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| Disney Studios (2013) |
If you enjoy movies
with scripts that are beautifully written from beginning to end, cinematically
breathtaking, and contain musical scores that cause you to sing along with
the characters and then hum those tunes long after the movie has ended, you
will absolutely love the movie Frozen.
Directed by
Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck and classified as a musical/fantasy/comedy, Frozen is a 3-D animated film released
in late 2013 by the grandfather of family entertainment, Walt Disney Studios;
and many film critics consider it the studio’s best animated undertaking since
Disney’s golden era, which ran from 1988 through 1999 and included such
blockbusters as Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,
The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the
Beast, and The Lion King (Disney,
2008).
Inspired by Hans
Christian Anderson’s fairytale “The Snow Queen,” Frozen is an epic, sprawling adventure about an intrepid princess
(Anna) who undertakes a quest to locate her estranged sister (Elsa), the Snow
Queen, who possesses cryokinetic powers and is, however unintentionally, responsible
for the kingdom’s being locked in the relentless grasp of eternal winter.
Accompanying Anna on her journey into this land of ice and snow are a tough,
resilient, and handsome iceman (Kristoff): the iceman’s pet reindeer (Swen);
and a naïve, quite comical snowman (Olaf). Filled with adventures and
misadventures, their journey is a visual and musical delight for all ages.
A blend of both
computer-generated imagery and traditional hand-drawn animation, for which
Disney is famous, Frozen is, to date,
the highest grossing animated film of all time, and its monetary success has
far exceeded that generated through box-office receipts. For one, according to
Fritz (2014), “On the first day of its 2014 release on Blu-ray and DVD, the
film sold 3.2 million copies, to become one of the biggest home video sellers
in the last decade, as well as Amazon's best-selling children's disc of all
time” (para. 2). Moreover, the film has given birth to a multi-million-dollar
franchise of toys, games, books, clothing, and other related paraphernalia,
which have been so in demand that stores report a difficult time keeping the
items in stock (Fritz, 2014)
As for the cast,
since this is an animated film, the “actors” provide only their voices, and given
the scope of the story, the list of voice actors is quite extensive, but providing
the voices of the main characters are the following:
·
Kristen
Bell as Anna, the 18-year-old Princess of Arendelle
·
Idina
Menzel as Elsa, the 21-year-old Snow Queen of Arendelle
·
Jonathan
Groff as Kristoff, the iceman
·
Josh
Gad as Olaf, the snowman
·
Santino
Fontana as Hans, a prince from the Southern Isles
In summary, chances
are, if you have children, you have already seen Frozen more than once or even multiple times. However, if like many
adults, you avoid animated films altogether because you think they are strictly
for children, you need to give this particular film a chance. I seriously doubt
you will regret it. In fact, you will probably thank me for recommending it. If
not, well, then I will personally come to your house and extend my heartfelt
apologies. How’s that?
Sources:
Disney: Notes on
the End of the Disney Renaissance. (2008)
Retrieved January 6, 2015 from decentfilms.com.
Fritz, B. (2014)
Disney's Film Business Gets Big Boost from Frozen:
Operating Income at Film Unit More than Quadruples; Musical in the Works".
Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January
6, 2015.
Lang, B. (2014).
Frozen Sells Massive 3.2 Million Discs in One Day. The Wrap. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
