There’s an unwritten rule that anything that’s popular must actually be bad, and as I explored in my review of 2008’s Twilight, anything that appeals to children, women, or in particular young women is often torn to shreds and aggressively targeted by the mainstream. I was dreading watching and reviewing Frozen because the two times I have previously seen the film I hated it, but the film is so monumentally successful and beloved by pretty much anyone that falls into the millennial or younger generation brackets (particularly women) that tackling it was going to be no easy feat. I couldn’t just slate the film without coming across as the typical white man with masculinity as frail as tracing paper. But what came as a surprise to me when I say down to re-watch Frozen for this review with a critical eye, was actually how wrong I was about the film and how much I had allowed myself to be blinded by the very vocal critics of the film, and by my own irritation at the sheer oversaturation of the films presence post-release. That’s not to say Frozen is perfect, but there’s a lot to unpack here so I’m going to do my best to cover it all.
Following the reasonable success of Tangled, Disney Animation Studios went full steam ahead with their idea for an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Snow Queen’ (which had been knocking around in development hell since the 1940’s), seeing princess stories as once again financially viable. Disney wanted to double down on the success they had with Tangled by making Frozen a modern Renaissance Era Classic, so the studio sunk money into advancing the animation software and putting more emphasis on the musical numbers.
When Frozen released in November 2013 it took the world by storm, and overnight everyone had Frozen fever. The songs were being played on the radio, they were having live performances of the songs on TV to promote the film, and there was a simply overwhelming amount of marketing and merchandise produced for it. No matter where you looked, Frozen was there, which for many (like myself) proved to be a little too much. I was at university at the time and it took just a couple of days for ‘Let It Go’ to be a staple nightclub anthem every single night, sometimes multiple times in a night. It was just too much, and the film had only been out a matter of days! For the next several years Frozen was everywhere, and to a large extent it still is, being the most financially successful Animated Classic by a very considerable margin (It made $1.28 billion on a budget of $150 million) and it cast a mammoth shadow of the animation industry because no matter what was releasing nobody cared because they were all watching Frozen on repeat at home. It’s this reason why Frozen has such a split opinion, because you either love it, or you’re so sick of it consuming every conceivable part of pop-culture that even if you’ve never seen it you hate it with every fibre of your being.
Following the reasonable success of Tangled, Disney Animation Studios went full steam ahead with their idea for an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Snow Queen’ (which had been knocking around in development hell since the 1940’s), seeing princess stories as once again financially viable. Disney wanted to double down on the success they had with Tangled by making Frozen a modern Renaissance Era Classic, so the studio sunk money into advancing the animation software and putting more emphasis on the musical numbers.
When Frozen released in November 2013 it took the world by storm, and overnight everyone had Frozen fever. The songs were being played on the radio, they were having live performances of the songs on TV to promote the film, and there was a simply overwhelming amount of marketing and merchandise produced for it. No matter where you looked, Frozen was there, which for many (like myself) proved to be a little too much. I was at university at the time and it took just a couple of days for ‘Let It Go’ to be a staple nightclub anthem every single night, sometimes multiple times in a night. It was just too much, and the film had only been out a matter of days! For the next several years Frozen was everywhere, and to a large extent it still is, being the most financially successful Animated Classic by a very considerable margin (It made $1.28 billion on a budget of $150 million) and it cast a mammoth shadow of the animation industry because no matter what was releasing nobody cared because they were all watching Frozen on repeat at home. It’s this reason why Frozen has such a split opinion, because you either love it, or you’re so sick of it consuming every conceivable part of pop-culture that even if you’ve never seen it you hate it with every fibre of your being.
Frozen tells the story of Princesses Anna (Kristen Bell), and Elsa (Idina Menzel) of Arendelle. Elsa, the eldest sister, was gifted with mystical ice powers at birth, but following an accident wherein Anna was injured, her powers have been kept a secret and she has been taught to conceal her true self away, both figuratively and literally. Now adults, the day of Elsa’s coronation has arrived and when her powers are revealed to the world she is shunned. Her emotional turmoil plunges Arendelle into a blizzard and this forces Anna to go out into the wilderness to find her sister and convince her to return and try and thaw the ice.
The moment the Disney logos appear on the screen accompanied by the choral chant ‘Veulie’ chills are sent down your spine. However, the scene that opens the film with a young Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) feels somewhat detached from the rest of the film, it doesn’t serve a purpose to the plot but is given a whole song. This part could have very easily been skipped and it arguably would have made the film better. It feels like the song was written and recorded but they didn’t really know what to do with it so rather than cut it they just put an extra scene in.
This is followed by a childhood montage of Anna and Elsa to ‘Do You Want to Build A Snowman’. This is a great way to introduce the characters, flesh out who they are as people, and give us insight into the tragedy’s that befell their family during this time to shape them into the people they will become once the film starts proper; it then bleeds into ‘For the First Time In Forever’ which continues this growth and character building as adults. It’s a musical loaded opening but because the songs are written so well it communicates so much more than traditional dialogue would in a way that’s not only more enjoyable but also more concise, allowing the backstory to be got out of the way early and in a way that is genuinely engaging.
Anna is the main character of the story, being the vessel through with the audience sees the world. She’s a socially awkward, bubbly, yet naïve young woman who has spent most of her life alone because of the choices her sister has made. Elsa is for the most part the villain of the story, a woman who has over her formative years grown fearful of the world and outcasted herself long before they ever did. The dynamic these two characters have with each other is nothing short of fantastic, and its this dynamic between the two of them that is the cause of all the problems they face.
During the coronation, Anna meets Hans (Santino Fontana), a prince from the Southern Isles whom she falls madly in love with despite only having just met him. When he proposes and Anna seeks Elsa’s blessing, Elsa rightly says no, explaining that she’s literally just met the man and she can’t possibly marry a man she’s just met (in a not so subtle nod to Disney Princesses past).
The moment the Disney logos appear on the screen accompanied by the choral chant ‘Veulie’ chills are sent down your spine. However, the scene that opens the film with a young Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) feels somewhat detached from the rest of the film, it doesn’t serve a purpose to the plot but is given a whole song. This part could have very easily been skipped and it arguably would have made the film better. It feels like the song was written and recorded but they didn’t really know what to do with it so rather than cut it they just put an extra scene in.
This is followed by a childhood montage of Anna and Elsa to ‘Do You Want to Build A Snowman’. This is a great way to introduce the characters, flesh out who they are as people, and give us insight into the tragedy’s that befell their family during this time to shape them into the people they will become once the film starts proper; it then bleeds into ‘For the First Time In Forever’ which continues this growth and character building as adults. It’s a musical loaded opening but because the songs are written so well it communicates so much more than traditional dialogue would in a way that’s not only more enjoyable but also more concise, allowing the backstory to be got out of the way early and in a way that is genuinely engaging.
Anna is the main character of the story, being the vessel through with the audience sees the world. She’s a socially awkward, bubbly, yet naïve young woman who has spent most of her life alone because of the choices her sister has made. Elsa is for the most part the villain of the story, a woman who has over her formative years grown fearful of the world and outcasted herself long before they ever did. The dynamic these two characters have with each other is nothing short of fantastic, and its this dynamic between the two of them that is the cause of all the problems they face.
During the coronation, Anna meets Hans (Santino Fontana), a prince from the Southern Isles whom she falls madly in love with despite only having just met him. When he proposes and Anna seeks Elsa’s blessing, Elsa rightly says no, explaining that she’s literally just met the man and she can’t possibly marry a man she’s just met (in a not so subtle nod to Disney Princesses past).
Things keep moving at a decent pace for some time after this, with Anna meeting an adult Kristoff and the two crossing the snowy tundra to climb the mountain on which Elsa has made her new ice palace during the song ‘Let It Go’. Oh yes, that golden nugget of a song that’s been permanently drilled into everyone’s brains. Maybe time and overexposure has led me to this conclusion but ‘Let It Go’ is just fine, really, it’s not great, it’s definitely not Frozen’s best song, and whilst Menzel’s performance is fantastic due to her impeccable range, the song feels too far removed from the rest of Frozen’s roster of songs to feel as though it belongs.
But as I have said, Frozen moves at a good pace until IT happens…I’m sure you know what I mean.
I’m sure this will earn me a fair amount of flack but Olaf (Josh Gad) is perhaps the worst character Disney have ever created simply because his only reason for existing is so that Frozen gets its token merchandise character. I can’t stand this bumbling buffoon, his jokes are painfully unfunny and Gad’s voice performance makes me want to stick pins in my ears so I don’t have to listen to his whiny and nasally voice. If Olaf were not a part of this film then it would be no different, he has very little impact on any events in the film, and yet the film would be so much better for it if he weren’t there. We already have a non-human comic relief character in Sven the reindeer, so why did we need Olaf? Toys is the answer, mountains of toys, lunchboxes, books, animated shorts, clothing, and…well just about anything you can slap an animated snowman’s face on.
The final act of Frozen wraps things up in spectacular fashion with a late game plot twist that nobody saw coming, reframing a lot of the story in the process. The reveal of Hans as a villain taking advantage of the dire situation in Arendelle to worm his way into power is genius and genuinely makes him one of Disney’s most memorable villains despite his small screen time compared to the likes of The Little Mermaid’s Ursula and Hercules’ Hades. It all culminates to a great finale where both action and a cliché ending is cleverly subverted in favour of sisterly love overpowering all. Whilst Frozen maintains that typical ‘happily ever after’ ending you expect from a fairy tale, it does so in a way that feels refreshingly modern and in line with shifting cultural attitudes.
But as I have said, Frozen moves at a good pace until IT happens…I’m sure you know what I mean.
I’m sure this will earn me a fair amount of flack but Olaf (Josh Gad) is perhaps the worst character Disney have ever created simply because his only reason for existing is so that Frozen gets its token merchandise character. I can’t stand this bumbling buffoon, his jokes are painfully unfunny and Gad’s voice performance makes me want to stick pins in my ears so I don’t have to listen to his whiny and nasally voice. If Olaf were not a part of this film then it would be no different, he has very little impact on any events in the film, and yet the film would be so much better for it if he weren’t there. We already have a non-human comic relief character in Sven the reindeer, so why did we need Olaf? Toys is the answer, mountains of toys, lunchboxes, books, animated shorts, clothing, and…well just about anything you can slap an animated snowman’s face on.
The final act of Frozen wraps things up in spectacular fashion with a late game plot twist that nobody saw coming, reframing a lot of the story in the process. The reveal of Hans as a villain taking advantage of the dire situation in Arendelle to worm his way into power is genius and genuinely makes him one of Disney’s most memorable villains despite his small screen time compared to the likes of The Little Mermaid’s Ursula and Hercules’ Hades. It all culminates to a great finale where both action and a cliché ending is cleverly subverted in favour of sisterly love overpowering all. Whilst Frozen maintains that typical ‘happily ever after’ ending you expect from a fairy tale, it does so in a way that feels refreshingly modern and in line with shifting cultural attitudes.
One final thing I would like to address is Frozen’s animation. For a long time Disney have been struggling to make 3D computer animation truly work for them, but Frozen is the first time they have nailed the technique so well that it puts them on level footing with studios like Pixar. Character models have so much more detail to them and move more realistically than ever before, even down to small details like facial animations, or the way clothing reacts to the environment. The locales themselves all look gorgeous, coated in a thick white snow that reacts realistically to external forces. The particle effects are also extraordinary for a film of this time, snow flurries, magical twinkles, and more all look stunning and considerably better than anything else from 2013.
I went into this review expecting to hate Frozen and beat it within an inch of its life. However here I am eating my hat, because Frozen really is deserving of being one of Disney’s best Animated Classics. Whilst I still believe the film is massively overhyped and I despite the amount of merchandise being shoved down peoples throats every moment of the day, however the film itself is genuinely great.
With excellent characters, some great subversions of tired tropes, excellent songs, and outstanding animation techniques; Frozen is deserving of the Animated Classic moniker and is a perfect representation of the Revival Era, where new and old collide to create something great.
I went into this review expecting to hate Frozen and beat it within an inch of its life. However here I am eating my hat, because Frozen really is deserving of being one of Disney’s best Animated Classics. Whilst I still believe the film is massively overhyped and I despite the amount of merchandise being shoved down peoples throats every moment of the day, however the film itself is genuinely great.
With excellent characters, some great subversions of tired tropes, excellent songs, and outstanding animation techniques; Frozen is deserving of the Animated Classic moniker and is a perfect representation of the Revival Era, where new and old collide to create something great.