Verdict:
Those who have not seen Frozen probably still heard “Let it go”, a song from the movie that went viral on social media and was impossible to escape. It is a good song and Frozen has several good songs, all of which would be great on a separately sold album, but it feels like Frozen is trying to stick all this music down the viewer’s throat. Together with the score, the music takes up so much of the movie that it leaves very little space for the movie to breathe.
The score was written by the seasoned composer Christophe Beck. It is haunting and magical, with use of very high-pitched notes to give it the icy sparkle. The action scenes are filled with aggressive percussion that would not feel out of place in an epic war scene. A bit of Norwegian choir gives the score a local colour. The one negative is that there is no main theme. Christophe incorporates some of the phrases from the songs to create cohesion, but there is nothing structural to sink your teeth into.
The story is about a Nordic princess with ice superpowers that end up causing her and her kingdom a lot of trouble as she struggles to control those powers.
What is nice about the plot is that it is not obvious or overly simplistic. The whole thing has a welcome asymmetry about it. From the moment I saw the positer, I had Andersen’s Snow Queen fairytale in my mind, and while the movie is inspired by and borrows from Snow Queen, it is also doing its own thing.
There’s been a discussion about the non-standard ending. I have mixed feelings about it. It breaks with the old Disney standards, which is both refreshing an annoying. On the one hand, the modern political landscape has made it impossible for the prince to save the princess, and whenever I feel like gender politics have invaded my movie, it immediately ruins the immersion. On the other hand, breaking with the old formula is refreshing.
There is nothing special about the acting though. A few months after seeing the movie, the only memorable character is the comic relief snowman, Olaf, played by Josh Gad. The rest of the characters are a bit generic. Of course, the two male and the two female leads are pretty and shaped like protagonists. Their voices are not memorable either, other than Idina Menzel’s ability of hitting some really high pitches.
Frozen paces itself and knows when to strike the viewer with the money shot to make an impression. The ice effects are pretty. The snow does not require a lot of texture or colour, but does poses its own challenges when animating its movement. There is not much texture, and there is a soft rounded look to everything. In short, there is a little too much overhyped music in this musical, but it’s nice to see an off-beat Scandinavian adventure.