Fitting with the recent weather, I saw Disney’s “Frozen” directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. According to Rolling Stone, Frozen made $93 million in only five days. Just last night at the Golden Globes, Frozen won the award for Best Animated Feature Film.
In the movie, Elsa, voiced by Idina Menzel, has magical powers allowing her to create snow uncontrollably. Her town finds out and thinks of Elsa as a monster, so she runs off, and by accident, starts an endless snowstorm during summer. Her sister Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell, and a man Anna meets along the way, Kristoff, voiced by Jonathan Groff, set off to find Elsa to end the storm and persuade her to come back through their musical journey.
The movie starts right off the bat with a song called “The Frozen Heart,” and as the movie progresses, eight more catchy songs accompany the plot. One song in particular, “Let It Go,” plays at a climactic moment when Elsa accepts the fact that she is alone, but she can finally use her powers. During the song, she builds an intricate, ice castle from her fingertips, and transforms her old dress into an elegant, icy gown. The soundtrack improves the movie because it helps the movie watchers feel connected to the characters when they are belting out their feelings in song.
The animation for the castle and gown created in the song “Let It Go,” was exquisite, just like the whole movie, which had crystal clear animation throughout. The details on characters were impressive, and while watching, strands of hair were visible; it was that precise.
As an animated film, it immediately lures children into watching the movie, and manages to captivate the parents as well. When trying to find Elsa, Anna has to cross through snow in a summer outfit, and she says referencing Elsa’s powers, “Snow! It had to be snow! She couldn’t have had tropical magic that covered the fjords in white sand.”
A comic relief character, Olaf, voiced by Josh Gad, is a snowman that Anna and Kristoff meet and he follows them on the journey. At one part Olaf sings of summer, a time for some unknown reason he does not have experiences in, “Winter’s a good time to stay in and cuddle / But put me in summer and I’ll be a… [jumps over a puddle] …happy snowman!”
Even teens who think they are too cool for a Disney movie can enjoy “Frozen” because of the fun soundtrack, awesome animation and humor. I would recommend this movie to everyone who appreciates the whimsical magic of an animated Disney movie.
