Review: Frozen

It’s been out for a while now, but I finally got round to seeing this Christmases big animated extravaganza, Frozen. Something is to be said for a film that manages to stick around in the cinema for over a month in recent time, but something about this film has kept it in the top ten longer than a lot of the sub-standard digimations that have been thrown together for the holidays this year.

This is a Disney film through and through. The plot focuses on two sisters, Anna and Elsa, who grew up in a castle together with loving parents. Elsa has a magical gift of being able to conjure ice and snow and they have lots of fun playing in the vast ballrooms of the castle building snowman and suchlike. This is, until Elsa accidentally hurts Anna who is revived and has her memory erased by a wise troll. Elsa locks herself away from the world – and Anna – as her powers grow, in fear that she will hurt her sister further.

A few years later, and after the obligatory tragic deaths of their parents  (a Disney trademark!), the palace doors are open to the world as the young princess Elsa is to ascend to the throne. This is the first time the sisters have seen each other in all this time and their feelings are mixed; Elsa (Idina Menzel) is fearful, but knows it has to be done and Anna (Kristen Bell) is full of joy at being able to meet people and especially her older sister. Both of their feelings are put to a classic Disney song where the themes are played out against each other in a glorious harmony.

Needless to say, things don’t go quite according to plan and Elsa’s powers reveal themselves in front of everyone forcing her to flee into the mountains and bringing a harsh Winter to her kingdom. This spurs Anna to go on a quest to talk to her sister and bring her back home with the help of an ice-cutter, his reindeer and an enchanted, talking snowman called Olaf (Josh Gad). Who is right up there, in terms of Disney sidekicks, with Donkey from the Shrek films.

All the Disney magic and clichés are in there as this is pure fairytale story telling and singing, which Disney are renowned for. It won’t win any major plaudits as it is a straightforward, nuts-and-bolts film, but when Disney are firing on all cylinders nothing can stop them. Frozen is well worth a watch