Merely good

Rating: 7/10 (21 March 2014)

Disney goes back to its roots of princesses and magical lands in its latest release of "Frozen." The main characters are two sister princesses, Anna and Elsa. Anna is a young, cheerful, optimistic protagonist who seeks the love and attention of her sister Elsa. Elsa, is a quiet, introvert that possesses the power of creating and ice snow, which she cannot control, and thus keeps secret from her sister as a means to protect her. The secret becomes exposed and Elsa inadvertently traps the kingdom in an endless winter. It is up to Anna to bring back summer and save her sister from herself. On her journey, she meets a collection of entertaining characters: Christoph, a struggling ice merchant, Sven, Christoph's quiet yet dog-like reindeer, and Olaf, a happy-go-lucky Snowman.
One advantage to this new animated feature is the fact that it breaks the norm of many passed Walt Disney shorts. There is no wicked Witch or any evil antagonist in the likes of Ursula from "The Little Mermaid" or the Queen from "Snow White." The core of the story is the relationship between these two sisters and how one of them is willing to cross wintry lands and climb high mountains to save what she preciously desires. This makes a rather unusual plot device and is no doubt a decent attempt to break away or let go from the old clichés. Simultaneously, the Disney writers throw in plenty of references from past movies such as a true love's first kiss from "Snow White," a ballroom dance sequence inspired from "Cinderella," and anthropomorphic characters like "Beauty and The Beast." Paying homage to past films can be a breath of fresh air if done well, however, they can be overburdening.
For much of the film, I kept seeing too much of these past Disney references. I felt like I was watching Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White compacted into one. The first thirty minutes alone feels like a contrived musical version of all these movies put together in a bundle. It really is not until the forty minute mark when things become really intriguing with the introductions of Sven, Christoph, and Olaf. They are the ones who make this movie interesting. Besides, who can resist a reindeer with a dog-like personality, a carefree, talking Snowman, and a handsome underdog armed with love advice? Without them, the movie would have been a dull chick flick. The animation is breathtaking. The music is beautiful. The song "Let it go" is something to remember for the ages (Idina has quite a vocal range). "Frozen" is a movie that I like, but I don't love. It is merely good.