‘Frozen’ Disney’s Epic Tale of Adventure

Frozen, in 3D and real 3D is Disney’s spectacular return to the production of exquisitely animated movies. Frozen has a collection of Disney’s best moments with new heights of animation expertise. Just in time for the holiday season, Frozen is an absolutely beautiful looking movie with an endearing story from the veteran writer, director team Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. The ice, the snow, the flow of water are all spectacularly animated. A stand out sequence in the movie is the creation of Elsa’s castle, a stunning animation sequence and undisputably one of the best in recent animated offerings. Christophe Beck’s Frozen soundtrack can stand alongside any of the best from Disney you can name, with the triumphant “Let It Go” and the heartbreaking “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” totally memorable hits.

Two princesses live in Arendelle, one (Anna, voiced by Kristin Bell) is a fairly normal girl and the other (Elsa, voiced by Idina Menzel) has some pretty nifty ice super powers. When Elsa accidentally hurts Anna, her parents lock her away to try to hide her powers and protect her from the outside world. Now Elsa is to be crowned Queen, and all Anna wants is to see the rest of the world and get married. Of course it all goes wrong, and now Anna has to team up with an out-of-work ice salesman (Jonathon Groff) and a snowman with dreams of summer sunshine (Josh Gad) to save the day.

In terms of story, it’s very safe, but with a few smart twists to throw the formula. The real triumph is the voice acting, with both Kristin Bell and Idina Menzel turning in two of the best performances of the year.

At times it is too safe and predictable, and the characters’ designs are too bound to the Disney house-style, especially its predecessor ‘Tangled’, but these are minor details compared with the extraordinary epic tale and superb animation that will place this movie on everyone’s list. Perfect for the season. Highly recommended.

Donal O’Connor

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