Disney movies have always been an integral part of my life—in fact, the first video cassette my family ever owned was The Lion King—so I was doubly excited when I found out that a Disney movie was being made based on one of my favorite fairytales, “The Snow Queen”.

Although the movie’s plot diverts almost entirely from the plot of the fairytale, save for the fact that there is a “snow queen” somewhere and the landscape is vaguely European, it was still pretty interesting. The Disney plot tells the story of two princesses, the elder of the two, Elsa, having the power to manipulate and create ice and snow. This proves problematic in her life and she is forced to stay indoors in order to keep the kingdom, and her sister Anna, safe from harm. The adventure begins when Elsa slips up, revealing her icy powers to her unknowing sister and the kingdom, and continues as she flees into the mountains. The story unfolds as Anna ventures out into the mountains to bring Elsa back before the kingdom freezes over.

The dynamic between the two sisters, Anna and Elsa, was something very unique to this Disney movie; while most Disney heroines are usually pretty confident of their virtue, like Jasmine, Belle, or Snow White for example, Elsa constantly struggles to hide herself. Anna, unaware of any problem, is always trying to help her, in vain. The movie worked to highlight their “sisterly bond”, something pretty uncommon in Disney animated movies. The climax of the plot departs further from Disney stereotypes as well. True love does indeed save the day, but not in the conventional romantic form. A plot twist revealing the dark secret of an ostensibly, and usually by default “good character”, breaks Disney stereotypes as well.

Even the necessary “talking animal and/or talking animate thing that is usually an inanimate object” friend isn’t too annoying. Olaf, the talking snowman, is much funnier than I thought he would be and Sven, the reindeer, has enough originality that he doesn’t blend in with all the other Disney animal friends.

While the movie was great in these aspects, it did have its weaknesses. The success of Tangled is obviously reflected in this movie, as the animation and art style are the same, as well as some of the plot points (an “opposites attract” type romance, a journey with a mystery man, etc.). Aside from this, Anna holds many similarities to Tangled’s Rapunzel, ranging from her character’s perpetual optimism/obliviousness combo to even her facial expressions and movements. This downfall, however, is pretty well compensated by Elsa.

The songs! Can’t forget the songs. Most of the songs in the movie were pretty catchy and Elsa’s song, “Let It Go”, was made all the more better as it was sung by Wicked’s Idina Menzel.

While Frozen was not perfect, it definitely brought something new. It’s a lot of fun to watch and the adventure is exciting, so I’d recommend it anyone who loves a good animated movie.