Frozen

[Claincy he/him]

True true. I've never been great at belting things though. Only one way to practice though, right?

Indeed. Try to enjoy it as much as possible when you do, that's the best way

[wardbreaker she/her]

I have to agree with Argent. I really just liked the movie. But hey, did anyone notice Rapunzel and Eugene at the coronation?

[TwistedMisting she/her]

I just saw Frozen for the first time last week, it's currently my son's favourite movie (alongside Star Wars IV). I found that 'Do you want to build a snowman' really choked me up! This poor girl's confusion and desperation to have a relationship with her sister, her loneliness and that need to know why things changed really hit me quite hard.

 

Personally I love that they really kind of smashed up the traditional Disney trope where prince and princess meet, barely speak and then get married and live happily ever after. It's like the movie is injecting some reality into the movie version of true love. I especially love when Kristoff is so shocked that Ana got engaged to a man she'd just met that day and starts questioning her about Hans.

 

I didn't have a problem with Olaf. But then I guess I got the sentiment straight away, as at the beginning of the movie, Elsa makes a snowman and says 'My name is Olaf, I like warm hugs'. Olaf looks exactly like that snowman and introduces himself in the same way when he meets Ana and Kristoff. And I giggled at 'put me in summer and I'll be a ... HAPPY SNOWMAN!'

[Teccam]

I have to agree with Argent. I really just liked the movie. But hey, did anyone notice Rapunzel and Eugene at the coronation?

There's also a nod to The Swing, the painting by Fragonard which inspired the art direction for Tangled. It happens during the first iteration of "For the First Time in Forever" when Anna is jumping in front of a collection of paintings inside the castle. She jumps in front of the painting and seems to sit on the swing for a moment as she hangs in midair.

 

There's some quality discourse in this thread. I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I felt compelled to add my two cents.

 

 

Going into the movie, I was very skeptical of Olaf as a character. Disney has a track record for lame comic relief sidekicks, and the marketing for this movie did not instill much hope that Olaf would be amusing (at least, not to adults) nor that he would bear any significance in terms of plotting or exposition. Unlike several of you in this thread, Olaf won me over quite quickly. I found myself laughing at nearly all of his lines ("I don't have a skull... or bones" was probably my favorite). And while he had relatively few lines that weren't throwaway jokes, those were all insightful and/or informative for the story, or at least for one of the other characters. As several people have already mentioned, Olaf is important for what he represents between Elsa and Anna. That alone makes his character worthwhile — at least, compared to many other Disney sidekicks.

 

I thought the characterization for Elsa and Anna was very good. The animators did a phenomenal job with facial expressions, posture, etc. to really bring them to life on a physical level. Menzel and Bell were both great, both in the musical numbers and the general voice acting. The others were solid as well. Since the trope subversion front has already been covered, I won't go into that except to say that I was a fan.

 

One thing I didn't like was a few of the anachronisms. For instance, Hans uses "like" as a form of speech disfluency in the beginning of "Love is an Open Door" which really bugged me. Talking about spas, tans, etc. also irked me a bit, and just the general dialog felt too casual and contemporary. I understand the need to make it accessible to the young audiences. I'm not suggesting they write dialog like A Song of Ice and Fire or anything. Just a tad more formal and archaic words and phrases would have been nice, IMO.

 

The music was probably in my top 3 all time for Disney movies (other contenders include The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Jungle Book). This thread has already seen some great analysis for "Let It Go" and "Love is an Open Door". I think it would be possible to write a similar assessment for "For the First Time in Forever", especially the reprise. That's such a pivotal sequence in the film, and the lyrics and orchestration are so delicately crafted there. I think the film could have done without the troll song though — it just seemed like a thinly veiled means of expediting the relationship between Anna and Kristoff heading into the film's finale. In fact, I wasn't a fan of the trolls throughout the movie. I see their function within the story, but the execution wasn't on par with the rest of the movie.

 

All in all, I think this is my favorite Disney movie since The Lion King. Not sure I'd say it's a better movie than Tangled, but it resonated with me on a personal level in a way that Tangled couldn't quite match.

[Claincy he/him]

 

And while he had relatively few lines that weren't throwaway jokes, those were all insightful and/or informative for the story, or at least for one of the other characters. As several people have already mentioned, Olaf is important for what he represents between Elsa and Anna. That alone makes his character worthwhile — at least, compared to many other Disney sidekicks.

Thing is, a lot of his jokes hid a secondary meaning as well. He said remarkably little that didn't have at least some potential other meaning and he isn't exactly quiet

 

 

I think it would be possible to write a similar assessment for "For the First Time in Forever", especially the reprise. That's such a pivotal sequence in the film, and the lyrics and orchestration are so delicately crafted there. I think the film could have done without the troll song though — it just seemed like a thinly veiled means of expediting the relationship between Anna and Kristoff heading into the film's finale. In fact, I wasn't a fan of the trolls throughout the movie. I see their function within the story, but the execution wasn't on par with the rest of the movie.

"For the First Time in Forever" is an awesome song and a good analysis could definately be written for it. I guess I felt that it was more obvious in it's meaning and more obviously a great song so less in need of analysis, "Love is an open door" required a bit more thought to get so much out of it

 

Personally I'm still not a huge fan of the trolls either. I get how they work with the plot, I get how they are important and I get how "Fixer-upper" is important to setting up the film's resolution. They still didn't feel quite as good as the rest of the movie.

 

 

One thing I didn't like was a few of the anachronisms. For instance, Hans uses "like" as a form of speech disfluency in the beginning of "Love is an Open Door" which really bugged me. Talking about spas, tans, etc. also irked me a bit, and just the general dialog felt too casual and contemporary. I understand the need to make it accessible to the young audiences. I'm not suggesting they write dialog like A Song of Ice and Fire or anything. Just a tad more formal and archaic words and phrases would have been nice, IMO.

Actually this bothered me a little too, Hans use of "like" in that way in particular made me like him less, which is appropriate I suppose.

[LinkasZelda]

Anybody else really like musicals?

I watched Frozen for the first time a few weeks ago and REALLY did not enjoy it, though the music and characters were great and there were some fantastic ideas, it just felt super rushed.
Then I watched it again a couple of nights ago with my roommate and I think because my expectations were lowered, I actually enjoyed it a lot (Funny how that happens)

What were your thoughts?

Edit: Just realized there's a board for movies. Didn't notice until after, is there a way to move this?

Edited April 20, 2014 by LinkasZelda

[Observer]

Just wait around for an admin, they usually get to things like this after a few days.

 

I gotta say, I was really disappointed with Frozen, though I never had high expectations in the first place. Though it felt rushed, I think the real reason I didn't like it was because I saw that it could have been so much better. I liked the idea for Frozen, and was annoyed that they managed to make something that never quite reached its potential. Things like the 100% unnecessary trolls, totally forgettable song at the opening, and a few animation mistakes that should never have been made, just ruined it for me.

 

However, all that aside, there is already a thread for Frozen things in the entertainment discussion section.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Observer

[LinkasZelda]

Ahhh I figured there would have already been one, but silly me only checked this board.

I agree with you all the way. There were so many great ideas and so much potential... But a lot of it fell so flat. In terms of newer Disney movies, Tangled was far superior. Despite the awkward tear-healing scene.

[Khyrindor he/him]

did you notice that Christoff is the only character without a four letter name?

[LinkasZelda]

did you notice that Christoff is the only character without a four letter name?

... You sir, just blew my mind. Didn't even realize.

[-Deleted-]

I don't have a particular favortism to musicals, but there are many that I like and Frozen is one of them. Frozen was one of the most interesting uses of a fairy tale in a movie I've seen and was also one of the best fantasy films I have seen. Very good and is easily my favorite of the Disney animated films.

[Claincy he/him]

Here is a link to the other thread for anyone who is looking http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/5820-frozen/

I'm not going to go into detail about why a consider frozen to be the movie Disney has made in the last decade, perhaps ever, as I already explained that in detail in the other thread. But to summarize my views: Tangled had less flaws than frozen, tangled was a very good movie but it failed to do anything particularly new and daring and so is just another Disney princess story. That isn't necessarily a bad thing but we have had a lot of them. Frozen on the other hand, despite a few flaws breaks he mold entirely and manages to achieve a story that is far more emotionally powerful and has far more interesting and complicated characters.

[A Joe in the Bush]

I can't quote, But Observer, what Animation Mistakes were there?

[Observer]

There were a few minor ones I won't mention, because whining about somebody's thumb slightly clipping into another object is a little idiotic, but the one that really killed me was when I saw Elsa's braid at the end of Let it Go go straight through her shoulder. 

[Claincy he/him]

There were a few minor ones I won't mention, because whining about somebody's thumb slightly clipping into another object is a little idiotic, but the one that really killed me was when I saw Elsa's braid at the end of Let it Go go straight through her shoulder. 

I don't know how many times I have watched that sequence and I never noticed that. I guess I was too caught up in the moment. When it gets down to it I don't care that much about graphics/animations when compared to character/story. I hope I can still still watch that sequence without that annoying me now.

Edited April 21, 2014 by lord Claincy Ffnord

[Observer]

Don't get me wrong, I loved what they were trying to do with Frozen. My issue with it has nothing to do with what they did at all, what they did was a delightful subversion of common Disney tropes alongside a fun story. No, the reason I'm annoyed with Frozen is because of what they didn't do. I see the idea they have here and I love it, but I'm irritated that they didn't take it to its full potential. Little things like animation errors, or my issues with the songs or those trolls, can be totally ignored on their own. But together, they represent in my mind a black spot on something that otherwise very nice. What makes me mad is that Frozen wasn't a very nice idea, it was an excellent idea, and the very fact that they sold it short is what makes the movie painful for me to watch.

 

But I'm being a hypocrite and an idiot, as I was the person who was just saying that there's a topic for this, even if it is a much more optimistic tone than this one, so I'll stop repeating myself infinitely until I have something actually new to say.

[Peng the Just he/him]

My primary issue with frozen was that there were just too many songs. I felt like everyone was just singing when they could have been moving the plot along. Overall, I liked it though.

[LinkasZelda]

My primary issue with frozen was that there were just too many songs. I felt like everyone was just singing when they could have been moving the plot along. Overall, I liked it though.

.. It's a musical that's like saying "Les Miserables" would have been better with out so many songs.

[Peng the Just he/him]

 that's like saying "Les Miserables" would have been better with out so many songs.

the sad thing is that i believe that too. guess I'm not really a musicals guy.

[Dysphoric Kitten she/her]

I agree, it just felt so short and unexplored to me. But I must admit, this is how most films feel to me. Additionally, I really expected to get it straight up, with Elsa being the antagonist. It would have been so cool! When I sat down to watch it though, it was not that plot, it seems, which, frankly, disappointed me.

Additionally, small things like the inconsistency with the spotlight (Anna and whatshisname are dancing on thin air in the spotlight shot of "Love is an Open Door") or like the fact that ice is stronger than a sword, perhaps as strong as diamond, which is just a Deus Ex Machina moment to me, these broke my enjoyment of the film.

Edit: Just realized there's a board for movies. Didn't notice until after, is there a way to move this?

Ask an admin like Comatose, KChan or Chaos, they can do it. Do not forget to send them the link so they do not have to look for it.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Tal Spektor

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Saw it for the 7th time yesterday. Elsa is a great character closely followed by Anna. Let it go is a amazing song. Awesome movie. But the Hans twist surprised me. Olaf was cute comic relief.

[Lightsworn Panda he/him]

Wow... A Frozen thread in a website like this...

 

Did you actually watch it 7 TIMES, Elsa Steelheart!? 

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Frozen was amazing. Best movie I've seen.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Wow... A Frozen thread in a website like this...

Did you actually watch it 7 TIMES, Elsa Steelheart!?

Yep! I have the DVD'! I saw another movie 15 times and I'm trying to break that record.

[Matrim Bloody Cauthon he/him]

great movie. my whole family loves it. we bought the dvd when it came out and I think my 2 year old brother has watched it probably 20 times. it is the only movie that he will sit through the entire movie.