Refreshing. Continues Disney's 3D animation streak with Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph.

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2013)

Coming fresh off Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, Disney finally feel like they're redeeming themselves after the kid 'friendly' misfires of the 2000s. As they embrace 3D animation, now they feel relevant, charmingly idiosyncratic and built on a much grander scale. They're back to being event cinema. While Wreck-It Ralph is starting to feel like a one-off stroke of genius, Frozen feels more like the sister-film to Tangled, of which was a great pleasant surprise for its laid-back attitude and sharp sense of humour, while Frozen relies on a more urgent tension, it retains that humour and a similar emotional release. Fortunately it has stronger and more confident use of songs which is a tradition sorely missed from Disney. However, in taking the typical mold of adapting an old folktale, it results in quite predictable storytelling and character archetypes. Pleasant, but predictable.
It has a few pacing problems in the beginning too, I wish it was more like Tangled in that regard which set us up quickly whereas Frozen spends its first half hour rushing through it rather than settling us in. It's a frequent issue with the film that's a double-edged sword. For example, as the deadpan snowman Olaf steals the show in the second half, he feels like he came from the highlight reel of a completely different writer. While this may give something for everyone and each shard of content is really good, there's something about them that doesn't quite gel. However, Frozen hinges on its lead and Disney has nailed the quirky but feisty young female protagonist where other animation departments struggle. It's great to see a film like this concerned with sisterhood and it hits some really powerful beats. While its path may be jagged and unusual, Frozen is still utterly refreshing and a joy to watch.
7/10