A well done film with a unique take, on an old standard.

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2013)

Frozen is a new Disney film staring Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad. Oddly enough, I hadn't really seen any advertising done for the film. So it was kind of nice going into it with no real knowledge or expectations. After quite a few previews, and as many amc adds....why advertise the theater I am already in? After all that, the movie began, except not. You are treated to a Mickey Mouse short that frankly could have been removed and I would have been happier. I am not sure if it was included due to Pixar usually doing something, but it fell flat and started the movie off with me annoyed. This brings me to another point, the sound. The sound was awful at the theater I saw it at. The Universal Studios theater. It sounded all filtered and distorted. I know this is not the movies fault, so I will not hold it against it. But since it was a movie with lots of singing, understand that is why I don't really spend much time on that section.
The story, with minor spoilers, is that Anna and Elise are princesses of some land with a name I don't remember. They are very close as children, but over the course of a musical number we see that all change. Elise has magic powers that allow her to create and control ice and snow. Afraid of her hurting her sister with her powers, the parents decide to seal off the children from the world. They raise them separately and they no longer interact with each other. The main story kicks in when they are older and Elise is becoming queen. After finally seeing her sister again, Anna gets carried away and angers her. Elise looses control of her powers and sends their kingdom into an eternal winter.
Voice acting is very different from regular acting. It requires different talents and skills. I don't recall Kristen Bell doing voice work before, so it was very nice to see she took naturally to it. From what I could tell, she also did well with the singing portions. Her character Anna was the main role in the movie, and Bell was fantastic. The person who surprised me though was Josh Gad. I had no clue who he was going into the film, but his role as Olef the snowman was a show stealer. He does a musical number about how he wants to see summer, so he can finally do whatever it is snow does when it gets hot. Between his dopey but lovable demeanor, he easily had some of the more humorous and memorable parts. Groff also did well, but other then one musical portion, his character really doesn't stand out much.
Sound...yeah. Music sounded like it was all well done, and a few of the numbers were very clever. Nothing really stood out as just being bad from what I could tell. Oh if you see it with your family or friends, make sure to ask them who voices the reindeer with a serious face. Don't worry, you will know when the time is right to ask.
Animation was pretty good in this one. It was done in a similar style as Tangeled or Brave. The people looked rather realistic, but the faces are often done in a more exaggerated manor. It seems like it allows for a wider range of emotions, but that could also be just in my head. The snow was cool though, and the magic stuff was impressive to see. You expect a certain level from a big Disney animated film, and this one easily met it. Seeing Elise manipulate her surroundings was always enjoyable.
The story overall was decent. Seeing the sisters trying to deal with their issues was a nice change of pace. While it wouldn't be a Disney movie without a romance subplot, this one felt unique enough to stand out. It never takes the main stage, and it didn't feel forced. The sound was hard to gauge, but I think everything was good with it. And the voice work was animated and enjoyable. Great animation quality, and cool magical visuals to round everything up. Honestly I enjoyed this movie more then I thought I would. It is a great date night movie if your lady is into these kind of films. And a great family movie that I think both male and female kids would enjoy. Hell, I can even say as a almost 30 year old male that I enjoyed the musical princess film.
4 out of 5 stars.