Frozen is a Remarkable Fairy Tale Which Goes Back to Disney's Roots (Spoiler Free Review)

When Disney was marketing Frozen, one trailer claimed that it was the best animated event since The Lion King. I’m here to tell you that’s an understatement. Frozen is better than The Lion King. Frozen has a burst of originality while remaining reminiscent of classic Disney fairy tales.

In Frozen, Elsa, the Queen of Arendelle runs away after her ice powers become uncontrollable, leaving Arendelle in snow. Her sister, Anna, needs to find her so they can stop the eternal winter.

Frozen is a Disney fairy tale that goes back to the old Disney fairy tale roots. It perfectly captures what made the older Disney fairy tales so amazing and does so in an artistic, creative way. It has that same magic that films like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had and captures the same vibe, tone and feel that came out of those classic Walt Disney era films.

Yes, this is a Disney fairy tale so there are going to be songs. Thankfully, the songs in this film are remarkable. “Frozen Heart” was a great song to start the film. Also, “Let it Go” (which brought me to tears), “Do you Want to Build a Snowman?” (which also brought me to tears), “First Time in Forever” and “Love is an Open Door” are all amazing. "In Summer" was a really funny song, but “Fixer Upper” was the only song I thought was just ok. Well, the first half of the song was not that good, but the second half was way better. However, it was really unnecessary, especially given what was going on in that scene.

The story in this film is captivating and heartwarming. The film goes back to Disney’s roots, but it still has a really original and unique story. Also, the love story does not overshadow the film. The film has a lot of humor, but also has its fair share of intense and dark scenes. Also, the third act of the film is filled with unexpected surprises, which I am not going to spoil.

Some parts of the second act are questionable. There were a lot of great action scenes and emotional Anna and Elsa moments, along with other great scenes in this act, but there was some dialogue that was a bit modernized. Very barely, though. Thankfully, it wasn't not modernized to the point where people won't understand any dialogue years from now. It still has that timeless feel. However, there was one conversation which was meant to be funny, but was just gross. These were very minor problems, though and are completely overshadowed by the brilliance of the rest of the film.

The characters are extremely well developed. Elsa is a very complex character and the way Anna and Elsa both interact with each other feels very realistic and beautiful. All of the scenes between the two characters are very dramatic and have a big emotional core to them.

Then there’s Olaf. Surprisingly, he was a really fun character. I was worried that he would be in too much of the film and would be overused and not funny and instead just be loud and obnoxious, but he was actually really funny and had the perfect amount of screen time.

The animation in this film is beautiful. There are a lot of great shots which showcase the beautiful setting, and the art direction is perfect. The set pieces look remarkable, especially Elsa’s palace. The character designs are also really different from one another. Color and lighting are also used perfectly and really set the tone for each of the different scenes.

Before the film, they showed a Mickey Mouse short film called Get a Horse. This short film was amazing. It looks like a 1920’s Walt Disney cartoon, but then, they switch between that short film and computer animation and they really play around with that inventive idea. I want you to experience what they do with that idea and I don't want to spoil anything so I can't go into that much detail. It was a really remarkable, funny short film and definitely deserves some awards.

Also, Walt Disney himself voiced Mickey Mouse in this! You are all probably scratching your heads as you're reading this, so let me clarify that Disney found some archived footage of Walt Disney as Mickey Mouse and manipulated it in a way that it can form different words when Mickey is talking. It's almost as if Walt Disney rose from the grave just to voice Mickey Mouse one last time, and to me, that is very special. When I see Walt Disney credited as a voice actor in a short film made in 2013, I just find that to be really special and it shows that Disney is not afraid to continue on Walt Disney's remarkable legacy.

Overall, Frozen is a brilliant masterpiece with a story that is just as beautiful as the animation despite a few really minor problems. With great songs, an original, memorable and epic story and great characters, this will definitely go down in history as one of the best Disney movies.

Film Grade: A+