Disney’s new princess cartoon offers the sort of experience that could restore your faith in cinema. Surprise endings in kids’ movies can generally be spotted a mile off. Yet Frozen’s finale delivers the most curvy of curve-balls.
The stage seems set for another Tangled, this time with two heroines, as opposed to one, isolated in an ivory tower by the sea. Elsa and Anna are sisters, and Elsa’s superpower (whatever she touches turns to ice) means they’re forced to avoid the world and each other. When it’s time for Elsa to be crowned queen, however, Anna finally gets a taste of romance and all hell breaks loose.
The film is full of nifty characters (an animal-centric ice-trader and a snowman with a misplaced affection for summer deliver some of the best laughs). And songs. Frozen has great songs. But, as becomes increasingly clear, it’s all about the sisters.
Anna’s desperate need for love — not to mention her (supposedly adorable) nervous giggle — are so ubiquitous in the genre that they barely register. At first. Maybe one of the writers is a fan of Sense and Sensibility. Either way, Jane Austen would definitely approve of the climactic clinch.
One tiny niggle. The animators lose their nerve when it comes to Elsa who, throughout, resembles one of those brittle mentors on The X Factor. Purple eyeshadow, tiny waist, kitten heels. Yikes. The glitz will satisfy militantly feminine sprogs, but is completely at odds with Elsa’s gutsy character and Frozen’s pioneering message.