I was lucky enough to be able to attend a special preview of Disney’s new film Frozen today, five days ahead of its general release in the United Kingdom. It became apparent a few years ago, with the release of The Princess and the Frog in 2009, that Disney, under the new creative control of John Lasseter, was seriously improving their quality. With the release of Tangled in 2010 and Wreck-it Ralph in 2012, it was clear that we could be living in a new Disney Golden Age. Disney has now confirmed that belief with their new release that is undoubtedly the best Disney animated film in decades. During and after viewing Frozen, I felt almost the exact same energy and uplifted spirit as I had upon seeing Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King for the first time, a feeling that is almost impossible to describe and leaves you finding it hard to believe that you just saw something that matched up to the world-renowned Disney classics of their 80s and 90s “Renaissance Era”, which consisted of Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Rescuers Down Under. To say that the film I have experienced today is up to their standard is almost a miracle.
Frozen tells the charming, sweet and often tear-jerking story of two princess sisters, Anna and Elsa, in the kingdom of Arendelle. Elsa has been born with the magical gift of being able to create ice and snow out of thin air with her hands. As children, Elsa uses her power to entertain and have fun with Anna, until Elsa’s powers cause an accident that almost kills Anna. Seeking help from the magical trolls of the kingdom, led by Grand Pabbie (voiced by Ciarán Hinds), the King and Queen take their advice and ask Grand Pabbie to erase Anna’s memory of Elsa’s powers. Ashamed at almost causing her sister’s death, Elsa hides in her room, in an attempt to keep from harm’s way as she grows more and more unable to control her powers. Although Elsa isolates herself out of pure love for her sister, Anna cannot understand why Elsa suddenly prefers solitude and does not want to play with her anymore. Shortly after, their parents are killed in an accident at sea. The two sisters grow up into adults (voiced by Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel), and at the day of Elsa’s coronation, Anna falls instantly in love with the dashing Prince Hans (voiced by Santino Fontana), asking Elsa’s blessing for their marriage. Furious that Anna would try to marry a man she has just met, Elsa accidentally unleashes her powers upon the entire kingdom of Arendelle, causing an eternal winter. Terrified of harming Anna again, Elsa runs away, building herself a magnificent ice castle in the mountains to keep herself away from the people of Arendelle. Desperate to find her sister, make amends and bring back summer, Anna sets off on a journey to the mountains to find Elsa, making friends with a mountain man Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven, and comical animated snowman Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad), who join her in her quest to find Elsa and persuade her to end the winter. When Prince Hans, who has been left in charge of the kingdom, decides to lead a search party to find Anna, the Duke of Weselton (voiced by Alan Tudyk), who wishes to see the end to the eternal winter and exploit Arendelle for financial gain, orders his men to join the search party and have Elsa killed. Upon finding an isolated Elsa in her ice castle, Anna’s attempts to convince her loving sister to come back to the kingdom fail and Elsa accidentally freezes Anna’s heart, giving her only a certain amount of time to receive an act of true love, such as a true love’s kiss, to melt her heart or she will be frozen forever. Along the journey, will Anna make it back to Prince Hans, the man she believes is her true love, and live happily ever after with him – or realize perhaps that she loves another man? And can Prince Hans be trusted?
With a complex and meaningful story, characters that are so easy to care about and love, and some of the loveliest Disney songs in many years, it is very hard not to be enchanted by Frozen, from the first second to the last. Just like Anna, the film will melt even the coldest of hearts and make you believe in magic and true love again. With an engaging story, filled with extremely memorable musical numbers, action scenes, comedy and imagination, and astonishingly committed voiceover performances, as well as extremely nice animation, it all leads up to one of the sweetest and most heart-rendering climaxes of modern movie history, that may not leave a dry eye in the house (or cinema).
Like Tangled before it to a slightly lesser extent, Frozen knows how to perfectly tickle the funny bone one moment and make you cry like a water fountain the next. The songs, in particular, such as “Let It Go” and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” are heart-rendering to the point that you may need a bucket for your tears. In the words of executive producer John Lasseter, “for every laugh, there should be a tear”. Frozen certainly follows that formula, and it works. Frozen will live with you forever, and will stand the test of time to be remembered as Disney’s new immortal, timeless classic. Go and see this film, and experience the best Disney film in decades, the true movie sensation of the year and very possibly the very best animated film of the 21st Century.
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