Modern Disney classic

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2014)

Frozen is a worthy successor to Disney's very best features. It manages to be magical, fun and exciting whilst still breaking out as a modern Disney film with more complex characters and strong themes.
The focal point of the movie is not a traditional clash of good and evil nor the search of the one true love. The movie's heart is the troubled and frozen relationship of the two protagonists, the princess Anna and Elsa, the modern Snow Queen. Instead of an evil and selfish tyrant, Elsa is a gentle and kind young woman, yet insecure and vulnerable, struggling to control her powers of ice, which frighten herself more than anyone else. Her fear of hurting other causes her to isolate herself growing up, forcing the sisters to grow apart. And when her powers accidentally create an eternal winter, Elsa banishes herself in order to protect the kingdom and her precious sister from herself. Anna, however, grown to be an optimistic young woman full of life and joy, sets out to find her to melt the kingdom and also mend the sisters' troubled relationship. As the movie puts it, "Thaw the frozen heart."
Frozen looks great. Nay, it's stunning. The mountains, plains, iced rivers, snowflakes and iced castles of northern Scandinavia add a nice change of scenery for Disney films, and it's done splendidly. The visuals are top-notch. The landscape, obviously, but also the way the characters have been brought to life. Their movement is realistic, their faces display multiple individual emotions excellently and the voice cast is spot on. It looks like Disney-characters haven't been this lively since Timon did the hula.
While openly making fun of some old Disney trademarks ("You can't marry someone you just met!"), it keeps the familiar magic alive, and not with just the visuals. The characters are plausible, fresh, evolving and easy to relate to, the songs are powerful (albeit occasionally nonsensical) and the plot divers from the source material (H. C. Andersen's Snow Queen) in the most refreshing of ways. Besides the adventure, the with and the occasional romance, it is above all a beautiful and heart- melting film about sisterly love and the lengths they would go for each other.
A classic fairy tale with modern values, stunning visuals, lively cast and compelling themes, the tale should have no trouble winning over the hearts of the old and new fans. It's beautiful, it's touching, it's exciting and it's silly; Frozen is everything one could ever hope for a Disney.