Disney's Frozen - Grading and Discussion

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by CaptainCanada, Nov 30, 2013.

?

Your grade?

  1. A+

    28 vote(s)
    36.4%
  2. A

    22 vote(s)
    28.6%
  3. A-

    4 vote(s)
    5.2%
  4. B+

    3 vote(s)
    3.9%
  5. B

    9 vote(s)
    11.7%
  6. B-

    4 vote(s)
    5.2%
  7. C+

    2 vote(s)
    2.6%
  8. C

    4 vote(s)
    5.2%
  9. C-

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  10. D+

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  11. D

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  12. D-

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  13. F

    1 vote(s)
    1.3%
  1. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    [​IMG]

    In which Disney's marketing department was struck by the revelation: If we have two female leads, we can sell twice as many dolls!;)

    This began its long production history as an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, but in the 10+ year journey to the screen, which included a total shelving of the project at one point, all the remains is the basic idea of a woman with ice powers (as well as three characters named Hans, Kristoff, and Anna, which seems like a nod to Andersen). What they've replaced it with is very different, and rather more traditional in a number of respects, but it's a lot of fun, and another strong piece of work from Disney. The animation is beautiful, and the characterization is some of Disney's best.

    My main reservation is the music, which has been one of the weaker points of the 00s revival of animated musicals. This, Tangled and The Princess and the Frog generally have one or two really strong numbers, and the remainder being mainly functional. But then, there's a lot of people who really love this soundtrack, so there's room for disagreement there.

    Also, casting Jonathan Groff and not giving him any real songs is bizarre. It's like when they cast Idina Menzel in Enchanted and yet she didn't sing anything -- here, obviously, she gets a few (and brings some strong Wicked overtones to the proceedings). Kristen Bell also gets to sing on film, after various Broadway/Off-Broadway roles, and as a Veronica Mars fan it's nice to see her in something I'm interested in seeing.
     
  2. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    I'm a life long Disney Animation fan, so I'm looking forward to see this, I just wish it hadn't come out so close to Catching Fire.
     
  3. Captain Qwert Jr

    Captain Qwert Jr Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2002
    Location:
    The Deep South
    It was ok. Had moments of flair. Forgettable songs, but they worked in the movie. Impressively expressive character models. Comic relief was tolerable.

    B
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2013
  4. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    Oh, but it gives box office analysts the opportunity to overuse "ice and fire" puns in their articles!
     
  5. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    I saw this with my mom on Sunday and we both really enjoyed it.
    I think this probably has some of the best music of any Disney movie. I'd personally put it right up there with Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Aladdin and The Lion King.
    As for the movie itself, I thought it was great. I thought both sisters were great characters, thanks in part to outstanding performances from both Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell. The animation itself is beautiful. They did a great job with the snow which I know can be a big challenge with CGI animation. I also notice that Anna actually has freckles, which I don't think I've ever seen on an CGI animated character before.
    The story was great too, with some surprising twists. Honestly, if Disney just let the people responsible for this and Wreck-It Ralph handle all of their animation for the foreseeable future, I think I'd be very happy indeed.
    I really enjoyed the humor in this one, it had quite a few very funny moments throughout the story.
     
  6. Agent Richard07

    Agent Richard07 Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2001
    That first pic looks like Alyson Hannigan.
     
  7. AvBaur

    AvBaur Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2006
    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
  8. Asbo Zaprudder

    Asbo Zaprudder Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2004
    Location:
    Rishi's Sad Madhouse
    The title of this thread made me think of the urban legend that Walt Disney is in suspended animation.
     
  9. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
  10. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2005
    I saw this today. I liked it. It wasn't what I was expecting. The trailer seemed to suggest a different story than I got. Which turned out fine by the end. In many ways a traditional story, with some traditional tropes, but there were tweaks and twists that I wasn't expecting and I welcomed. The animation was great. I thought the songs were so-so. Some I thought were okay. Others were more like background noise. I enjoyed the comic relief quite a bit.
     
  11. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 26, 2002
    I like Elsa. She is probably one of the more dynamic and interesting Disney female protagonists in a long time.
     
  12. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
  13. RoJoHen

    RoJoHen Awesome Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2000
    Location:
    QC, IL, USA
  14. AvBaur

    AvBaur Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2006
    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    I finally got around to seeing it this afternoon, and I enjoyed it a lot! Not only does 'Frozen' have flawless animation, great songs, funny jokes, and cool action scenes, but most importantly, it has heart. I love the relationship and conflict between the two sisters at the core of the movie, both of them fully fleshed out and completely relateable characters, much more so than past Disney princesses.
    I really didn't think I'd like 'Frozen' this much after not liking the character designs (I'm still not crazy about them, esp. the trolls) or the trailers (which are kind of misleading, tone-wise), but this is a classic Disney fairy tale musical, and one of the very best ones at that. Even the comic relief characters, who seemed insufferable in the trailers, are pretty great in the movie.
    Highly recommended to anyone who has a soft spot for Disney animation!

    9/10
     
  15. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 1999
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    I was disappointed by this. It was a lot more "Brave" and lot less "Tangled". I prefered Tangeled. The songs were decent but not memorable. Lacked a strong central conflict/villain, just like "Brave".
     
  16. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    I don't think this or Brave really needed a central villain though. In both cases it was about the relationships between the characters and how they changed as the movies went along.
     
  17. Unicron

    Unicron Boss Monster Mod Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2003
    Location:
    The Crown of the Moon
  18. Tom Hendricks

    Tom Hendricks Vice Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2004
    Location:
    Tom Hendricks
    And the real villain was Elsa's fear and repression of her powers.
     
  19. CaptainCanada

    CaptainCanada Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Location:
    Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
    I think Brave really needed more of a villain. Frozen had a very memorable climactic reveal about Hans, even though he wasn't obviously the bad guy throughout.
     
  20. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    My memory of Brave isn't really clear enough for specific comments, but I remember being happy with the way things played out.
    I like your description of the villain Tom, I hadn't really thought of it along those lines, but it works for me.

    EDIT: If anyone hasn't seen it yet, or wants to watch it again, the song "Let it Go" is now online.
    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk[/yt]
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2013