It was something I had never seen before. Of course, the AMC Loews Waterfront is always busy, but I had yet to see the room packed for a movie that had been out for almost three months. My friend and I were lucky to find two seats a few rows back from the front. We were just close enough to the middle to not be completely blinded by the screen.
I settled in and watched with childlike anticipation as the Walt Disney castle appeared. I laughed along with the rest as Mickey and Minnie delighted in the short film Get a Horse! which seamlessly combined black-and-white animation with CG technology.
The mood quickly shifted, however, as the castle reappeared, this time surrounded by the chanting of a female choir. The chatty audience fell into a silenced hush as we were all pulled into the fantasy land of Arendelle, where the stocky ice harvesters – one with the Norwegian-inspired environment – foretold of the icy land’s many dangers before the film segued to the beautiful castle of the two royal protagonists who are introduced as innocent children. One of them, the eldest named Elsa, has a deadly secret.
As you all know from the film’s many trailers, the young girls grow up and Elsa (Idina Menzel) must take the crown. But, after an incident at her coronation, the truth about her magic is revealed and she runs far from the kingdom, accidentally casting an icy spell over the land. Her sister, Anna (Kristen Bell), then sets out to break the enchantment with the help of mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his best (reindeer) friend Sven, and the loveable snowman, Olaf (Josh Gad).
Disney had been hyping this movie for months – through merchandise, on TV, in its theme parks – and no one in the theater could have been more cynical about Frozen than I. The snowman was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen in a two-minute trailer before, and “Let It Go” sounded like an unfinished demo from what I’d seen online. Honestly, I came to the theater less from a desire to see the film and more out of loyalty to Disney and as a challenge to a friend who insisted that the film itself was fantastic.
Better than Tangled, someone had told me. I laughed. But just as Disney’s previous princess film proved me wrong about its unexpected and quirky approach to the Rapunzel tale, so too did Frozen melt any doubts.
Now regarded as Disney’s best film since the Renaissance and one of its highest-grossing films since The Lion King, Frozen deserves every bit of praise it’s gotten. Not only does the famous company manage to right old wrongs in the film’s plot, but they have once again managed to create unforgettable characters to whom the audience can relate. A number of my bubbly, effervescent friends saw themselves in Anna, and I myself easily connected to Elsa.
Olaf, who turned out to be a creation of the princesses’ childhood, filled an important emotional role in the movie and, like Ray in The Princess and the Frog, actually turned out to be the voice of reason in the film. The primary male protagonist, Kristoff, may not be the next Flynn Rider, but he holds his own in the film and is a humorous, likeable, and well-rounded character whose dynamic with his reindeer proved to be one of the comic highlights of the movie.
Even the most minute of supporting characters were brimming with life, including the well-acted Duke of Weselton as played by Alan Tudyk, who previously voiced King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph.
While the story’s emotional core is set in the relationships between all of these characters, and the adventure itself is fast-paced and fun, the true star of the show was the landscape. Inspired by Norway’s fjords and villages, Disney animators were careful to study the region’s folk art and history to make Arendelle a truly wonderful place to explore, from every lush room of the palace to Elsa’s snowy architectural creations, which form spectacularly in Cinemascope.
Although Idina Menzel’s big ballad is a fan favorite, the greatest strength of the musical score was that it drew from Sami tradition – a native culture of Norway. From the opening number, “Frozen Heart”, to the use of the ancient Norse language during Elsa’s coronation scene, the great care taken to evoke the northern environment makes this film as impossibly captivating and incredibly enchanting as your own childhood memories.
Even so, the film has its flaws. Disney, it seems, cannot escape the old “at least one parent must die” trope, and the talented Groff never sees a serious song during the film, despite numerous chances. It also misses out on another great villain tune, and, perhaps, the possibility of weaving in the Northern Lights (mentioned twice in the film) more strongly into the story. However, the film promises enough surprises and has enough twists to leave you guessing and – by the end – begging to watch it again and again, no matter what it might have missed.
What surprised me most about my own visit is that almost everyone in the theater was a repeat viewer – from the college students chatting about their favorite characters and waiting in their seats at the end credits Marvel-style for a small comedic segment to the little girl singing along with Anna in the theater. I promise, once you see this film, you will be, too.
If you have not yet seen this film, you must get to the nearest theater – whether by bus, car or sled – before winter melts to spring. Frozen itself is not just a sparkling masterpiece and a new personal favorite of mine, but an act of true love: a gift from the Walt Disney Animation Studios to a patient and deserving audience who waited so long to rediscover the magic we all once knew.