Disney REALLY needs to restructure their marketing department.

Rating: 6/10 (28 March 2018)

Because before the critic reviews rolled around, Frozen didn't exactly have the best buzz going around about it; Mainly in the form of, "Please let me kill that annoying snowman." And, as if it wasn't enough that people were afraid if animated Jar Jar Banks was coming our way, then we had an animator interview that basically confirmed everything wrong with the corporate attitude of creating female characters for animation. But, frankly Tangled had an equally annoying comedy heavy trailer, and THAT movie turned out great. I reserved judgement until I saw the whole film, and how is it? Ugh.... okay, I kind of admit that I have a problem: I have this INSANE tendency to expect movies from Pixar and Disney to always be AMAZING, and I mean 'make you cry and laugh, lift you from your body and go on an amazing journey', epic levels of amazing. But frankly, that's just not healthy. Not only does it set you up for unrealistic expectations, and if the movie doesn't match ALL your excited anticipation of the "best movie ever," even a great movie will seem disappointing.
And yes, it is Disney, which means that the movies are made for families. But I also have to say that I don't believe in pulling any punches, just because it's a family movie. Pixar movies have the reputation they do, not because the critics went EASY on them because they were FAMILY movies, it's because they're movies that work for everyone. And while it's certainly important to understand for which demographic the movie was made, that doesn't excuse it from CRITICISM.
I think that Frozen is a perfectly FINE movie, if all you really want is a cute, funny, and harmless mini-adventure story featuring two female characters, impeccably designed so that they won't bother feminists, but that Disney can still make money off merchandising them as princesses. But if you want a FANTASTIC, interesting story with characters you can emotionally connect with, this probably isn't it.
Now on the positive side, the animation is GORGEOUS. It's not textured, Dream Works gorgeous, but lovely, colourful, active. And of course, given its visual theme, the film LOVES to show you everything it can do with ice and snow, and indeed, the ice and snow looks AMAZING.
I do think the female leads are a bit paper-thin. But the snowman? He's, fine! He's even effectively entertaining! He IS funny, but in a good-natured, likable way. I do like his voice, and for the most part, he's not annoying!
Speaking of which, this movie IS also a musical. In general, I find the music okay. Kind of on the same level as Princess and the Frog and Tangled, I can't really pretend that the songs are as good as the great ones from the 90's, but there have been at least two songs from each of those movies that I liked. Including Frozen. The first song is the one played right at the beginning of the film. Then there's the BIG song of the film, and it's the song that Elsa sings, where she REALLY gets to show off what she can do with her powers. Plus, the music with the animation of her using her powers goes together BEAUTIFULLY. Then the rest of the songs are cute, but mediocre.
And then of course, there's the story. Remember when Brave came out, and how everyone's consensus was kind of, "It's not that I didn't like it, I was just expecting it to be a bit... BETTER." Well, that. And it's not just because it really forces in the comedy whether it works or not. It's just that the characters' chemistry just isn't there. And it's not from a lack of effort to try and flesh out these characters, it's just that the story doesn't let them DO that much. As for Elsa, for example: You think she's going to be the villain, but she's not. You think it's going to be this complicated situation where she'll really GROW as a character, but it's not. Every that happens, she basically does by accident. Elsa is basically reserved and scared of her powers, but she is the one character with a real CONFLICT. So why on earth does the movie focus on ANNA as the main protagonist? Which isn't to say TOO much against her, who's personality is caring, but excitable and funny. While I think that Anna's goofiness can eventually irritate SOME people, there's nothing wrong with her besides her not having a lot to do. Because, not much in this movie really feels like anything's at stake. I mean the whole movie takes place in two days! I do like that the story is about two SISTERS, and while they DO show a genuine connection at the start of the film, we never really see that closeness again. Their interactions throughout most of the film are them reciting the same lines at each other, over and over.
And in the end, my problem with the movie, is it's about how much the film tries to keep the emotion at an arm's length because, "It has to be a fun comedy! Because that's what the kids like now, right?!" This movie just feels like it's aiming for young kids, and I know, it's just a silly kiddie movie, that's all they wanted to make. Well congratulations Disney, you've succeeded! And I know that sounds like a lot of bile but believe me when I say I have NOTHING against anybody who goes to this film and enjoys it. If anything, I'm JEALOUS of those people.