This week, during our holiday break, we took the kidlets and their cousins to see Frozen. There were three adults and five kids ages 9 and under. Per the usual, Disney included some great one-liners that made the adults chuckle more than the kids.
The movie is a version of the Snow Queen, whose original tale was a long and complex one by Hans Christian Andersen, full of Christian/Biblical references. The things the original story and Frozen have it common include lessons of love, the powers of ice and snow, trolls and a reindeer; otherwise, completely different. Disney gives a nod to the original main characters, Gerda and Kai, by naming two of their trolls Gerda and Kai. Frozen, however, is, at its center, not about true love between a boy and a girl, which is nice.
Kristen Bell is the voice of Anna and Idina Menzel is her sister, Elsa. The story (which, I’ll try not to give too much away) revolves around the sisters and Elsa’s secret which not even Anna knows until the middle of the story. There is a nice plot twist you didn’t….quite…see coming. There is beautiful music (duh). Some really good one-liners (my favorites are: “Wow, that was like a crazy trust exercise” and “ Ok, hold on feisty-pants.”) The snowman, Olaf, is hilarious. His voice mannerisms reminded me of Martin Short but turns out, it was Josh Gad, whom, I’m sorry to say, I’ve never heard of before now.
What I didn’t like: when one of the female characters transforms and dons a different gown, she is the very hourglass shape that everyone has been complaining about with the re-vamp of Merida of Brave. They completely sexify her, which I didn’t like at all. Beautiful gown? Ok. Does it have to be fitted and have a slit up the side so her leg peeks out every step? No. All I could think was: What is my almost-4 year old thinking right now? How is this impacting what she perceives as beautiful? And the fact that the character had both beauty and power and then was asked to hide her powers, was terrified of being cast out, made me a little uncomfortable. Add to that the male characters that were all trying to control her? Not a happy camper until I saw the end, when all those strings were neatly tied off. Then I was satisfied. Nicely played, Disney, nicely played. (Of course, a woman wrote it, so that helps.)
The movie is a version of the Snow Queen, whose original tale was a long and complex one by Hans Christian Andersen, full of Christian/Biblical references. The things the original story and Frozen have it common include lessons of love, the powers of ice and snow, trolls and a reindeer; otherwise, completely different. Disney gives a nod to the original main characters, Gerda and Kai, by naming two of their trolls Gerda and Kai. Frozen, however, is, at its center, not about true love between a boy and a girl, which is nice.
Kristen Bell is the voice of Anna and Idina Menzel is her sister, Elsa. The story (which, I’ll try not to give too much away) revolves around the sisters and Elsa’s secret which not even Anna knows until the middle of the story. There is a nice plot twist you didn’t….quite…see coming. There is beautiful music (duh). Some really good one-liners (my favorites are: “Wow, that was like a crazy trust exercise” and “ Ok, hold on feisty-pants.”) The snowman, Olaf, is hilarious. His voice mannerisms reminded me of Martin Short but turns out, it was Josh Gad, whom, I’m sorry to say, I’ve never heard of before now.
What I didn’t like: when one of the female characters transforms and dons a different gown, she is the very hourglass shape that everyone has been complaining about with the re-vamp of Merida of Brave. They completely sexify her, which I didn’t like at all. Beautiful gown? Ok. Does it have to be fitted and have a slit up the side so her leg peeks out every step? No. All I could think was: What is my almost-4 year old thinking right now? How is this impacting what she perceives as beautiful? And the fact that the character had both beauty and power and then was asked to hide her powers, was terrified of being cast out, made me a little uncomfortable. Add to that the male characters that were all trying to control her? Not a happy camper until I saw the end, when all those strings were neatly tied off. Then I was satisfied. Nicely played, Disney, nicely played. (Of course, a woman wrote it, so that helps.)
Overall, I give Frozen points for:
Sisterly love.
Being true to yourself.
Being brave.
Smart, resourceful female characters.
Funny one-liners.
Olaf & Sven.
Character persistence.
Good plot twist.
Lesson at the end.
That’s 9 points out of 10.
Frozen is very recommended by LaLa.
Sisterly love.
Being true to yourself.
Being brave.
Smart, resourceful female characters.
Funny one-liners.
Olaf & Sven.
Character persistence.
Good plot twist.
Lesson at the end.
That’s 9 points out of 10.
Frozen is very recommended by LaLa.