LAMORINDA WEEKLY | "Frozen"


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It is the time for holiday blockbusters and the family animated film "Frozen," which comes from Disney Animation not Pixar. The quality is not up to Pixar standards but overall the film is very well produced. I believe it is Disney's best film in recent years.

The filmmakers deliver a few surprises in the film: a strong female presence - the main leads are both girls and Jennifer Lee is a co-director. Lee wrote last year's Oscar nominated animated film, "Wreck-It Ralph." She brings a female perspective to the film especially in the form of "Wreck-It Ralph" humor. Chris Buck ("Surf's Up," "Tarzan") is the other director.

"Frozen" focuses on the two princess sisters: Anna, played by Kristen Bell ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall") and Elsa, the older sister played by Broadway actress and Tony winner Idina Menzel ("Rent," "Wicked"). The movie opens showing the closeness of the two as they play in the kingdom enjoying each other and establishing their sisterly bond. One day while playing a near tragedy strikes Anna. Apparently Elsa has magical powers that produce snow and ice from her fingertips. As the sisters are playing on the ice playground that Elsa created in the ballroom, Anna receives a head injury and is unconscious. The only way to save her is for the king and queen to take her to the chief troll who saves Anna's life, but erases her memory of the event and her knowledge of Elsa's powers.

After the untimely death of the king and queen, Elsa becomes queen at the age of 18. During the coronation she tries to conceal her powers, but when Anna announces her engagement, Elsa goes into a rage, freezes the entire kingdom and runs away to create her own ice palace. It is Anna who must save the kingdom and her sister as she sets out on her journey. Along the way, Anna encounters new friends to assist her: Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) the local ice salesman, his horse and a snowman named Olaf, voiced by Broadway star Josh Gad ("The Book of Mormon"). Olaf is the much-needed comedic relief in the film. He lights up the screen in all his scenes. So with the help of these "Wizard of Oz" type characters, Anna must break the spell.

"Frozen" is rated PG, due to the death of the king and queen and the evil, gigantic snow monster that might frighten the little ones. The total running time (TRT) is 1 hour and 48 minutes. The movie goes along at a quick pace.

Derek Zemrak is a film critic, film producer and founder of the California Independent Film Festival. You can follow Derek on Twitter @zemrak for the latest Hollywood news. Derek can be heard every Friday on KAHI 950AM on the Poppoff Show.