Beware the Frozen Heart

My sister and I saw Frozen on Sunday.  I don't know what is harder to admit - that I finally wanted to see it, or that it's been haunting me ever since!

First what I didn't like, just to get it out of the way.

The movie, unfortunately, has a lot of cheesy scenes like what you see in the trailer.  I don't mean just Disney cheesy, but really, dreadfully idiotic scenes.  Usually it involved Anna acting exaggeratedly scatterbrained, or Olaf the Snowman.  A lot of people love Olaf, so maybe it's just me, but I cringed every time he came on screen.  He is so annoying, not in a cute and funny way like Tigger, just plain old cloyingly obnoxious.  I can't think of any other Disney comic sidekick or villain as aggravating as this guy.

Alrighty.  The other disappointment was several of the songs.  It makes me wonder what they were thinking to include "Fixer Upper", "Love is an Open Door," and "In Summer."  Even the (very popular) "Let It Go" and its corresponding scene felt more like a pop music video than a Disney song.  The lyrics in general aren't all that bad, but the genres are so out of place in this Nordic-inspired movie.  You just can't insert country/rock/20s music into a 19th-century world and call it good.  It's embarrassingly bad, especially contrasted with classics like Beauty and the Beast. 

These two cons give Frozen a sort of "group project" vibe, as if the director's vision was overridden at times.  Not good for a final draft.  (It's finals week, so pardon the analogy!)

From the songs, I can transition into what I loved about Frozen.   There were three songs I liked: "Frozen Heart," "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?", and "For the First Time in Forever (Reprise/Duet)."  The second two are heartbreaking songs about Elsa and Anna, while "Frozen Heart" is the EPIC intro song that is sung by the ice workers.  Epic, as in, it sounds like the dwarves singing in The Hobbit.  It set my hopes very high; maybe they should have saved it for the end of the story...

What really gives Frozen 4 out of 5 stars from me is not the three good songs nor the graphics (truly stunning, though).  It's the story, and messages.  Plot-wise, this is the Disney movie for people who despise Disney movies.  Wait, what?

Elsa is a princess who was born with the golden touch - only, she turns things into snow and ice instead of gold.  This unpredictable ability can result in either works of extraordinary beauty, or accidental hurt.  Afraid of hurting someone, she hides herself from the world, including her younger sister Anna, who becomes lonely and frustrated by Elsa's secrecy.  When their kingdom of Arundelle is hit with a sudden snowstorm, Anna believes her sister, once found, can undo the magic.  With the help of a suave Prince Hans and rustic ice-seller Kristoff, Anna sets off through the snowy mountains, determined to break through to the person who was once closest to her.

"An act of True Love!"  As in every fairytale, it is going to take true love to break the wintry spell.  Without divulging spoilers, I can only say that I was seriously impressed, and moved, by the unique, multiple (!) ways it unfolds Frozen.  

"Please don't shut me out again."  The song "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" is Anna begging Elsa to take the time to be a sister.  A good thing to see a story calling for oldest children to be best friends with their siblings, not avoid them.

"Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers?"  Anna is so sure that her dreams of romance and independence are coming true, Cinderella style.  This appalls one of her friends, who speaks the words of sense long overdue from Disney...

Change of heart.  Anna wants to change Elsa, but no matter how far she goes, she can't.  She can only love her, and it is up to Elsa to find her own change of heart.  Pretty deep, and very true.

Despite its problems, Frozen was worth seeing (I give it a 10+ age rating), and I would watch it again on DVD.  It's great to watch/discuss with your sister(s) and would also be a good mother-daughter movie.