Charming Addition to the Disney Movie Canon

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2013)

The questions have been far and wide concerning the highly anticipated "Frozen." Is it just an icy version of "Tangled?" Does it live up to the hype? Is it the best movie since "The Lion King?" Well the answers are in order as so: no, yes, and debatable.
"Frozen" is the story of a young princess named Anna. She has spent most her days in the seclusion of her castle for the sole purpose of keeping her safe from the terrifying secret of her sister, Elsa. Elsa has the power to create snow out of nothing. Once her secret comes out there is no stopping her power. So when Elsa runs away Anna goes off to find her along with some new allies. All in the hope of making things right again.
This is a completely different story from "Tangled" and it proves this with some very nice twists in the whole fairy-tale scheme of things. And it also does a great job of living up to the incredible amount of hype set for the movie (fantastic songs, great voice-cast, beautiful animation, and great writing). However, the statement that it is the "best movie since 'The Lion King'" is a very bold one at that. "The Lion King" is a classic film that very few films in general can match in caliber. Though I will say "Frozen" is a classic in it's own right.
The songs for the movie have a deep sense of nostalgia, going all the way back to the Disney Renaissance Era. There were several numbers where I felt transported back to classic musical numbers such as show-stopping numbers like "Be Our Guest" and triumphant, powerful songs like "Circle of Life." While watching this movie you will definitely feel the intent for this movie to become a Broadway musical. For those who live in New York, be on the look out because this should be one great time at the theatre.
Of course the movie would have fallen flat if was not for the wonderful talent of the leading cast (pretty much the entire cast are Broadway vets, hint anybody?). The wonderful innocence, naivety of Anna was portrayed so well by Kristen Bell. When she spoke there was a sweet charm about her and her singing felt more angelic, light. This was a great contrast with the powerful, belting vocals of Idina Menzel as Elsa. Her role as the conflicted queen was perfect for her (also her background with roles like this in "Wicked" made her the perfect choice). She brought a certain maturity to conflict Anna's innocence while giving us show-stopping numbers ("Let It Go" was probably one of the best songs of the year). Their chemistry was great.
The rest of the supporting cast did fantastic jobs as well. Jonathan Groff was great as Kristoff (still angry they didn't let him sing much at all). So was Santino Fontana as Hans, but it was Josh Gad as Olaf out of these three who had the best scene-stealing moments. Even though I loved seeing Anna and Kristoff banter back and forth, I felt myself smile even wider whenever Olaf was on screen. He was charming, funny, and just too adorable to ignore. Though I couldn't help but feel bad for laughing while he sang "In Summer," a song about how he'd be doing what a snowman does during summer (dark humor in a Disney movie, love it).
All-in-all, this was a great addition to the Disney movie canon. We got ourselves some original and fantastic songs, tons of memorable characters, a wonderfully written script, and some nice (much-needed) twists on the fairy-tale ideas. Even though it is hard to match up to "The Lion King" this is still a great Disney movie that the whole family will enjoy and I will not be surprised if it wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.