Un-Frozen

I'm not sure if it's because our heater was broken last week and most of our house was really cold (like toe-numbing), or because I heard news about a new possibility for a Broadway musical, but I've had Frozen on the brain lately. However, it's not for the good reasons that most people attribute to this movie. I think I'm one of the few people in this world, aside from my five year-old son, who came out of the movie with a "meh" feeling about it.

After I first saw it in the theater, I read a review on my friend's blog that validated my feelings somewhat. Also, my husband agreed with me that Olaf is the Jar Jar Binks of Disney. We both found him annoying and unnecessary to the plot. (I know most of you are like "but he's so cute and lovable!" ) It's very rare that a sidekick annoys me as much as Olaf did. Even Lefou (Gaston's sidekick in Beauty and the Beast) was less annoying. I was just glad that they deleted the scene that they originally used as a preview to the film. It just involved Olaf in a fight with some animal over his carrot nose. I was relieved to not have to see that again.

It could also be that the villains are weak. The story does have villains, but they were too easily defeated. They didn't leave me shaking in my boots in the slightest. Some Disney movies have ruthless villains and you're just rooting for them to get exactly what they deserve. (Again, I'll use Gaston as an example.) Sure, there was something wrong about what the villains in Frozen were doing, but they were just so accepting of their punishment and there wasn't much of a fight to begin with.

I also found it strange that Anna was kept away from the world, even though she didn't have a destructive power. It was bad enough that Elsa wasn't able to build snowmen with her anymore, but to keep her locked inside and bored like Rapunzel made no sense either. Why couldn't she just roam around outside and meet people her age? Maybe I missed some integral plot line, but something just seemed "off" to me. Also, the fact that Elsa couldn't just tell Anna the truth that whole time. I don't see how that was protecting Anna in any way. Couldn't she just tell Anna to stay away because she's dangerous? Or have Elsa be sent away someplace else where she couldn't be a danger to others? I understand when Anna was little that it wouldn't help her much to know the truth, but I think this knowledge was owed to her when she was older. In any case, it contributed to a weakness in the plot that just didn't work for me.

What worked for me, however, was the music. It's been a while since there was a Disney song that I could just belt out to my heart's content. "Let it Go" is definitely the reason this show has Broadway potential. It's Idina Menzel's best musical performance since "Defying Gravity," in my opinion. I also enjoyed "For the First Time in Forever" and "Love is an Open Door." I could have done without the reindeer song and definitely without Olaf's song. "Fixer Upper" was cute and reminded me of "A Guy Like You" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (Maybe because the rock trolls reminded me of the gargoyles?) The art design was cool too. I think the best part was Elsa designing a new gown for herself during "Let it Go." I can't say the same for how the characters looked. There was something that just put me off about them, in comparison to other Disney animated films.

So yeah, Frozen was not a favorite of mine, either for Disney or for all of last year. It's not the first to give me that "meh" feeling though. (I like The Princess and the Frog even less. Tarzan is on this list too.) It just didn't leave me feeling emotionally connected. And it's not because I've outgrown Disney. (That could never happen!)