Frozen

On New Year’s Day Amy, Hannah, and I prepared for the upcoming cold apocalypse in Minnesota by seeing the movie, “Frozen” at East Bethel theatre.  The animated Disney movie is very loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson’s short story, “The Snow Queen.” 

The movie traces the relationship of Elsa and Anna, daughters of the king and queen of a Scandinavian place called  Arendelle, Elsa has magical powers.  When she accidentally injures Anna while playing, Elsa and Anna’s parents go to a magic troll to have Anna healed.   The memory of the accident is taken from Anna, but Elsa punishes herself by withdrawing from the world.

The contrast between the girls is set.  Elsa is the older, worrisome girl who doesn’t know how to control her magical powers.  She wears gloves on her hands to prevent further damage.   Anna is the younger, adventuresome girl who craves a relationship with her distant older sister.

When Elsa and Anna’s parents are killed in an accident it is time for Elsa to become queen of Arendelle.  On coronation day she loses her gloves, causes Arendelle to be frozen and escapes to a distant place.  She ultimately created her own ice palace.   With the encouragement of Hans—a brief knight in shining armor—Anna goes off to find Elsa. 

On her adventure Anna meets Kristoff—who became a knight in shining armor—and Olaf, a comic relief snowman. 

A few surprising twists keep the movie interesting and Olaf was delightful to watch.  Unlike some reviewers I liked the trolls and would have loved to see them more integrated into the story.

Disney produced the film, so astute readers can guess that the ending was happy.  Along the way the movie shared two important themes—love is an open door and love melts a frozen heart.

The music in the film was terrific.  I can see the move being adapted to a musical show.  The animation was cleverly done and very colorful.

I particularly enjoy watching movie’s at East Bethel theatre.  They are a welcome contrast to AMC—inexpensive prices and tasty popcorn.  The seats don’t recline, but who goes to a movie to lay down in a seat.  I have a hard enough time staying awake in a dark theatre without lying at a 45 degree angle. 

Frozen is worth the time to see—especially for parents and kids.  In this frozen time of year we can do a lot worse than seeing “Frozen.”