Frozen is the latest Disney animated masterpiece. Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow Queen,” Frozen tells the tale of sisters Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell), who live in the kingdom of Arendelle (which looks a lot like the Norway pavilion at EPCOT) with their parents, the King and Queen. Elsa was born with a special power – she has the ability to create snow and ice from her hands (kind of like a frost mage in World of Warcraft). Anna, on the other hand, has no powers of her own.
One evening, while they were young, the girls were playing in the castle’s ballroom. Elsa was creating snow and the girls were having fun, building a snowman and playing, until Elsa accidentally blasted Anna in the head with a bolt of ice and she became unconscious. As a result of the blast, she sprouted a white streak in her hair. The King and Queen brought the girls to the forest to seek out the help of the forest trolls, who were able to save Anna. They advised them that to protect Anna, the girls should be separated, Anna’s memories of Elsa’s power erased, and Elsa’s power should be suppressed.
The girls grow up the castle, living separate, lonely lives. Anna yearns to play with her sister like they used to, but Elsa is afraid of her powers, and she doesn’t want to hurt her sister again. Elsa pretty much stays in her room, wearing gloves to keep her magic under control. Of course, this is a Disney movie, and the King and Queen die, leaving the girls alone. By this point, they are a little older so it’s not as terrible as, for example, Mufasa being murdered while Simba was a young cub.
A few years later, it’s the day of Elsa’s coronation. For the first time in years, the castle gates are going to be opened, there will be a grand party, and Elsa will officially be the Queen of Arendelle. Anna is very excited, as she’s also been shut away in the castle and she will get to interact with people once more. During the party, they meet the Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk). Although it’s pronounced like Wezelton, it keeps being mispronounced like Weaselton, which is funny because the Duke of Weselton desperately wants to form an alliance with Arendelle, but for his own selfish reasons. We also meet Hans (Santino Fontana), a prince from a nearby country. Hans has twelve brothers and he is looking for love in Arendelle.
When he and Anna meet, it is love at first sight. They sing a song together, then promptly decide to get married. When they seek Elsa’s blessing for their marriage, Elsa freaks out and her powers are revealed to everyone. She then accidentally creates a magical, eternal winter over the kingdom, then she takes off for the mountains, leaving a plethora of ice and snow in her wake. Even the fjords are frozen, so everyone that came for the coronation is stuck there. Once in the mountains, Elsa is now finally free to embrace her powers. She creates her own castle made of ice, which was really beautiful.
Back in the kingdom, Anna decides to set out to find Elsa and bring her back to undo what she’s done. She reluctantly leaves Hans and heads towards the mountains. Along the way, Anna meets Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), a mountain man who sells ice for a living, and his reindeer Sven. Since the kingdom is now frozen, making the demand for ice pretty much non-existent, Kristoff agrees to help Anna with her mission. Shortly after they set out, they meet Olaf (Josh Gad), a magical, friendly snowman who like warm hugs. If you don’t fall in love with Olaf, then maybe you have ice in your heart. He was hilarious and fun. He was also a little confused, as he was excited to experience summer. A snowman in summer?? How would that work?? You have to wait and see!!
Will Anna be successful in her mission?? Or will it be forever winter in Arendelle?? You will have to watch Frozen to find out!!!
I noticed that there was no typical Disney villain in this movie. There were a few antagonists, but nobody nearly as evil as Maleficent, Jafar, or Ursula. It seemed like they were trying to make Elsa the villain, but she wasn’t really bad. She just had no control of her magic and was afraid of hurting her sister again. It made me sad that these girls were sisters, but they were more like strangers. Your sister is your built-in best friend, but Elsa and Anna weren’t able to have an actual sisterly relationship while they were growing up.
As usual, Disney does not disappoint, between the excellent songs, the amazing animation, and the great story. I took my sister to the screening ,in 3D, which made the snowflakes come alive. Make sure you get there on time. There is a very cool vintage-style Mickey Mouse cartoon, “Get a Horse,” before the movie. And stay tuned for a cute scene after the credits.
