Frozen – A new Disney Classic

So, what’s better than a magical story about a princess?

Simple! A magical story about two princesses.

Many have written about how Frozen is a marked shift from Disney’s traditional romantic princess-in-distress-saved-by-prince-charming formula.Well, don’t get too excited. Frozen is instead about a princess-in-distress saved by another princess-in-distress.

Personally, I think the shift is debatable. Why, for instance, do Elsa and Anna have to be princesses in the first place at all? They could have siblings in any kind of family. Disney franchise doesn’t stray far from the message that girls need to be princesses with pretty clothes and fancy houses.

These squabbles aside, I will admit something is refreshing about Frozen. The animation, for instance, is old-school Disney. The ice castle, the kingdom of Arrendale, and the snow monster – all shine with the beauty and simplicity of 2D. The Nordic aesthetics of the movie are breathtaking. The action sequences are cartoonish, as they should be with no larger-than-life special effects. It’s a relief to watch a movie where CGI doesn’t take over the plot.

Plot Summary

Elsa, the heir-apparent and the older of the two princesses is an X-Woman(?) and has the power to turn things into ice. With no Professor X to guide and harness her power, she lives in fear of herself, secluded from her sister and others.

Anna, the younger princess, unaware of her sister’s powers, gets all the love and freedom that a princess would, and grows up to a happy-go-lucky girl waiting to meet her prince charming. She has no proper relationship with her sister but carries the hope that one-day things will improve.

Life gets interesting when on the day of Elsa’s coronation, Anna meets the love of her life and gets into a fight with Elsa who accidentally exposes her power in public. Being afraid of hurting people and being called a monster, she runs away. Her emotions find relief by unleashing a bitter winter.

 Frozen is about Anna’s quest to find her sister and release Arrendale from eternal winter. On her journey, she meets Kristoff, an out-of-business ice seller, and Olaf, a talking snowman.

Olaf is probably the most adorable of sidekicks. He is a snowman who loves warm hugs and summers! There is something comical yet deeply dark about the song “In Summer” when Olaf croons:

Bees’ll buzz, kids’ll blow dandelion fuzz

And I’ll be doing whatever snow does in summer.

With some of the wittiest dialogues in the movie, he provides most of the laughs.

Is Frozen worth the hype?

Frozen works at several levels, and I haven’t enjoyed an animated movie this much since Despicable Me. I definitely recommend watching it – it’s a great comfort movie. But to be one of the highest grossing movies ever?  I just don’t get it.

For more movie reviews, click here.