The Daily Gamecock

Disney's newest film far from Pixar perfection

Nov. 27: Winter warmth: Disney's animated "Frozen" is a 3-D adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale "The Snow Queen." (Courtesy Disney/MCT)
Nov. 27: Winter warmth: Disney's animated "Frozen" is a 3-D adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale "The Snow Queen." (Courtesy Disney/MCT)

Animated movie fun for kids, but unmemorable for audiences.

Disney’s newest animated film “Frozen” is a musical loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story “The Snow Queen.” Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) are royal sisters whose father rules a kingdom. Elsa is gifted or cursed, depending on which way one looks at it, with the ability to summon ice and snow. She cannot control her powers, so in her childhood, Elsa accidentally zaps

Anna in the head with a blast of ice. The king and queen rush to the rock creatures that live in the wilderness who can save her, but the elder of the group warns that if she is ever hit in the heart, there is little chance she will survive. Taking precautions, the sisters are separated in the castle and never allowed to come near each other.

When Elsa is old enough to get married, she must control her icy powers if she wants to find a husband. Ironically, Anna finds the love of her life in the dashing prince Hans (Santino Fontana) and wants to get married after one day. Her sister’s temper arises and her secret power is exposed, causing the entire kingdom to be cast into a harsh winter. She flees to the mountains and builds herself an ice castle. Without hesitation, Anna goes to find her and meets an ice collector named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer, Sven, and a lovable snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad) that Elsa created in her childhood, along the way.

“Frozen” is a cute, lively animated feature from Disney that is bound to entertain young children and teenagers. The animation is fine (although the 3D adds nothing), the musical numbers are fine and the characters are fine.

Nothing is particularly exciting or memorable in the movie, though, and it follows a similar story line of most Disney movies. The film and the musical numbers instantly evaporate from the mind as soon as one walks out of the theater. Everything feels so similar to another recent Disney film, “Tangled.” There is a pretty, spunky young woman who goes on an adventure with adorable sidekicks and falls in love along the way. There are songs, a bit of peril, some sad parts and a happy ending. The film is a perfectly serviceable cookie-cutter children’s film that will mildly entertain. Many animated films these days are like disgusting fast-food junk, while a few by Pixar and Hayao Miyazaki are delicious, fulfilling feasts. “Frozen” is a decent meal that does its job but leaves one wanting more.

Disney, not including Pixar, has not made very many really good films in nearly 20 years. The last classic film made was “The Lion King.” However, the best animated film Disney has released since then is “Teacher’s Pet,” which bombed at the box office. Nobody seems to have seen it, but it is quite fantastic. From “Finding Nemo” to “Toy Story 3,” Pixar churned out one amazing film after another — ones that are truly for all ages. The main studio has yet to make a film since Pixar came to town that comes close to their level of brilliance.


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