Okay, I honestly have to confess that I love the Disney Princess CGI movies. I mean, who doesn`t? Many of them are creative, and I do admire the fact that in some of the newer ones the princess needs no prince to save her behind But in the terms of criticism, my favorite CGI princess film has to be Frozen, a recent 2013 blockbuster with creative characters, a deep story with genuinely surprising plot twists, amazing CGI, and of course, kick-ass songs. Aside from the Toy Story franchise and the brilliance of Up, this is probably my favorite CGI film of the modern era. Of course, there are a few flaws, but every film has them.
The story involves Princess Anna and her sister Elsa. Elsa has magical ice powers that she uses to entertain Anna, but one day she screws up and instead whops her in the head, knocking her out. Elsa feels guilty about it and hides her powers through solitude. After their parents die, Elsa is preparing to be crowned queen, and Anna finds love with a prince who proposes to her the day they meet. Elsa is not amused by Anna`s instant marriage and snaps, revealing her powers and turning her kingdom into a frozen wasteland. Elsa flees and Anna goes on a grand quest to find her.
Along the way she meets many colorful characters, such as Kristoph, who joins Anna to save his failing ice business (and at the promise of a new sled), his reindeer named Sven and a little snowman named Olaf who wants to discover what life is like in summer and what snow does in the face of the sun (oblivious to the idea of what snow ACTUALLY does in summer). This group of colorful characters face challenges like wolves, icicles, storms and a snow monster together. It seems to take the `band of adventurers` genre and make it into a comedy, but to a very good extent. The relationship between Anna and Kristoph, while not clearly displayed (remember, Anna has a prince at home) can be seen in many parts of the film balanced out by Kristoph`s relations with Sven and the sheer randomness of Olaf (who knew a snowman could be good for impalement jokes?). It`s a very colorful band that works very well as a group.
As Anna reaches Elsa, bad things happen and the group must consult Kristoph`s family, who turn out to be rock trolls that adopted the apparently orphaned Kristoph and Sven (in an earlier scene). These trolls are very entertaining but sadly underused. Various plot points unfold, and we learn the only way to fix the bad things is for Anna and Elsa to return to the kingdom and set things right with beautiful plot twists, spectacular animation and Olaf providing a genuinely touching scene involving Anna and a fireplace. As you`d expect, the film has a happy ending, but what makes it stand out is how the background features are designed.
The backgrounds and landscapes in this film are amazing- vibrant villages and abandoned mountains brought to life with beautiful CGI- and of course the characters themselves are nicely designed. And the ice, The Ice!
The design and appearances of Elsa`s ice are beautiful to watch. From frozen spirals to enormous castles, the ice is very well-made and spectacularly animated.
And of course, the songs are fun, but the scene that really stands out to me is the music number "Let It Go", sung by Elsa. As Elsa proclaims her isolation, she causes an enormous castle of ice to rise, and coupled with the amazing voice of Idina Menzel it leads to an incredible scene. The song explains Elsa`s reasons for her isolation and her joyous release from the bonds of society, and it`s overall an amazing sequence.
OVERALL RATING: 9/10
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Frozen in itself is an amazing flick, and it`s easy to see why people love it. Go see it or buy the DVD. I`m being totally serious about this. You WILL come out humming one of the film`s many tunes. Stay away from any living snow monsters, although Olaf`s okay.
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