A wonderful Disney film!

Rating: 7/10 (25 December 2016)

Frozen has basically everything to be a fun family movie. It has cute characters and great humor for the kids, while still keeping the adults awake with beautiful visuals and excellent music. I watched it with my niece and I was pleasantly surprised and entertained throughout.
Frozen tells us the story about two sisters: Anna and Elsa of Arendelle. Elsa has always harbored secret ice powers which she has to keep a secret after hurting Anna by accident. Elsa accidentally exposed her powers at her coronation ceremony and freezes over Arendelle. She is forced to retreat into isolation and we follow Anna as she goes to look for her and try to convince her to revert it back. Along the way we get introduced to other characters such as Hans (Anna's suitor), Kristoff (an ice farmer? who helps Anna) and Olaf (a cute talking snowman).
Let me start by talking about the story. Most of Frozen's main characters are fleshed out and three-dimensional. It takes time to run us through backstory without being tedious to watch. I agree that there are some weaker/underdeveloped characters and I will get to that later. But overall the characters are fun and easy to follow along with and the kids will like them a lot. Despite some unanswered questions (which I will get to later), the story is original and fun to sit through. There is solid humor and the pacing is great. You will be entertained throughout.
Frozen's visuals are lush, beautiful and very intricate, especially on clothing and ice. Its painting of Arendelle and the incorporation of Scandinavian elements are one of the best parts of the movie. The characters and landscapes are very three-dimensional and lifelike. It is truly a technical achievement and a wonderful experience to sit through.
And of course, the soundtrack is stellar as well. We've all memorized "let it go" by hearing kids sing it 24/7, and there is a good reason for that. The score is so catchy and fun to sing; with songs like "For the first time in forever" and "Do you want to build a snowman?". The songs are some of Disney's best. The kids will love it and adults will secretly as well lol. Also, the voice acting is amazing. Never do you think that you're hearing actors, but the characters themselves. The cast is very talented and provides very solid musical numbers as well.
Despite these achievements, Frozen has tried to make us ignore some very prominent weak points. First of all, there is too many loose ends untied. What about those magical trolls? Marshmallow? Olaf? There is little to no explanation for these characters. It almost seems like they are created as a segway to keep the story rolling along. As well, with the exception of Elsa, Anna and Kristoff, the characters lack depth and development (Duke of Weaselton, Hans, Olaf, etc). Furthermore, there is plot holes so gaping to the point the story stops making sense if you think about it. What's the point of the fixer upper song? Who ran the castle for all this time? Does Elsa's powers include making life? It's like Disney chose to gloss over these holes with filler because they have no idea how to answer them. The ending left us a little confused as well. I was expecting all the loose ends patched up, however they were left like that with no explanation. At the end there was a feeling of incompletion in the air. Throughout the whole film some parts seemed kind of lazy and illogical. Instead of easily providing some explanation Disney covered them up with musical numbers and kept the story moving along. I have heard a couple of "huh?"s in the audience during these moments. The plot felt a little muddled at times as well, as if Disney had too many good ideas and decided to add in subplots here and there. There is first the whole "fear is your enemy" storyline, then the "true love" storyline, then the "eternal winter" storyline? It did feel a little muddled to be honest.
Nevertheless, during your first viewing you would probably be too engrossed with the movie to care. Frozen is a great achievement with a solid cast, soundtrack and fantastic animation. It has a very entertaining pace that will guarantee a few laughs along the way. It is a great family movie that will leave you with a smile on your face and a song on your lips.