Frozen [DVD]

Like many adults, when I first saw the trailers for this, I was uninspired. Sure, kids will always like it, it's a Disney thing, how bad could it ever be! However, under the helmsmanship of the brilliantly creative John Lasseter, the film was made, remade, then remade again into a beautiful animated story. I am a writer, and although I know story is always king, films are different than books, and in a film you must have other visual and sound elements that make it gripping and appealing. Having read "The Snow Queen" by HCA, I can see why that tale would be hard to make into a good movie - too dark, too dull, too disconnected from the public watching it. "Frozen" gives us somewhat flawed, human characters that have been SO-O carefully written, and SO-O carefully animated by a team of brilliant animators, that, although they don't look precisely like normal humans, they do come alive with a spirit that touches us all. The story is of two sisters, who grew up close and then get somewhat separated - although you'd have to account for them seeing each other sometimes, since they both know WAY too much about the other not to have seen each other at all for some 15 years. Still, they have always loved each other, and both cherish the value of family (witness the true painful sadness at the loss of their parents). Yet they have a problem with the oldest child having been born with an incredible power that can create ice and snow from the existing atmosphere, manufacture blizzards, and also create several other things (like dresses, ices skates, and living snowmen) from thin air - all and all an awesome power for someone to have. Now all of this can certainly be fun, but, like all things of power, especially in the hands of a young child, they can also be dangerous, which is precisely what the magical Trolls tell us early on; this provides the monumental difficulty for the two sisters. Thus, because Elsa is just a kid when she discovers this, she has no real ability to control it. Her father's message of "conceal it, don't feel it" is not at all helpful, since she doesn’t practice how to control her powers for all those successive years of growing up; however, the father’s advice is logical to give his precious daughter, trying to keep her, and all those around her, safe. When Elsa’s gift is discovered by the community, and she is thought to be a monster - logically enough - she is left with no choice she can think of but to run off and be alone so she won't hurt anyone, and where she can also be herself. There, in the ice and snow wilderness, she discovers all her powers and LETS IT GO! But Anna, who now comes to the crushing realization of what has been happening with her sister all these years, is personally hurt for not understanding before and is still out of a sibling who she loves; and so, she chases after her, picking up the gentlemanly Kristoff and lovable Olaf on the way. The trek Anna and Kristoff make is interesting and truly charming, with some great music and adventure on the way. But finding Elsa still doesn't make this an easy rescue, for Elsa is still worried about the damage she can cause since, unbeknownst to her, the fear she can't control within her is destructive; in fact, she thinks of it as a curse. Thus, she chases her sister away to try to save her from harm. In the process, she accidentally strikes Anna with her ice-making power again, this time in the heart, harming her. Kristoff realizes it and knows he has to take her to the magical Trolls, which are his family, to save her. However, after some nice Troll music and another group of charming scenes, the Troll king says he cannot save her, cannot thaw her heart, which only an act of true love can do. And here we have the heart of the story, although the writers sort of err, if in a forgivable way, because that “act of true love” is given several times by Kristoff who takes her to find her sister, and later the Trolls, in the first place and then rushes her back to Arendelle to see Hans who will hopefully save her by thawing her heart with a true love’s kiss - but you don't need more of an act of true love than what Kristoff has already done a few times! BUT, they give you one anyway, when Hans tries to kill Elsa, and Anna risks her own life to save the older sister she has always adored. SO, here we are, with two sisters, each of whom loves the other enough to sacrifice herself for her - Elsa, in her lifelong sacrifice of self-imposed solitude, just to keep her sister safe, and Anna, by putting herself in the way of the sword to save Elsa from being slain. Ultimately, it is the quintessential family message of love and sacrifice that saves the sisters, their family, and the kingdom, since Elsa now realizes that love is the way to control her magical power and be a benefit to her kingdom instead of a dangerous curse. This heavy message, so gleefully done, and so brilliantly animated by characters that come alive right before our eyes, with realistic gestures, movements, and expressions, touches our hearts and are what make this film unmatched by any previous Disney animation. The original story idea? TERRIBLE! The dropping of the "Do you want to build a snowman" song - unforgivably stupid; fortunately Lasseter had the common sense to put it back in. Thus, the film they finished with was a spectacular tale of great music, heartfelt pathos, and visual splendor that they are going to have a difficult time repeating in Frozen 2! I mean, the making of the ice castle scene with Elsa singing “Let It Go” (through Idina Menzel’s spectacular voice) is virtually worth the price of the movie all by itself. I have one criticism of the marketing of “Frozen” - it is not a story about a young girl searching for her sister trying to restore summer to Arendelle; it IS a story of the Snow Queen, and how Elsa metamorphosizes from a problem child with powerful magic she can’t control to a full grown woman who learns how to control her power for good utilizing her natural love for her sister, and for her kingdom. That said, there are so many good things about this movie, that everyone should own a copy of it to watch over and over.

A household favorite! I let my toddler watch a video at night at before she gets ready for bed. This has been in our DVD player since the day it arrived. She loves it, and so do I. Normally when she's watching a movie, I use that time to pick up around the house. Not with this movie. I get everything done before the movie starts so I can watch it with her. Keep in mind, it's still a Disney story, so there are the signature elements of fairy tales, princesses, and the quest for love. However, the story line is well written, and much more modern for the times. Disney is maturing in their character growth, subject matter, and tone. This is the epitome of an animated musical. The songs are catchy, my daughter is 2 1/2 and she loves to run all over the house singing "Let it go", and knows the words almost verbatim. Elsa is the oldest sister, born with the power to freeze what she touches. She and Anna were close in their youth, until one day Elsa struck her with her powers while they were playing. Elsa was isolated from Anna by their parents, and Anna never understood why, and has been trying to reconnect with Elsa from that day forward. Three years after their parents pass away (remember, it's Disney), Elsa becomes queen. After her coronation, that's when the true grit of the movie begins. Disney really did a wonderful job capturing the attention of all ages in this story. I feel for Elsa, while most think she's the villain...but you'll have to watch and find out for yourself. Anna is lonely growing up in the castle without having much contact with her big sister. She can't wait for her sister's coronation because the gates will finally reopen, and she'll have contact with actual people for the first time in years. The character's introduced later, Kristoff, and his reindeer Sven, Prince Hans, Olaf the snowman, the trolls, and the other minor characters that come and go throughout the movie, make this one of the best Disney films I've ever seen. Disney will always have their classics, like Little Mermaid, Cinderella, etc., but this next generation of Disney films seems to be a power house in the making. This movie was entertaining, compelling, and an easy to story to get lost in. Well done Disney! Looking forward to what lies ahead!

Disney has done it again! They've produced another masterpiece, this one big and beautiful enough to rival even Tangled and (dare I say it) Beauty and the Beast in its elegance and female independence! Now, I have to admit it, I never went to see this when it came out at the cinema. It was too busy and to be honest, I wasn't too keen on the adverts - no matter how cute Sven and Olaf were. But my friend said it was 'epic' so I bought the DVD, pressed play and watched... And fell in love with the 52nd animated feature... As well as the special features! The story: Now, Frozen is all about two sisters, the Queen and Princess of Arendelle, who are separated by a magical secret. Queen Elsa has the power to control snow, and after an argument with her sister Princess Anna, this is revealed and an eternal winter is released. Anna, feeling guilty and sad over her sisters sudden disappearance and the creation of eternal winter, goes off on a rescue mission to save her town - meeting some new friends along the way. Based upon 'the snow queen' by Hans Christian Anderson, the writers of Disney have done a really good job with this. The characters: Queen Elsa is a troubled and powerful young woman, filled with fear and uncertainty about her abilities. I think Disney have done a brilliant job of portraying her emotions through songs and her powers - I mean, the ice changes colour depending on her mood, how awesome is that? Plus, her sheer determination and sense of duty/protection is admirable, simply from a moral perspective. Anna is probably the most naive character of the entire story, but she's so endearing! Agreeing to marry someone after one day? Though I have to say that the moment she meets the Prince is hysterically funny; all that balancing and awkwardness- and then the horse just lets go of the boat and the prince ends up soaked! Ace. And the prince deserves it - he's a douchebag. Anyway, for Anna, this film is a journey of self-discovery and comedy of errors - she finds out what she wants and what people are really like. And her songs are adorable - Do you want to build a snowman? - has to be my favourite. Okay, l also have to talk about the guys. I'll start with the moron of a Prince. I mean, sure he's handsome and he wears a suit, but really? If his own horse would let him drown, what does that say about a man? On the flip side of things, I love his character from a writers point if view. He's just so sneaky and clever; this is a guy with twelve brothers who is never going to be king, so instead of complaining, he goes and seduces an heir instead! It's brilliant in a way - vicious and underhandedly cruel, but brilliant nonetheless. From bad to beautiful, Kristoff is simply adorable. I'm going to give another huge compliment here to the writers and say that the way characters are introduced and interact with one another is simply superb. Kristoff is a down to earth, fresh kind of guy who values honesty and integrity. He's also protective and relatively intelligent; when he has an argument with Anna over her engagement, his consternation over it is adorable. The fact that he talks to her about getting to know people is admirable and something everyone should consider. He's the type of guy that girls should want to date, not a flashy dude with hardly any substance. The last thing I'm going to chat about is the sidekicks, Sven and Olaf - because who can watch a Disney film without talking about the epicness of the magic and animal kingdoms. Sven the reindeer has to be my favourite; he's like a massive dog in reindeer clothing, and his attitude to life - love and play - is the best ever. He's loyal, smart, and just like other brilliant sidekicks he provides the comedic relief in form of slippery blunders and funny snorts. He's also a bit of a matchmaker, which is quite amusing too. Olaf is the animated snowman with a desire for all things summer. Now, when I first heard him singing, I fell about in fits of hysterical laughter because, really, who the hell would think about dressing a snowman in a summer hat and sticking him on a beach to sing? It is writing genius. Coming into the film at a tense moment, he provides the light-heartedness that we enjoy in Disney while keeping the relationship between the two sisters alive - Olaf was the snowman of Anna's childhood. I'm gonna quickly mention the trolls too. Little tumbling rocks of bundling fun, these family orientated magical creatures were perfect for this film. They kept the story going and egged on the romantic element as well - not to mention making everyone laugh with their song lyrics. Overall, I was overjoyed with Frozen. It is a story of love and triumph over adversity, a tale of sisterhood and family. But what is perhaps even more inspirational about this film is that it shows us even the worst fears can be overcome with hope, trust, and a little bit of love. Well done Disney!

I almost didn't buy this version as someone else had said they had problems with the digital copy. I redeemed mine from my IPAD. Just make sure to set your country as Canada when you get to DigitalCopyPlus.com and you should have no problems getting your iTunes code. Having the film in three different media form is great and I wish all movies came this way. We can watch the movie on the go on my iPad, or at home on our TV hooked up to the Apple TV, in our media room on blu ray and upstairs on DVD. Brilliant! We are a bilingual french/English household, and the only thing with the digital copy is you get either English or French, but even if I had purchased the movie on iTunes, it would have been in only one language or the other. The film itself is great. The music is catchy, and the story line is heart warming. As adults, we enjoyed this film and, although it is done with modern animation techniques, it reminds me of classic Disney princess films. I believe that this movie is the best Disney movie to come out since Mulan or The Little Mermaid. If you have little girls, or you were a little girl, or if you like musicals, this is sure to be a hit.

Incontournable….

Daughter loves the movie. One of the best movies to watch. Thanks

Genial!