A passable, but not particularly memorable Disney effort.

Rating: 6/10 (8 October 2014)

With "Frozen", Disney finally gives their audience their long awaited-version of Hans Christian Andersens "The Snow Queen". After being in development since Walt's early days, "Snow Queen" was finally officially green-lit after Tangled's release and been pretty much shaped by the same components that made "Tangled" so successful. Since then, "Frozen" has become Disney's biggest hit ever, even surpassing "The Lion King". As an avid Disney-fan, I'm glad that Disney's once again having an Golden Age, but it's a pity that "Frozen" is the film that has lifted Disney's reputation. While I don't consider "Frozen" to be a bad film, it's a far cry from Disney's best releases.
Set in Norway, the film should probably have made me biased, considering that I'm a Norwegian myself. Fortunately Disney bring the Norwegian culture and landscape with grace and dignity. But while "Frozen" is a solid and watchable film, it's hampered the same problems that hampered both "Tangled and "Brave". As with "Brave", the first half is is superior to the second half and the movie becomes generic afterwards (after "Let It Go"). And as with "Tangled", the film is quite dramatically uneven and even more so than "Tangled", not blending the funny scenes and the quite darker scenes well.
The second problem lies in a very busy plot. The plot line about Elsa's inner struggle and angst, as well as her and Anna's broken relationship, is enough for an entire movie. But the film also adds Anna's quest for true love (the main theme of the movie), as well as giving her two love interests, and one of them turning to be evil. I applaud the choice of having an evil Prince Charming for once, but it should have been in a story where it was actually needed, since Hans' sudden turn was contrived and not needed at all (and Hans had been a likable guy until then). Kristoff had the potential to been a deeper, more complex character, but he's just given the role as a loner for no particular deep reason at all.
It's not that the sister relationship isn't the main focus on the movie, because it is. Although Disney has made a sister-relationship once before with "Lilo & Stitch, at least that movie managed to take a sister dynamic to another level and portrayed real, dimensional characters. Elsa and Anna are just stereotypes with one trait. Anna is your typical plucky, spunky, naive and endearing Disney Princess (pretty much an amalgam of the traits of previous Disney heroines) and is given most of the spotlight. The other sister, Elsa, is the Snow Queen herself and your typical misunderstood Disney outcast. But since she's reduced to being a secondary protagonist, she's given less screen time and therefore less characterization. Elsa's character is a relatable metaphor for depressed and angsty people. I'm not trying to turn this into an Anna vs. Elsa debate, but since Elsa is after all the main catalyst for the events, she should have been the main protagonist and the film should have been primarily her story.
With "Frozen", Menken has been replaced by the songwriting team Bobby and Kristen Lopez. Three of their songs work really well; the lovely anthem "Let It Go", the wonderful "For the First Time in Forever" and "Frozen Heart". The rest of the songs are not awful, but quite forgettable. However, less successful is Christophe Becks score, which unfortunately is quite generic and unremarkable. While there are a few hints of authentic Norwegian folk music in the score, it's still a missed opportunity to make a score entirely based on Norwegian folk music.
Now it may sound that I detest this movie, cause I don't. The visuals were stunningly gorgeous and takes CGI visuals to a new level. The first half manage to engage and Hans' and Anna's romance is quite skillfully executed for a Disney couple. Olaf manages to light up the scenes that he's present and is surprisingly endearing. Co-directed by Chris Buck, he manage to bring the cuteness factor that was quite present in "Tarzan". The voice acting is mostly fine and little Sven is the most cutest thing ever. However, the character designs on the humans are disappointingly generic and barely resemble a Disney design.
At the end, "Frozen" is a somewhat enjoyable and solid, but not particularly memorable Disney film. But on the positive side, it has made sure that Disney is hip again on the general masses. Let's hope this reputation will last this time.