Unique

Rating: 7/10 (3 October 2018)

Every once in awhile you find something that's not your style and not the type of thing that you're normally interested in, and yet somehow you seem to like it. For me, "Frozen" is a good example of this. As a 36 year old man, I don't usually watch fairy tale type movies anymore (the only reason why I saw this is because I was a substitute counselor at a summer camp and this was one of the movies they showed the kids). There are some things about it that I don't like, particularly the stuff with the trolls. Is the movie overrated? I would say so. But overall I think it's a great film with some really unique story elements and intriguing music, particularly "Let It Go".
I think it's interesting that the blizzard and chaos is caused not by the bad character, but rather by a good character who just doesn't know how to control it.
But what really makes it unique is how Anna is saved from the cold spell at the end. (Note that there are spoilers here). She is told that in order to save herself she needs an act of true love. It looks like it's just another one of those old stories where a princess needs a kiss from a man (a concept I have never liked). But in complete contrast to traditional fairy tale stories, it turns out to be something very different, in that instead of needing true love from another person, what she really needs is to perform an act of true love to someone else (or at least that's what ends up happening). It's a very special scene in that while she is literally dying from the cold she sees Kristoff coming and thinks that he is her only chance to survive. But at the same time the wicked prince Hans is about to kill her sister. So she has to make a decision of either save herself, or try to save Elsa, and she ultimately chooses the latter. She literally gives her life to try to save her sister. Giving your life for someone else is the greatest act of love that anyone can possibly do. The fact that she even still loves her sister at all after all the trouble she has caused makes it even more commendable. In a sense this sort of makes Anna a good example to follow (although she also makes some foolish decisions as well). The only problem with this is that it's easy to misunderstand what saves her. After she turns into ice, Elsa hugs her, thinking she's dead. It's only natural that she would do this. The problem is that this gives the false impression that it was the hug from Elsa that saves her (rather than the expected kiss from a man). This was what I thought at first. Some friends of mine thought this too, and felt that this made it inappropriate. It would've been good if the snowman or somebody had explained this better.
Unlike most people, I don't like romance stories. And while Frozen does contain some romance, I like it in that for once the romance is not what solves the problem at the end, and isn't really the main focus.