"Frozen" movie review

Ever since my youngest daughter saw "Frozen" in the movie theater, she has been begging to watch it again on pay-per-view. Naturally, it wasn't on there until just recently, and the pre-order I'd made of it arrived only two days after it released. I even managed to surprise her with it. It's especially amazing, considering she knows how keen I am to get good family movies.

Idina Menzel (from the immensely popular stage musical "Wicked") and Kristen Bell (one of the hot new "it" girls in Hollywood right now) lend their voices to this charming tale of sisters torn apart by tragedy and put back together through a different sort of tragedy. There's a splendid group of sidekicks, and the entire plot is a charming reinvention of the classis 'Outcast" character concept, but what sets this one apart is the use of musical numbers to form the plot's turning points. The greatest musical number, "Let it Go" is belted out by Ms. Menzel with pure glee and power--it's a fantastic song. What surprised me, though, was the sheer number of songs throughout. This is actually an animated musical, rather than a typical movie. I loved it for that.

The computer graphics used are breathtakingly gorgeous, especially the ice palace and the grounds surrounding it. However, because the ice-related graphics were so good, it made the other more normal graphics look a bit drab because of it. And, what is it with the hunter's bows? Seems like everyone using one went stupid the second they drew the string back. Pathetic.

Those nitpicks aside, "Frozen" is a fun ride for the entire family. It doesn't require a whole lot of concentration to follow the plots, but there are a lot of frustratingly low whispering that goes on--so it's a good idea that whoever has the volume control is also fairly quick on their reflexes. I'd expect a sequel next year, and also a follow up cd of additional songs from/inspired by the movie. The quality is that

- M