Han Christian Anderson rolls over in his grave as Disney scenarists substitute clueless neurotic for villainous Snow Queen antagonist

Rating: 4/10 (16 December 2013)

Maybe because the critics were desperate for a Christmas time blockbuster that wasn't an action film (like Thor, The Hunger Games, or The Hobbit), that's why this average Disney animated musical, ended up receiving a multitude of accolades. In my view, however, it was overrated; not at all because of the music and special effects, which were quite good, but rather for the weak narrative.
'Frozen' is very loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale, 'The Snow Queen' but bears little resemblance to the original classic tale. In the original, the two children were male and female; here there are two sisters of royal stock: eight year old Elsa who is afflicted with magical powers and her perky younger sister, five year old Anna, who live in the kingdom of Annendale (which in part bears a resemblance to a 19th century Norwegian fishing village). When Elsa can't control her powers (which involve turning everything into ice when she points her fingers), she accidentally injures her sister while they are playing. The result is the very awkward scenario of having Elsa locked up in her room until she's crowned queen as a teenager, following the demise of her parents, who are lost at sea during a storm.
The demise of the parents is handled quite nicely before we arrive at the big coronation scene but children may find it disturbing that the film's scenarists opt to dispose of the parental figures and leave the two young girls as orphans. There is some stupendous 3D animation throughout the film, especially the interior shots of the palace (dig the Bruegel-like paintings on the wall, for example).
The best part of 'Frozen' involves Anna's infatuation with the duplicitous Prince Hans. The whirlwind courtship between the inexperienced Anna and Hans, is undoubtedly meant as a cautionary tale for young women who are too easily taken in by good looks and facile words fashioned to manipulate, as opposed to proposals infused with sincerity. Elsa, on the other hand, sees through her sister's inexperience and refuses to give her blessing (as well as permission) for Anna to wed Hans, after a few hours of superficial courtship.
Unfortunately, the rest of 'Frozen' is downhill. Anna strikes out on her own to try and find her sister the Queen, who's fled because again she is unable to control her own magical powers. Anna is aided by good guy 'Kristoff' the ice dealer and his trusty reindeer, Sven, and wouldn't you know it, Anna falls in love with him (after of course Prince Hans outs himself by revealing that his true intentions was to marry Anna and take over the Arrendale throne). That reversal is a nice twist but Hans is a minor villain in the pantheon of 'Frozen' antagonists, which all can be described as 'minor'.
The problem with 'Frozen' is that it basically lacks an antagonist. Instead, the scenarists rely on Elsa's INTERNAL CONFUSION to move the story along. There is no evil 'Snow Queen' for the audience to root against. Instead, we merely are dragged along until Elsa inevitably gets herself together. But one wonders why she can't get herself together sooner. Instead of fighting an external villain, Elsa becomes an unlikeable loser who ends up creating a monstrous snowman, that almost hurls sister Anna and her soon-to-be boyfriend, off a cliff (also please include dopey Olaf, Anna's childhood snowman, who gets taken apart and put together again, ad infinitum).
The all-powerful Elsa, is then somehow subdued by a few martinets and imprisoned in a jail cell with iron mitts. If she's such a powerful 'sorcerer', why does it take so long before she's able to 'freeze dry' the mitts and escape the jail cell? That's actually a minor contrivance compared to the climax when Elsa 'realizes' that Anna has sacrificed herself to save her. When Anna thaws out of her frozen state, that's when (duh!) Elsa realizes that only true love can set her own self free and also save the kingdom from eternal winter. Again, why does it take so long for (clueless) Elsa to realize the power of love? It's only hinted at (in the first few minutes of the film) but some kind of malevolent force has played with her self-esteem. But since that 'force' never manifests itself as a tangible entity, Elsa is reduced to being an ineffectual neurotic (hardly much of a crafty villain or heroine, we can root for!).
As noted above, 'Frozen' has some great animation and the songs are bouncy and tuneful. Idina Menzel, of 'Wicked' fame, belts out the Elsa numbers and does quite well, especially the most catchy number, 'Let It Go'. Demi Lovato reprises 'Let It Go' on the end credits, but doesn't have as warm a voice as Menzel (and arrangement #2 doesn't help either). For years Disney attempted to adapt Han Christian Anderson's 'Snow Queen' as an animated feature without success. The difficulty in adapting such a sophisticated story is apparent in the current failure entitled 'Frozen'. Should a sequel be in the works, it would be best to create an actual Snow Queen antagonist, which could then propel this new adaptation, in a more efficacious direction.