afraid of hurting Anna again, Elsa spends most of her time alone in her room, causing a rift between the girls as they grow up. When the girls are teenagers, their parents die at sea during a storm.
When Elsa comes of age, the kingdom prepares for her coronation. Among the guests is the Duke of Weselton, who seeks to exploit Arendelle for profit. Excited to be allowed out of the castle again, Anna explores the town and meets Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, and the two immediately develop a mutual attraction. Despite Elsa's fear, her coronation goes off without incident. During the reception, Hans proposes and Anna hastily accepts. However, Elsa refuses to grant her blessing and forbids their sudden marriage. The sisters argue, culminating in the exposure of Elsa's abilities during an emotional outburst.
Panicking, Elsa flees the castle, while inadvertently unleashing an eternal winter on the kingdom. High in the nearby mountains, she casts off restraint, building herself a solitary ice palace, and unknowingly brings her and Anna's childhood snowman, Olaf, to life. Meanwhile, Anna sets out in search of her sister, determined to return her to Arendelle, end the winter, and mend their relationship. When obtaining supplies, she meets an iceman named Kristoff and his reindeer, Sven, and convinces Kristoff to guide her up the North Mountain. On their journey, the group encounter Olaf, who leads them to Elsa's hideaway.
Anna and Elsa reunite, but Elsa still fears hurting her sister. When Anna persists in persuading her sister to return, Elsa becomes agitated and her powers lash out, accidentally striking Anna in the heart. Horrified, Elsa creates a giant snow creature to drive Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf away. As they flee, Kristoff notices Anna's hair turning white, deducing that something is very wrong. He seeks help from the trolls, his adoptive family, who explain that Anna's heart has been frozen. Unless it is thawed by an "act of true love", she will become frozen solid forever. Believing that only Hans can save her, Kristoff races back with her to Arendelle.
Meanwhile, Hans, leading a search for Anna, reaches Elsa's palace. In the ensuing battle against the Duke's men, Elsa is knocked unconscious and imprisoned in Arendelle. There, Hans pleads her to undo the winter, but Elsa confesses that she does not know how. When Anna reunites with Hans and begs him to kiss her to break the curse, Hans refuses and reveals that his true intention in marrying her is to seize control of Arendelle's throne. Leaving Anna to die, he charges Elsa with treason for her younger sister's apparent death.
Elsa escapes and heads out into the blizzard on the fjord. Olaf finds Anna and reveals Kristoff is in love with her; they then escape onto the fjord to find him. Hans confronts Elsa, telling her Anna is dead because of her. In Elsa's despair, the storm suddenly ceases, giving Kristoff and Anna the chance to find each other. However, Anna, seeing that Hans is about to kill Elsa, throws herself between the two just as she freezes solid, blocking Hans' attack.
As Elsa grieves for her sister, Anna begins to thaw, since her decision to sacrifice herself to save her sister constitutes an "act of true love". Realizing love is the key to controlling her powers, Elsa thaws the kingdom and helps Olaf survive in summer. Hans is sent back to the Southern Isles to face punishment for his crimes against the royal family of Arendelle, while Elsa cuts off trade with Weselton. Anna and Kristoff share a kiss, and the two sisters reconcile; Elsa promises never to shut the castle gates again.
My Thoughts
Disney Animation has produced any number of great movies. Of course, the output over the years had been varied. As a example for about ten years they wanted to make anything but the traditional European cast as they moved down every minority group to diversity their output. However in the last few years they have gotten away from that and focused on making good films without consideration if they are adding a new untapped market for the product. Combined with the advances in animation leaves you with one heck of a animated movie.
The Animation is amazing. Their is no if, buts, or any other sort of caveat; This is the technically the best computer rendered animation in a major motion picture. The animators have become experts in drawing the charicters to very lifelike actions, but making enough artistic changes in the face and so on that the "Uncanny Valley" is not a issue. (Uncanny Valley is the term used when animation is too life like and people reject it as deeply creepy, "Mars needs Moms" is a very recent example of this.) While not completely flawless the animation is quite stunning. The movie would be worth watching just to admire the animation.
Another thing to consider is that while the live action Musical is dead as a movie barring a occasional once every decade major production. (Like "Les Mes" or "Chicago" before it), the musical is alive and well in the animated world. I guess it is more acceptable for audiences to adult cartoon characters sing and dance around then actors, even if a core of major film stars can sing and dance. This movie has a number of Catchy songs,
Here is one of door stopper moments when the movie combines a top quality, very catchy song with top animation to really make a deep impact. Yes, the lifting of the Ice-castle looks very much like the moment in Watchmen (both comic and movie) in the Mars Sequence, but that does not bother me at all (also, for those who are really nitpicky the clip has the one animation error I found in the movie).
All in all this is a well crafted movie that I really cannot find a fault in it. The only reason why I didn't give it a 9/10 or higher is that I am loath to give recent movies this rating till they have been tested by time and you start to see it impact in the TV and movie medium. If any of the 2013 movies will be going to down as classics, Frozen is most likely the one that will survive this test of time as the story is timeless. I actually know one person who dislikes this film, and she is invited to make a guest commentary if she wants to on it. Anyways, the few flaws I am willing to let go and enjoy a movie that is top of its type, and thus, a top movie.
It of course has the humor that one would expect, but my real question is why in the heck is this rated PG. This should be a G movie, and I can't find anything objectionable in it. The Rating system is one of my pet peeves, not that its rating movies (I think it good to give a idea of what is in a film so you can make a informed choice.) But the fact that Frozen earned a PG rating and not a G rating is just as off putting by movies that are PG-13 that really should be R rated.
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