Don't get the mad love it inspires, but not bad

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2014)

Frozen (2013) is by no means a train wreck, but I found the Beauty and the Beast (1991) comparisons ludicrous. The films of the early Disney Renaissanze like The Little Mermaid (1989) and BatB were films that broke the mold and revolutionized feature animation. Frozen is an entertaining film, but it does nothing new: we've seen strong female protagonists in a Disney film before, the Prince Charming/love at first sight idea has been lampooned/satirized better in other films such as Enchanted (2007), Princess and the Frog (2008), and Shrek 2 (2004), and there are Disney films with vastly superior music.
The story is serviceable, but messy, a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. Interesting ideas are brought up but never developed to their full potential. The relationship between the sisters gets lost in the midst of romance and comedy. While Elsa is a magnificent character, it is unfortunate that she is not our protagonist. Instead we get Anna, who is much like a thousand other modern animated heroes and heroines: spazzy and optimistic, though her desire for love gives her some depth. Not a bad character, but I still feel like I've seen her like before. The Hans character is cool, but I wish he and his secret had been used for another film.
The animation is beautiful, especially the effects animation on the snow and Elsa's ice magic. I've never been keen on the character designs, which are too doll-like for my tastes.
While much praise has been heaped upon the music, I found it almost all of it forgettable. It's also much too modern sounding, which takes one out of the 19th century setting and will no doubt date the movie much the same way the operetta styled love songs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) tether that film to the 1930s.
In the end, a pretty film, but I don't think it will prove to be the enduring classic many have labelled it as.