Overrated, but good nonetheless

Rating: 9/10 (20 May 2014)

My Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)
Frozen opens up with rhythmic chanting through the Disney and WDAS logos and the opening title. This is immediately followed by a scene involving a group of ice harvesters slicing ice from a frozen lake and singing about ice, fear, and frozen hearts. This opening sets the right tone and foreshadows some of the film's underlying themes. It also has something of an ambitious feel to it, as if this film were daring to aim for the level of Beauty and the Beast and some of Disney's other best films. In my opinion, Frozen is not as good as these films, and it is not a masterpiece by any means; and frankly I think it's overrated. But I still found it to be a good movie.
Frozen is the story of sisters Anna and Elsa, the princesses of Arendelle. Elsa has magical powers to create ice and snow. These sisters were very close when they were little, until an incident where Elsa almost kills her younger sister with her powers. Their parents take Anna to some trolls who save her and erase her memories of Elsa's powers. After this, the sisters are separated and grow apart over the years. Years later, their parents die at sea, and three years after this, Elsa reaches the age at which she can become Queen. On coronation day, Anna meets Hans, a prince of another kingdom. She falls in love with him and wants to get engaged – that same day. In the ensuing argument with Elsa, Elsa inadvertently releases her powers. She then flees, unintentionally leaving the kingdom in a magically induced winter. Anna goes after her, along the way acquiring the help of an ice harvester, Kristoff, and his reindeer, Sven.
Despite the immense hype surrounding this film, some negative reviewers have claimed that the film is shallow, simplistic, messy, and empty. In my opinion, however, not only is it not, but it's also heavy with subtleties, symbolism, and subtext; and I found it to be relatable and thought provoking to a considerable degree. I will admit that the storyline itself is fairly simple and predictable. But overall, I found the story to be decent and effective, with some valuable morals including, but not limited to, the true meaning of love, overcoming one's fears, and accepting people for who they are.
The primary factor that makes the story work is the characters. The relationship between Anna and Elsa is what constitutes the film's emotional core. I was able to relate to both both of these characters, and Kristoff, to some degree. The animators really took the time to craft these three characters, giving them well-rounded, well-nuanced personalities, genuine emotional depth, and excellent physical appearances; not to mention the superlative voice performances by the cast. The animators even paid excellent attention to all of their mannerisms, tics, facial expression, and other details (even very small ones). These three characters felt to me like real people, and not two dimensional stereotypes.
Another strength of the film is the music. Christophe Beck did a good job composing the score; and Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez did a good job writing the songs, my favorites of which are "For the First Time in Forever," "Let It Go," "Do You Want to Build a Snowman," and "Frozen Heart." The songs are not excellent, but they are pretty good, and they help develop the characters and move the story along pretty well.
Some modern filmmakers, especially Michael Bay, could really learn a thing or two from movies like Frozen. I cannot deny that the animation in Frozen is very good, and the film would not have worked without it. Fortunately, however, directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee actually care about other things as well: character development, relationships, heart, storytelling, and so forth. The film actually has a warm, genuine heart of its own under all of that digital snow and ice. Also, instead of just serving as a flashy distraction, the animation is actually used to service the script (not the other way around).
Now, again, I honestly think the film is good, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. In addition to myriad missed opportunities, this film has its flaws. I found the film's second act to be a bit insipid and a little too heavy in comedy. Sure, it was funny, but it occasionally upset the comedy/drama balance, thereby preventing the second act from having the same emotional punch that the first and third acts have. Also, I felt that the story was slightly rushed and compressed. In fact, the film contains enough material for a TV miniseries. The film is solid and coherent as it is, but I still think a slightly longer running length would have done it a lot of good. Oh, and the villain is pretty weak - contrived and paper-thin (yes, there is a villain, but he is secondary to the primary conflict).
Personally I think Frozen is the best of the five Disney Revival films so far, beating out Tangled by a whisker. Disney has successfully moved into the 21st century. For the most part, they have succeeded in combining their older elements with modern ones.
Frozen is now the highest grossing animated film to date. At the same time, it's also receiving the harsh backlash that films this successful often receive. I personally think Frozen is overrated, but it's still good – charming, heartfelt, humorous, emotional, and overall entertaining - and it's one of my favorite films of 2013. Disney may not have the charisma they used to have, but at least they still know how to make a good movie.
For more reviews, and my full review of Frozen (what you have just read is a truncated version of it): visit my blog: http://robertsreliablereviews.blogspot.com/