I found Frozen to be totally refreshing -- and not just because I absolutely love snow and winter, though I did spend most of the movie wanting to frolic around in all that delightful whiteness. (Yes, I'm the mommy that sleds down the backyard hill with her children.) To quote Elsa, "The cold never bothered me anyway." I love winter, I love snow, and if I could pick a superpower, I would totally pick being able to create snowstorms and ice palaces. Yes, please. Where do I sign?
The main reason I liked Frozen is because it's so different from so many animated princess movies. The important relationship here wasn't between a pretty girl and a handsome boy, it was between two sisters. Love at first sight? Totally kaboshed as imaginary hooey. Falling in love with a person you've gotten to know first before you saw them as an object of affection? Celebrated! Endless optimism in the face of harsh reality? Embraced! (I mean you, Olaf. I like warm hugs too!)
If you want a more coherent, thought-provoking, and totally amazing blog post about all of Frozen's theological relevance, I'm not going to write one, cuz someone else already did, and you can read it here. Yes. Theology in a Disney movie. Probably not intentionally, but the whole idea of humans as unable to control sin and sacrifical love saving the world -- it's all so totally clear, man! Go read that blog post already -- though be warned it does contain major spoilage.
Meanwhile, I'm going to dig out Hans Christian Anderson's original story that supposedly inspired this and read it for the first time in probably twenty years. I may post about that later, we'll see.
I have not seen this, but my daughter has. She absolutely loves it...and she's hoping its Academy Award-nominated song is this year's winner.
ReplyDeleteI forgot one of the songs was nominated! It's not my favorite one (that would be "Love is an Open Door"), but it's a very cool one, and strikes me as different from a lot of Disney Princess songs, so I'm rooting for it too!
DeleteThough I'd like to see "Alone Yet Not Alone" get it just because... little indie Christian movie's song gets nominated for an Oscar? How often does that happen? And the movie is based on a book written by a homeschool graduate about her forebears. How often does that get to the Oscars?
Alas, "Alone Yet Not Alone" was revoked as a nominee. Bums me out, because the composer is Bruce Broughton, who is one of my favorite film composers.
DeleteWait, what? They can do that? Why would they do that? Did it not get released to the requisite number of theaters in time or something? I know the wide release keeps getting pushed back, and now it's mid-June.
DeleteI really liked that it wasn't your typical princess movie as well. That's been done many times, so creating a movie about a princess (in this case, princesses) with a story that hasn't been done dozens of times is a breath of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteFrozen was a good movie. The story was good, the characters were wonderful, and the animation was amazing. I also loved all of Anna and Elsa's dresses. They're so beautiful!
Oh, the dresses! Yes! That shimmery cape that Elsa creates for herself? I want that! And I loved the colors of her coronation outfit, the teal and magenta. I've never been a big fan of pink, so I especially appreciated that the costumes varied and tended toward blues.
DeleteMy sister-in-law took my daughters to see this, so I did not. But my girls have not stopped singing the songs. Almost every day the listen to them on Pandora.
ReplyDeleteThe soundtrack is playing here right this minute! Though I generally skip "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" because it's too sad.
DeleteI know, I just KNOW I'm going to love this movie. I can't wait to get a chance to see it! Great review, I'm glad I could read it since it was spoiler-free. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to see it soon! And yeah, I decided since this movie has been out for months and been thoroughly reviewed on so many of the blogs I read, I really didn't need to go in depth or do lots of spoilers. Sometimes a short review is all that's needed!
DeleteI haven't seen this movie yet, but I'd really like to! Especially now that I've found out Idina Menzel plays the voice of Elsa. :-P
ReplyDeleteIt's still showing around here, so see if you can find a theater near you that still has it! The scene with the ice palace in particular is amazing on the big screen.
DeleteI really enjoyed this film... especially how the whole storyline was about Elsa learning to accept who she really was and that 'true love' isn't always romantic love. :) Very special.
ReplyDeleteI really think that the whole "true love" vs "romantic love" angle, and the "love at first sight is bogus" thing are probably two favorite aspects of the movie. Besides the snow. I love snow!
DeleteYes... I forgot about the 'love at first sight' thing... that was brilliant. Wow. Disney really outdid themselves. :)
DeleteI want to see this movie soooo badly! Everyone I know says they loved it, but no one else in my family is going to want to see it. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteYour family is silly. If it's still showing near you, go by yourself. I go to movies by myself 95% of the time, and it is totally not weird.
Deletei absolutely LOVED this movie. The songs were amazing, the love story was different which was cool and i loved Olaf! I am planning on buying this when it comes out on dvd
ReplyDeleteMarch 18!!! Won't be long now :-)
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