While it doesn't quite live up to other Disney Classics, "Frozen" is still a gorgeous, entertaining, near-flawless and exceedingly well-made family-adventure.

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2015)

So, it's been about a year since "Frozen"- one of the biggest and most rampantly popular Disney releases in quite some time- hit theaters. A year for audiences to get over the initial "high" of seeing it for the first time and review it with a more objective, critical eye. I find that often, after a few months, my opinion of a film will have changed somewhat, and I'm usually slightly more analytical and critical to it's strengths and faults. Which is why I held off on reviewing this particular film right away.
So, looking back a year later, does "Frozen" still hold up?
Yes. Yes it does. Rather magnificently.
While it's never QUITE able to live up to other Disney Classics, and it does have a few dodgy moments here and there, "Frozen" is a shockingly well-made film, boasting not only immensely impressive visuals and direction, but some of the best musical work in an animated family film I've ever heard, in addition to some wonderfully developed characters and great humor. It's another near-flawless example of Disney doing what it does best.
We follow two princess sisters- Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel), who were the best of friends as children. However, Elsa possessed a strange magical ability- the ability to create snow, ice and cold through her hands. Unable to control his power, the sister's parents have a wise mystical troll erase Anna's memory of Elsa's abilities, and keep them separated through much of their lives for their own respective safety, so Elsa can try and learn to control her powers without inadvertently hurting her sister.
Years later, after their parent's deaths, Elsa emerges from solitude to be crowned queen. However, after a mistake reveals her powers to the people of her kingdom- thus causing the concerned public to see her as a potential threat, she leaves to live alone, accidentally covering the kingdom in an eternal winter. And so it is up to Anna to try to help her sister learn to control her powers, and end the dreaded winter. And along the way, Anna is joined by a colorful cast of characters, including a good-hearted ice merchant (Jonathan Groff), his pet/companion reindeer, and a unrelentingly-optimistic snowman called "Olaf" (Josh Gad) who was unknowingly brought to life by Elsa's powers.
The cast is absolutely perfect. Bell is absolutely fun as a quirky, spunky princess who goes through a comical-yet-emotional journey for the sake of her sister, and is endlessly likable. Groff and Gad round out the supporting cast perfectly, bringing a great deal of charm and charisma to their roles. (Though Gad does occasionally come off as a bit annoying early on.) And other supporting roles by actors such as Santio Fontana and Alan Tudyk are great compliments.
However, the shining star is Idina Menzel. She breaths such an immense life into Elsa, and gives the character so much heart, pathos and depth, I would venture to say her performance easily should have earned her an Oscar nod, despite being a voice-only role. And I was very happy when her song "Let it Go" won the Oscar for Best Song. I know it was written by the rampantly talented songwriters Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez, but Menzel is what truly elevated the song to greatness.
Production is top-notch. Direction courtesy Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee is astounding. The duo bring the world to life in such an incredible way, and their choices elevate the already strong material to new bounds. The script (written by Lee from a story treatment she also co-wrote) is also phenomenal, and is highly admirable from a character-development standpoint. In just 100 minutes, the film is able to fully establish, craft, develop and pay-off a world and characters in a way that most other films can only dream to.
The animation is superb. The snow and water effects looking shockingly true-to-life, while the character and setting design is nicely stylized while also feeling organic and "true." It's able to construct everything so well, that despite being animated, you swear you could actually touch the snow, touch the buildings, touch the characters, etc. And it thankfully never delves into the "uncanny valley." And of course, the music (score by Christophe Beck and songs by the aforementioned due of the Lopez's) fits in so perfectly.
I could really gush on and on over how much this film does right. However, that being said, there are a few things that hold it back from perfection, which is where the film loses a point.
I do think that there are some pacing issues at times in the storytelling. The film moves just a wee-bit too fast at times, particularly in the first 45 minutes, which is a bit of a negative. I also feel that the scope is somewhat limited. Everything feels a bit too small and intimate for the sort-of tale that's being told. And I think the film is uneven in how it presents certain characters and situations. (A few characters get a ton of screen time early on, only to be sort-of "forgotten about" later, making them feel misused. Or other characters like the trolls, whose only appearances are brief and more akin to cameos, despite their important roles in the story.) I also do think a few too many jokes fall flat.
But I can forgive those flaws when it comes to the big picture. This is a fantastic film from any stretch of the imagination, and I'm happy to own it on Blu-Ray. It's definitely one of those films I will be revisiting consistently, and enjoying each and every time.
I give "Frozen" a near-perfect 9 out of 10. It most definitely lives up to the hype. It just isn't quite flawless.