Movie Review: Frozen (2013)

So, I went with my brother John to see "Frozen" in the theaters today, and had so many thoughts about it that I thought I'd do a rare movie review. I've tried not to include any spoilers!

(Plus, I just really wanted an excuse to post some pictures of the characters, because they were so cute!!)

Plot: Elsa and Anna are the two princesses of Arendelle, a mythical northern land of beautiful countryside, warm summers and delightfully frosty winters. They are normal, happy girls in every way - except that Elsa was born with the ability to create snow and ice and to freeze everything she touches. When she almost kills Anna with an ice blast, a healing troll warns that she must learn to control her growing powers, or one day she will hurt someone. Elsa's parents decide to shut both girls up in the castle and keep them away from anyone or anything that might cause Elsa's secret to come out.

But when Elsa's turn comes to take the throne, she gets into an argument with the feisty and vivacious Anna, and accidentally unleashes her powers on the kingdom, plunging the entire world into the depths of an eternal winter. Horrified, she flees into the mountains to hide herself forever alone. It's up to Anna and her accidentally acquired companions (Prince Hans, Kristoff the ice seller and his reindeer Sven) to track down her sister and ask her to return, to save the kingdom and bring back summer.

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High Points:
- The ANIMATION. Disney has truly surpassed itself with the animation in this movie. The scenery in particular is breathtakingly colorful and lifelike, with some of the best ice, snowstorms, and roiling oceans that I've ever seen in any film.
- The costumes. Frozen is set sometime in the late 1800's in a land much like Norway, and the costumes reflect period clothing fairly well. Their clothing is detailed and beautiful, from the embroidery on Anna's dresses, to Elsa's velvet and tulle gowns, to Kristoff's fur parkas and boots. I also fell in love with both Anna and Elsa's hair, which worn in soft, flowing braids for much of the movie.
- The characters. Some of the characters in this movie were stronger than others, but on the whole, I really liked them. They reminded me of people that I know, especially the confident, extroverted, warm-hearted but ridiculously klutzy Anna. Just be aware that one of the characters is not exactly the way they seem on the outside ...

Could Be Better:
- The storyline. This movie is slow to get started, choosing to cover the backstory more extensively than most Disney films do; and it almost feels like there are two or three climaxes, rather than one clear goal point that the story is aiming for.
- The music. Disney has sometimes gotten away with mixing musical genres in the past, but this movie's odd combination of traditional Norwegian folk songs, choral singing, Broadway-style songs, and jazz does not feel quite right. The "best" song in the movie, musically, is Elsa's powerful Broadway-esque solo; while Anna's songs, while mostly lighthearted and sympathetic, are almost identical to Rapunzel's "When Will My Life Begin" song from Tangled.

Possible Concerns:
- Elsa's magic is basically sorcery, more in the style of a Disney villain than Belle's rose or Rapunzel's hair. It was a little disturbing to me when she used her hands to conjure up snow and ice and create things out of thin air. This power is an integral part of her character, and not treated as something dark or bad, except when she uses it to hurt others.
- Parts of this movie are a little more violent than recent Disney movies. No one is killed, but it could be upsetting for younger viewers.
- Frozen is an agenda-driven movie, which I will cover in more detail in my review below. The men are inept and far less intelligent than the women they follow around, and the lesson of the movie is accepting inborn differences in others which may seem scary to the people around them. The themes of shaming the family, being forced to live alone, and **SPOILER** Elsa finally exploding into a rebellious and flamboyant acceptance of who she is, strongly suggest to me that Frozen is promoting the acceptance and inclusion of people who are homosexual.

Vicki's Vote: 3/5

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I saw the trailer for this movie several months ago and immediately fell in love with the Nordic setting and sweet-faced characters. Frozen is loosely based on the fairytale The Snow Queen; but while the original fairytale was based on Christian themes of faith and good triumphing over evil, this movie is operating for the most part on a very different set of morals. Let's start with the bad things about this film, so we can end on a happy note.

I can't lay my finger on any one thing in particular that gave me the impression that this movie's object of sympathy was gay people, but that was my strong impression leaving the theater. Part of it may have been the portrayal of Elsa's magic as something she was born with and couldn't help, but was being forced to hide; another musical event (which I can't describe due to spoilers) occurs later in the film and also reinforces the idea of throwing off society's expectations and being yourself, even if you have to do it alone. Elsa's musical mantra for the beginning portion of the movie is "conceal, don't feel", her father's advice that if she hides and controls her magical powers, she will not feel them and perhaps they will go away. She is then made to live alone in her room - a physical closet, if you will. These themes are very similar to the themes of Mulan: repressing one's true identity, shaming the family if this identity came out, and ultimately proving society wrong when the identity is finally openly embraced without negative repercussions. However, Mulan's tomboyishness is a different matter than Elsa's sorcery.

I really didn't like Elsa's magic powers. I'm used to magic in Disney movies, but this magic felt more sinister. Without giving too much away, Elsa's capabilities do get stronger as the movie goes on, and she does use them as a weapon at times. Her character is painted in a sympathetic light and I did like her and feel sorry for her, but to put it simply, she is an undisguised witch - much more in the line of Jadis the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia. Whom I didn't like either.

John and I were also disappointed with the portrayal of men in this movie. Both of the main male characters, Hans and Kristoff, are always playing catch-up with Anna and clearly can't match her strength and intelligence. She really doesn't need either of them at all. They're certainly sweet and lovable for most of the movie, but none of the women rely on them or even respect them. I think the movie really could have benefited from showing some teamwork between the men and women, rather than solely showing strong women dragging confused men around. Just my opinion.

However, if you'd still like to see the movie, take heart, because there were a lot of good things about it too.

Firstly, as I mentioned, the characters and animation are ridiculously wonderful. I'll try not to give out spoilers, but the turning point of the movie involves a lot of ice; and this ice is so beautifully animated that you could believe it was real. Definitely the same with the richly colored and detailed costumes as well. And the characters, although they had some character flaws, were all rather lovable and well written - frightened, guilt-ridden Elsa; feisty, adventurous Anna; intelligent, handsome Hans; and kind, practical Kristoff. Even the comic relief characters, Sven the moose and Olaf the talking snowman, are much less annoying than many Disney foils of the past (read: gargoyles) and even made me laugh.

Additionally, the secondary theme of the movie is the one that is explicitly stated by the characters; and that is "True love sacrifices." The characters explain to each other that true love is giving up your own needs and wants for those of the other person - obviously, this is the most Biblical of statements, and it is a lesson that all of us need to be reminded of. The focus of the love in this movie is less on romantic love and more on general love, too, which is interesting and unusual for a Disney film. (As a bonus, though, there is a song about romantic love in the middle of the movie that is rather profound and actually gave me some things to think about ... definitely didn't expect that!)

So in short, I felt a little bit gypped by the rough storyline and disappointing themes, but at the same time, I got far more than I paid for in gorgeous visuals and fascinating character interactions. I would say to take this movie with a grain of salt; but if you're old enough to know what's right and wrong and would like to see a movie with strong themes of love and sacrifice, then by all means, go ahead and check it out!