Pixar have always been one of the leaders in animation, particularly before the merger with Disney but in the last few years we have begun to see the title for the best animation studio slowly swing back towards to Walt Disney Studios and with good reason.
Disney’s output over the last few years has been nothing less than brilliant. From the wonderfully sweet Tangled to the hilarious Wreck It Ralph (which almost seemed like a Pixar film in its own right), their content, animation, scripts and characters have taken a massive leap forward.
In contrast to these achievements comes Pixar, a studio who literally had it all, original content with lovable characters, exceptional animation and wonderful stories. Now, Pixar are literally throwing this to the wind with sequels that are barely worth mentioning in the same breath as some of their classics like Toy Story. Although Brave was a nice tale, Cars 2 was a critical disaster as far as the studio were concerned.
However, Frozen is more than making up for the critical bashing that Disney Pixar are receiving.
Frozen tells the story of Anna, a young Princess who is separated from his sister Elsa at a very young age. It turns out that Elsa has magical powers which her parents find damaging to her own and her sister’s survival, anything she touches can turn to ice. However, when the sisters lose their parents at a very young age, they are left with only each other and a kingdom to rule.
Even though the sisters are left alone, Elsa continues to withdraw from her sister, attempting to control her powers and isolating herself from causing harm, all the time aware that she must take the throne. When her coronation occurs, Elsa’s powers can no longer be kept a secret and when she flees the kingdom, it is up to Anna to find her, along with some new friends.
First of all, Frozen is absolutely old school Disney at its core and it thrives on that. The musical numbers are absolutely brilliant, particularly Let It Go, which is sung by the wonderful Idina Menzel. However, Frozen takes the normal expectations of a Disney musical and turns it on its head. We can’t give too much away here, we would ruin the entire film.
The cast are also exceptional, Kristen Bell’s adorable personality shines through in the character of Anna. Idina Menzel, arguably one of the best singers in the world, is amazing as sister Elsa. The real stars of the show, however, are the wonderful characters of Olaf the Snowman, who is probably on of the funniest supporting characters from Disney, and Sven the reindeer, who without uttering a single word becomes one of the most popular personalities in the film.
The animation is also pretty stunning, looking like a modern animation but still keeping some of the most important elements of a Disney film. Elsa and Anna will become two of the most popular Princesses created by the studios.
However, Disney itself is doing the film a massive disservice. Although most of the time there is a massive amount of hype around a Disney film, we heard little, if anything, about Frozen during the year, the studio preferring to put its marketing money behind The Lone Ranger. Perhaps this is because they knew of its inevitable success.
An absolute must for everyone coming up to Christmas, but also essential for Disney fans. One of our favourite films of the year. All you need to see is this video.
