Frozen Blu-ray Review
“Frozen” is the best animated film of 2013.
In this loose retelling of the classic fairytale “The Snow Queen,” “Frozen” revolves around sisters Elsa and Anna. At a young age, Elsa discovered that she has the magical ability to create ice and snow. Unfortunately, this ability turns out to be problematic when she accidentally injures her sister Anna. In order to protect her sister Anna, Elsa decides to essentially lock herself away in her room. Furthermore, her parents (the King and Queen of Arendelle) decide to remove the memory of Elsa’s powers from Anna’s mind. As the story jumps ahead several years to Elsa’s coronation, we see that Elsa accidentally reveals her powers to everyone (including her sister again) which causes her to flee into the mountains AND cause a massive winter storm. Determined to help and locate her sister, Anna embarks on a trip through the snowy kingdom with the help of a mountain man (Kristoff), his trusty reindeer (Sven), and a living snowman (Olaf). Of course, there are a few villains and plot twists along the way, but hey, I’m not going to spoil everything.
Since 2002, Disney (not including Pixar and Studio Ghibli releases here) has had a bit of a cold spell (if you’ll pardon the pun). While there have been a few hits here and there, nothing has captured the imagination and hearts of moviegoers on the level of say “Aladdin.” In 2013, however, that completely changed as Disney exceeded any and all expectations with the charming and heartfelt megahit “Frozen.”
While there’s much to love about “Frozen” (which I will get to in a bit), the primary reason the movie works so well is that goes back to the fairy tale well. Since the inception of Walt Disney Studios, the most beloved Disney animated films have been based on fairy tales and or literary works and “Frozen” is no exception. Disney is simply at their best when they put their own spin on existing properties thereby making the material seem fresh. “Frozen” writer Jennifer Lee certainly gives a fresh take on “The Snow Queen” as she not only creates a deep story about love, friendship, fear, and repression, but also provides plenty of wickedly humorous moments. Instead of merely sticking to the tried and true Disney formula, Lee actually pokes fun at Disney Princesses, past Disney projects and even talking animals. This deviation from the norm certainly took me by surprise and made me fall for the movie early on.
As clever as the humor and story are, Lee also manages to inject plenty of emotion into the screenplay as well. To say “Frozen” runs the gamut of emotions is an understatement. In one scene, you could be tearing up at a montage of the sisters not being able to see each other and in another scene; you could be laughing at Olaf melting. Of course, this is also a testament to the film’s lovable and fully developed characters that are brought to life by everyone from the voice actors to the animators.
I couldn’t end this review without talking about the film’s songs and music. The songs (which were composed by Kristen and Robert Lopez) and music (composed by Christophe Beck) are Disney’s finest creations since “Tarzan.” Thanks to Idina Menzel’s powerful vocals, songs like the uber popular and Award winning “Let It Go” have become pop culture sensations and rightfully so. They are so well done and catchy that you don’t mind getting them stuck in your head over and over.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.24:1 1080p. How does it look? Stunning. Watching this movie in 1080p is far and away the best way to watch “Frozen” at home. The clarity of the animation is mind blowing.
Audio Track: 7.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? In a word, perfect. You will definitely want to crank the volume up to the highest level in order to get the full effect for this 7.1 track.
Extras:
* DVD copy and Digital HD copy.
* Disney trailers and the original teaser trailer for “Frozen.”
* 4 music videos for “Let it Go.” 1 by Demi Lovato, 2 by Martina Stoessel (one in Spanish and one in Italian), and 1 by Marsha Milan.
* “Get A Horse!”- A new clever Mickey Mouse animated short which blends classic B&W Mickey Mouse with a modern day take.
* 4 deleted scenes with intos by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.
* D’Frosted: Disney’s Journey From Hans Christian Andersen To Frozen”- This fascinating extra touches on a proposed Disneyland snow palace ride, Hans Christian Andersen’s stories (namely “The Snow Queen”), Marc Davis,
* “The Making of Frozen”- An odd musical making of.
Overall Thoughts: The fact that “Frozen” made my top 10 of 2013 should tell you how much I treasured this film. If you are one of the few who hasn’t seen this global hit, check it out.
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