copyright © Jedo Dre 2011

I cannot decide what my problem is with this film. I narrowed it down to 2 possibilities: either 1) there is too much singing and silliness or 2) I am just not that young anymore. I guess it is mostly the latter.


Those who have not seen Frozen probably probably still heard about "Let it go", a song from the movie that went viral on social media. It is a good song and Frozen has several good songs, and they belong on a very good separately sold music album. They are all essentially standalone songs and they take up half of the movie. I don't remember Alladin or Beauty and the Beast being so singy. Maybe they were. Frozen is just short of being a musical and I do not like musicals.


The basic story is about a Nordic princess with ice superpowers that end up causing her and her kingdom a lot of trouble as she struggles to control these powers.


What is nice about the story is that it is not obvious or overly simplistic and the final moral message goes just a bit off the beaten path. The whole production has a certain refreshing asymmetry about it. It borrows somewhat from the Snow Queen fairytale and Hamlet, but oh well.


Nothing special about the actors though. It is all good, but a few months after seeing the movie, the only memorable character is the comic relief snowman, Olaf, played by Josh Gad. Considering that the public often finds such characters annoying, it is good that Olaf is not of the annoying kind. The rest of the characters are kind of generic. Of course the two male and the two female leads are going to be pretty, their voices smooth and their bodies shaped according to the old-fashioned standards for protagonists. The most memorable thing about these folks is the singing.


The art is good, probably because it paces itself and knows when to strike the viewer with the money-shot in order the make the largest impression. The thing about snow though is that it does not need a lot of texture or color, so does not require a ton of skill. Of course it does pose its own challenges when you have to animate how it dissipates and that part is done well.


Frozen is a solid production, but it is not revolutionary. There may be a bit too much singing for the male adult audience.

Frozen