An Ice Movie and Mickey's Return

Sorry, I could not resist that ice pun.

*Warning: The following review contains spoilers*

Walt Disney Animation Studios' latest is good, and since a certain holiday is around the corner, I can say… I'm thankful for that! I'm thankful for Walt Disney Animation Studios in general because of how good they are now that the shackles have been off since the big change in 2006. Frozen continues to show that animated films are good or great when you let the artists and creatives handle the ship, not suits, not focus groups, not consumer products people…

Frozen is classic Disney fairy tale goodness in pretty much every sense, but it doesn't fully go the Renaissance route. It doesn't reheat elements, there is no major love story where the leads share a ballad together… Oh wait, Anna and suitor Hans fall in love just moments after they have met, but the film is merely riffing on the short-term romances that tended to define some Disney classics (note: Some of the Renaissance ones where they develop a great relationship in a matter of 2-3 days, nothing wrong with those, though). I mean, she declares she wants to marry the man in a single night's worth of hanging out. Elsa writes it off, and by extension, so does the film. Kristoff hammers it in a little more… That was definitely a nice touch!

But at the same time, it does try on some Disney Renaissance-era favorites, mainly… Broadway songs! Penned by Robert and Kristen-Marie Lopez (Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon), the songs are surprisingly kind of a mixed bag. First of all, "First Time in Forever" and "Let It Go" are awesome. Definitely instant Disney classic songs right there, "Frozen Heart" also kicks things off to a nice start, but "Let's Build a Snowman" is simply good, "Love is an Open Door" is also just alright. "In Summer", I honestly did not care for. "Fixer Upper"? The one song that I actually disliked…

"Fixer Upper", to me, recalls those unnecessary goofball songs from the 90s films, mainly "A Guy Like You" and "Trashin' the Camp". The song just butts itself into the story, a scene where Kristoff needs to explain to his weird troll family that Anna is in dire need of help… But no, a silly song! Complete with lyrics about tinkling in the woods! Talk about a tonal imbalance, in fact this film had a quite a few. Something I had a problem with. Luckily, most of that jarring stuff is in the film's middle part. It is at times cringeworthy, but definitely not detrimental to the film as a whole.

Frozen's main strengths lie within the story and the characters, the story is very well-crafted but its our two leads that really make it shine. Anna and Elsa's relationship is very strong, it ends up carrying the film and producing all of the heartfelt moments. Every moment where they are onscreen together is just fantastic, Elsa is a very complex character and someone who is very scared. It's a nice change of pace, as always. I give the current Disney team props for trying new things with each story, Frozen is definitely no Tangled.

The story throws a core romance out the window, just when you think that there is going to be one, with build-up to boot! I was a little let down at one point, when it's implied that Anna's curse that Elsa accidentally gives her can only be cured by a true love's kiss. I thought to myself, "Oh no… That's kind of typical!" But no, she gets back to Arendelle only to find out that Hans is a two-faced jerk who would just let her die and would also kill Elsa so he can rule Arendelle. That's right there on the level of Wreck-It Ralph's great third act reveal. The audience reaction was also very audible. It all makes for an incredibly great third act that makes up for what I did not like in the second act.

The second act isn't bad by any means, it's just that it has a bigger dose of that overly-modern slang dialogue that I'm just not a fan of. I didn't care for it in Tangled, nor did I care for it in the 90s films. Olaf's number, "In Summer", while not terrible, doesn't really add much. There's also too many modern touches and details, this is a fairy tale setting! Also, comedy is inserted where it shouldn't be and thus it does feel cheap at times. The comic relief is handled much better in the first act and the third act. That being said, the second act does give us a few good scenes with Anna and Kristoff, a fun scene in a summer shack shop and best of all… Anna seeing Elsa for the first time since her exit from Arendelle.

Most importantly though, Frozen packs an emotional punch and has a very rock-solid story. I just wish that the screenplay's dialogue was a little better, and that the comedy and drama were balanced a lot better in the second act. When the comedy works, it really works. Most of the songs suit the film, while some are a little disposable and then there's that one I don't care for, but it's mostly a good soundtrack with a good score by Christophe Beck. The piece "Vuelie", which opens the film, immediately plunges you into the setting… They even played it over the Disney and Walt Disney Animation Studios logos instead of the typical soundtracks for those! Please do that with more films, Disney, please?

Do I even need to praise the animation? From the art direction to Elsa's powers to the character animation, it all shines. From snowy mountains to Elsa's elaborate new home to kingdoms with a Norwegian flair, it's all nice to look at, as usual for a Disney animated film. Some shots are just strikingly beautiful. Color is used to the film's advantage as well, with some striking use saved for the more dramatic moments. Also, the film's snowier color palette during the third act kicks all those teal-and-orange "gritty" live action films in their collective faces; that's how you do scenes that are a little bit on the darker side!

It ends well, with an excellent resolution to everything that had gone down in the film. Its heart is right there on the surface, and overall… It's another Disney animated classic. It has some bigger flaws, but as a whole? It's very enjoyable.

The hyperbole surrounding it, however… Well, I can't say I'm happy with that. That's another story for another post for another day, but the time is not right.

Now… To say nothing of Get A Horse!

My oh my… This is how a modern Mickey Mouse cartoon should be done! This is more than a great return for the character - he hadn't graced the silver screen in a roughly 6-minute short since 1995's Runaway Brain - it's just a blast and it does something different for a change. It begins like a Golden Age-era Mickey short, as it was an unearthed scrapped Mickey short from 1929, but then our characters go in and out of the movie theater screen. The film throws one fun inventive thing on top of the other, with the characters turning into computer animated versions of themselves when they come out of the screen!

But the best thing is, it's really funny. This is the real Mickey Mouse, not the politically correct preschool show version that's aggressively shoved down your throat. This is the old Mickey, with the energy and personality that made him so instantly likable. The cartoon was full of raucous slapstick and lots of inventiveness… It's a whole lot of fun and it's definitely worth the price of admission!

Melted

Well here it is folks, the theatrical trailer for Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen...



And to be honest, it's not that bad of a trailer... Okay, it isn't perfect, not even great by any means... But it does its job, audiences will go see it because it essentially looks like "Tangled Mach II". It's the typical animated film trailer: Frenetic, joke-centric and it probably doesn't give you a feel of what the film will ultimately be like. But at least there's some pretty animation to gaze at here, and there are some moments that generate excitement.

This will probably be the only time I'll watch it, but here it is... Enjoy!

More Ice To Thaw

Us Americans will have to wait till September to see the full trailer for Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen, but across the Pacific, folks in Japan got an actual taste of the studio's 53rd feature...

It isn't a trailer, though, but rather a very good first look at the actual footage from the film that's very reminiscent of the moving concept art-like footage we saw over a month ago - footage that was leaked and the immediately pulled!



Never mind the awkward editing and the ratio of the announcer speaking to the trailer audio, this footage is absolutely gorgeous. It's good to know that it focuses more on Anna and Elsa than the fun comic relief sidekicks that were the spotlight of the divisive teaser. Again, I'm happy to see Disney trying to differentiate their computer animation from Pixar's, aiming for a painterly look that was experimented with in both Bolt and Tangled. It has a warm traditional animation feel to it, and it should look even better in the finished film. Meanwhile, their Emeryville comrades are achieving perfecting a look that's photoreal but it doesn't feel too, too real... It feels "just right". See Monsters University to get that feeling.

If there's one gripe I had, it was the design of the troll-like snow creature that Anna and Kristoff encounter... Seemed a little goofy-looking as opposed to menacing and intimidating. Is that what the mythical trolls mentioned in the synopsis are going to look like? The tone, as usual, is unlike many American trailers for animated films. No chaotic frenetic wackiness or constant jokes. It shows us hints of a more dramatic angle of the story and lots of action, as this is shaping up to be a really action-packed adventure.

Too bad Japan has to wait so long for it... Film companies, especially Disney, really need to stop waiting for many months to release a big film in another country. You know... That could avert piracy in some ways. Just saying...

What are your thoughts on the footage? Sound off below!

Thawed...

It's finally here folks, the teaser trailer to Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen! Chances are, you probably already saw it, but... Here it is!



Surprisingly enough - well to me, at least - this teaser seems to be very, very divisive. Some think it's a cute, hilarious little teaser. I certainly thought so. Others really dislike it, criticizing it for many things - one criticism being that it is too much like the Ice Age teasers that focus on Scrat. Others may have been let down simply because it doesn't feature the leads... Well, I saw that coming so I can't complain myself. Some don't like the fact that the reindeer Sven is too much like Tangled's Maximus. Okay, I can see why some would be upset because the idea of this character is essentially a repeat of what made that character hilarious. I too was worried that this film would be a rehash of that 2010 film, and yes Sven is a little too much like Maximus except he has a different attitude. But Olaf is no Pascal, and the two are definitely going to interact in different ways, so I didn't have a problem with that. Others just simply dislike it, to the point where they are writing off the whole film...

Ummm, it's a teaser! It's very likely that none of this footage will even be in the finished film. Olaf and Sven could very well be hilarious in the final product, supposedly they aren't annoying comic relief sidekicks (some people were lucky to see a screening recently) and they do add to the story. That's all I'm looking for, and the slapstick between the two made me laugh. I'm sure it'll make audiences of non-animation fanatics laugh too, because most of the marketing for these films cater to them anyway. (No matter how bad it may be to us.)

But I'm just baffled at the fact that some people are already not looking forward to the film simply because of this teaser. Does anyone remember Tangled's wretched teaser? I remember cringing at what I saw on the hot night of June 18th in 2010, waiting for Toy Story 3 to unspool before my eyes. Lots of people hated it, from the Shrek-esque dialogue to the seemingly cynical attitude. Oh, and Rapunzel's hair beating up Flynn Rider as if it were alive? And this teaser is making people not want to see this film? I'm sorry, but I think that's unfair. If anything, the Tangled marketing as a whole should've taught us all a lesson... Never trust marketing that much! Also, let's not forget a lot of bad/meh Pixar teasers that make the films look lame. Finding Nemo, Cars and Ratatouille, anyone?

Anyways, I give props to the marketers for actually putting "From the creators of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph" in the trailer, at the beginning no less! It's about damn time, too, because people confuse the two studios. Disney marketing needs to separate Disney Animation from Pixar and make their work stand out, seem unique and make it look like it's worth seeing. Some of us may not like this teaser, but it's going to work in the long run. People will be hooked.

If there's one little gripe I had with the teaser, it's that it doesn't really show how beautiful this film will look since we only got an icy lake and the surrounding tundra. It's pretty enough, but I would've liked to have seen more. That's just me, though. I also predict (this will probably be obvious) that the marketing will hide the fact that this is a musical and it may focus on action/humor only.

What did you think of this teaser? Good? Horrible beyond belief? Hilarious? Meh? Sound off below!

Fabulous "Frozen" First Look

Well... This is certainly the moment a lot of us have been waiting for! Stills of Walt Disney Animation Studios' upcoming film Frozen showcasing the animation and look in its completed form! All courtesy of USA Today...

The first still of Anna and her sister Elsa - The Snow Queen - is very pretty. First off, I love the design of Elsa's icy world. Despite being a film with lots of snow and ice, the artists really outdid themselves here in terms of creativity. And yes, it also has the warmth of traditional animation. It's essentially Tangled's animation style, but improved. I love it. I'm content with this being Disney's main style for most of their computer animated films.

The blurb over the image shows that their relationship will be quite different for a Disney fairy tale. Elsa comes off as someone who is guilty for her actions, so if they go through with that, it'll be refreshing to see a villain who isn't power-hungry or diabolical or willing to ruin the lives of others. A troubled character would be even more interesting! Plus, not every film needs an antagonist like that. Again, the new Disney likes to take new directions so...

Here we see mountain man Kristoff riding his trusty reindeer Sven, whose design is a bit reminiscent of Thrasher from Disney Animation's Prep & Landing series of shorts. Also, he does not speak, which is what I was hoping for. He'll be hilarious, much like Maximus from Tangled. Sometimes the best comic relief comes with very little words... If not none at all! It's also refreshing to see that Kristoff doesn't really resemble Flynn Rider, but we already knew that from the concept artwork.

Oh, and take a look at those frozen ships. Before I noticed that, I had no idea that the strong reindeer was running over the ocean!

Here, Anna meets Han, her suitor. So far, he seems like a likable character and his design reminds me of Cinderella's prince among others. It'll be interesting to see how big of a role he'll play in the story.

Here's the other comic relief sidekick, the hapless snowman Olaf. I already love that design, with the stick hairs and everything. It'll be cool to see how the two interact, since one talks and one doesn't!

This last still has a nice little reference to Bambi (one of Walt's finest). Director Chris Buck says in the blurb that "You like to give your lead characters humor, fun and some flaws. You can't rely only on the sidekicks for that. So you don't have these perfect lead characters you might have had in the past."

All in all, excellent stills. The look of the film is fantastic, the character design work is top notch and I like what I'm hearing about the story. At midnight, weather.com will be the first to show you the teaser trailer. Another home run for Walt Disney Animation Studios? I think so...

Out in the Cold [Update]

Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen, their 53rd feature, is opening in theaters this autumn. November 27th, to be exact. Let's see... What we know so far?

It's a musical fairy tale based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, and it's been in the works for a while. Chris Buck, co-director of Tarzan and Surf's Up, is the lead director. The co-director is Wreck-It Ralph scribe Jennifer Lee. Kristin Bell, Idina Menzel and Jonathan Groff will provide voices. We know what the plot is, who the main characters are and who will be doing the score and the songs.

So what do we have so far in terms of marketing materials and stuff like that?

Well got the official logo last year and one piece of concept artwork, in addition to many drawings and sketches. Then we got these rather unappealing character posters which were confirmed to be fake, but the character designs on there are said to be final. In fact, these same poses were used on a German site for Disney... Unless that was a big mistake.

Other than that, no teaser poster, no teaser, no first images or anything. Let's take a trip back to April 2012. What did we know about Disney's Wreck-It Ralph at the time? There was a logo that was revealed as far back as the summer 2011 D23 expo along with a plot description, cast and crew details, an arcade cabinet of the film's Fix-It Felix, Jr. game, lots of concept artwork and near-final images. Folks who attended that D23 expo got to see the first six minutes of the film, some of which was actually animated. That same first six minute portion was also shown at the April 2012 CinemaCon. The film also got its minimalist 8-bit teaser poster in the middle of the month.

Yet Frozen seems to be... Hidden. We've heard very little about it lately. You'd think Disney would've released a teaser poster or image by now, but I don't understand why there is nothing of the sort that's out yet. If I can recall correctly, in early 2010, Tangled's first images were up. The poster didn't arrive till after the teaser debuted in the summer, but still... Why is Disney holding out on us? Is it possible that they just want to market whatever is coming out first? I get that they had to promote Iron Man 3, Monsters University and The Lone Ranger in the first quarter of the year. I get that the last of three especially needed a boatload of marketing... But we could've at least gotten an image or a poster for this film. The teaser trailer is most likely coming in June, since Disney seems to be taking this route lately with their animated films: The teaser for Tangled debuted in June 2010, the film opened in November. Ditto Wreck-It Ralph in 2012. At this year's CinemaCon, nothing was revealed. Nothing. Will they show something at this year's San Diego Comic-Con? Hopefully, but that'll be after the teaser premieres. (That is, if it does come out in June.)

Other than that, there doesn't seem to be as much buzz for this film. The skeptical side of me says it has to do with the recent layoffs at Walt Disney Animation Studios and the marketing staff, maybe the marketing people don't want to plug this one very early on and will wait it out, assuming that it'll do good because it's a Disney animated film and a fairy tale adaptation at that. All I expect is an aggressive marketing campaign after the teaser trailer premieres, much like Tangled and Ralph's campaigns.

However, it could be because Disney was too busy promoting the summer slate. Iron Man 3 was of course going to get a lot of marketing muscle, ditto Monsters University. Both are hugely anticipated films. Then the rest of the effort was going into The Lone Ranger, a risky-as-hell $250 million Western that most likely needs to make over $600 million to break even! It might not even do that with all this marketing behind it! So the lack of promotion for Frozen right now is a bit understandable, but there still could've been some images or something highlighting it at CinemaCon. Disney's been very... Well... Hush-hush about this icy flick.

Which is strange, because in my eyes, this seems like a much easier sell than Wreck-It Ralph. Disney made sure to get the word out on that film very early on, but for this film, it seems like they're holding back. Is it possible that they're assuming it'll be another Tangled-sized success? Perhaps. Do they think that it'll do well by default, regardless of when they start really promoting it? Maybe. But it seems like they're not excited about this project... There should be lots of buzz right now. Now with the teaser and poster for Thor: The Dark World out of the way, it is now time for them to get the ball rolling.

Will we see some form of marketing for Frozen next month? Will we get a poster, a teaser or an image? Or more news on the film's details? Sound off below!

Update: Just as I posted this, some footage was leaked! The video even featured director Chris Buck! There was completed animation along with storyboards, unfinished animation and... Pencil tests! From what was shown in completed form, it looks like what was achieved with Tangled in terms of the look was taken up to eleven. Not only does it looks different from the fake posters, but it looks like a computer animated hand-drawn film... If that makes any sense. Paperman seemed to be a testing ground for this, rather than a later feature. Maybe this style is what Walt Disney Animation Studios will turn to for the future, though it would be nice if they kept the classic style of hand-drawn animation. I will say, I'm very very happy with this style. Traditional and innovative at the same time, just what I expect from Disney. The video was expectedly and quickly taken down by Disney. Does this mean we'll get an official one soon?

William Jardine of A113 Animation managed to get a still from the video... Just look at it!

Beautiful... Just beautiful... I also like what Buck had to say about the story itself. Things like "heart", "intense action" (kind of thought that we were going to get that given some earlier plot details) and something along the lines of a "new level for storytelling for Walt Disney Animation Studios". That little preview really got me excited, so hopefully we'll get an official one or something similar soon!

"Frozen" Character Reveals (Fake)

Read No Further: These posters have been confirmed to be fake, courtesy of a Walt Disney Animation Studios visual development trainee.

It looks like Disney is finally getting the ball rolling for the marketing of Walt Disney Animation Studios' next release, Frozen... In Argentina. Today, three posters were sighted here.

First off, I like the color scheme they are going for. Given the setting and the title, it's appropriate. We don't get much in terms of the set design, they take a back seat to the rather distracting snowflake designs and such. The designs of the two characters, however, don't inspire much confidence for me... Yet.

Anna, like many have pointed out, is almost a dead ringer for Rapunzel in Tangled. The big eyes and overall design pretty much seal the deal, but that isn't bothering me. The character is appealing enough. I don't like the design of Elsa, the film's villain, the bitter and evil Snow Queen. I was expecting something more menacing and villain-like, she doesn't really look it. The hair is odd too. The character just looks... Off...

But then again, promo artwork for animated films is usually bad. The character poses make them seem what they are not, maybe Elsa will end up looking great in this film. Maybe... Maybe not...

Now I want to get one thing out the way, and hear me out: This film could very well blow me away when it comes out, and I have a great feeling it might. The reason I'm not too fond of the two character designs is because from Meet the Robinsons to Wreck-It Ralph (not counting Winnie the Pooh), each film had its own set of unique character designs. The ones in Bolt are different from Robinsons, and Tangled's are different from Ralph's and so on. Some share similarities, but they all have a distinct look. If Frozen's cast looks like too much like Tangled's, that wouldn't annoy me per se, I would just be wishing that Disney would've tried a different style instead returning to one that they already used. There were times were when Disney used the same set of character designs for their films (the early-to-mid 1950s films come to mind), but since they had different designs for each film in the last six years, I was just hoping for something completely different.

Other than the character designs, I'm just worried that Disney will try to repeat what made Tangled a success with this film. Now don't me wrong, I don't dislike Tangled. As a film, I think it's flawed and not the masterpiece that some claim it is, but I love it despite all its problems. That being said, I don't want Frozen to be just like that. I want it to be different in tone, style and story. Disney Animation destroyed itself by repeating themselves (well that was mostly the fault of executives), I don't want that to happen again.

... And maybe it won't. Tangled isn't a rehash of The Princess of the Frog, and rightfully so. I'm hoping that this will not be a rehash of Tangled. Plus, no modern slang dialogue. Leave that out, guys.

With these posters making their debut, does this mean that we'll be getting a teaser soon? I sure hope so.

~

What do you think of these posters? Do you like them? Do you think they are underwhelming? Sound off!

"Frozen" Concept Art and Details

Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen has been in the works for a long while, and it’s great to see this film actually getting off the ground. This recently revealed piece of concept artwork is a nice little taste of what’s in store, after months and months of brief reports on the film’s status. Just look at it...

The environment looks rather hazardous. It's not a pretty enchanted forest, nor a regular snowy mountain. From the way the ice looks, we can tell that the Snow Queen herself is no laughing matter. The film's co-director, Jennifer Lee (who co-wrote the great screenplay for Wreck-It Ralph), explained "We wanted to push it to the extreme. The unnatural quality of the ice emphasizes that this is not, you know, sky made ice, but ice made by someone else."

It's already eye catching and beautiful, so I imagine that is will be another visual stunner from Disney. Will we see Scandanavian-style villages, forests and landscapes? Probably.

From the character design and story details from Lee, Kristoff looks like no Flynn Rider. Early on, I had worried that this film would essentially be a rehash of Tangled since that was a fairy tale-based film that outgrossed everything Disney released in the last five years (unless Wreck-It Ralph tops it worldwide). Instead, he’ll be a tough, masculine brute who doesn’t really understand women. That’s far different from the charming thief who genuinely likes Rapunzel from the get-go.

Anna isn’t like Rapunzel either, instead she’s a woman who fears nothing rather than being slightly rebellious or someone in search of something in her life. According to Lee, the film will focus on her relationship with her icy sister, which will make for an intriguing storyline. This is the kind of writing that’s helping Disney get back on top, and it was evident in the last five films they put out. Frozen should be no different.

The revised plot synopsis also replaces the army of snowmen with "mystical trolls". I guess the snowmen were renamed, or cut out. The names for Kristoff's reindeer and the "hapless snowman" have also been revealed, Sven and Olaf, respectively. The synopsis does state that the snowman will be funny, but at this rate, I’m not worried the possibility of him being an annoying comic relief character. Disney proved me wrong with Rhino, Ray, Maximus, Pascal and Vanellope.

Again, like Tangled, Frozen is its own story than an adaptation of the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. I call it an original fairy tale that happens to feature a character from the source material/ Those who can’t stand the fact that Disney alters these stories will have a field day yet again, but I’m looking forward to this new take on the story.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to this film? Do these new details excite you? Sound off!

Frozen: Pre-Trailer Speculation

Unfortunately, this cool logo isn't official...

Walt Disney Animation Studios has truly been getting better. Little by little, they are shattering the whole "Disney hasn't made a good animated movie since the Renaissance" belief with critically acclaimed films and Tangled, which was their biggest hit at the box office in years. Next in line is Wreck-It Ralph (opening on November 2nd), which is poised to be an even bigger hit with its video game setting, positive trailer reception and the surprisingly strong marketing. After that comes Frozen, the next fairy tale adaptation in the Disney canon...

Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, we know little about this film, so I decided to do a “pre-trailer” analysis. Since we haven’t seen anything in finished animation or anything else beyond some concept art (the art unveiled the other day was confirmed to be outdated, as evidenced by the Walt Disney “Feature Animation” logo on some of the stills), I’ll just throw out some thoughts, theories and a few other things. This film is scheduled to come out on November 27, 2013, so we don't know when we'll get the first trailer. Perhaps it'll show up before Wreck-It Ralph this fall, or maybe next spring. Who knows...

First off, this film is being directed by Chris Buck. What else did he do? Well, he co-directed a little film called Tarzan with Kevin Lima. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. It was one of Disney’s biggest post-Lion King hits, and a critical success to boot. Years later, he directed Sony Pictures Animation’s Surf's Up, which was a very good film but not a commercial success for various reasons. You probably might not have heard of it, or you don’t remember it. Anyways, Buck will be the director and that’s something to get excited about.

A few weeks ago, Disney unveiled a new plot synopsis...

“When Anna is cursed by her estranged sister, the cold-hearted Snow Queen, Anna’s only hope of reversing the curse is to survive a perilous but thrilling journey across an icy and unforgivable landscape. Joined by a rugged, thrill-seeking outdoorsman, his one-antlered reindeer and a hapless snowman, Anna must race against time, conquer the elements, and battle an army of menacing snowmen if she ever hopes to melt her frozen heart.”

So far, it sounds pretty good. Like Tangled, the writers have basically taken a few elements from the original fairy tale and surrounded it with their own original ideas. It’s definitely a much more loose adaptation than anything, one that will probably have purists yelling something like “Bowdlerization!” Tangled was able to tell a great story on its own. The ideas they added were great, and made for a solid story even if it wasn't anything like the original fairy tale.

Frozen is taking the Tangled route. There's nothing wrong with this, as long as the story isn't strikingly similar to that film. It sounds promising, but there’s a few little things that have me a bit concerned. One  thing that doesn’t thrill me that much at the moment is the idea of a "hapless snowman" being the sidekick. I won’t jump the gun, because this character can be hilarious or maybe he won’t be a comic relief device at all. I'm also guessing that he is a good snowman as opposed to the aforementioned "menacing" ones.

I’m not against sidekicks in Disney films. They certainly deserve a place in a narrative, as long as they add to the story and provide comic relief that’s actually funny. Bolt, The Princess and the Frog and Tangled had great side characters. No doubt, the writers know what they’re doing at this point. The side characters in the films made during the Disney Renaissance and some of the films released afterwards (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan and Brother Bear come to mind) were usually annoying or belted out juvenile humor during the wrong moments. That all being said, the hapless snowman character might be a hoot. Or he may be annoying, who knows. I won’t be skeptical. The Eisner era ended a while ago, and none of the last five Disney animated features had irritating side characters or anything that stained the films.

The two leads should be interesting characters. Though Anna may be similar to Ariel or Belle, she should still have a distinct personality. The mountain man, Kristoff, already reminds me of Flynn Rider, which also worries me a bit. If Anna and Kristoff are too much like Rapunzel and Eugene/Flynn, I won’t be happy. If it's that way, then the writers will be trying to repeat what made Tangled work. Doing that is a bad idea, of course, because resorting to rehashing familiar ideas was what lead to the studio’s downfall. Walt always tried new things, and the studio is currently doing so, so a rehash of Tangled won't be good enough. As for Kristoff’s reindeer, I have a feeling he won’t speak or even provide any comic relief for that matter. The Snow Queen herself? I’m hoping she’s a very good, complex villain. Her coldness already reminds me of the queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, so I’m sensing a possible sibling rivalry sort of conflict. Perhaps she curses Anna because, like Snow White, Anna is much fairer. Or maybe she didn’t get the care that Anna got when the two were young. I’m hoping for another fantastic villain with a true motive.

Like other great Disney films, the film should have of course have heart. The emotional content in the recent films has been very satisfying, and right up there with Pixar's films. I expect Frozen to be a heartfelt film, with a great love story and great character development. That's pretty much a given now, since Disney has been favoring that over crassness or cheap attempts at being relevant. Will pull the heartstrings? Will it make audiences cry? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps it'll be emotional on a different level.

I initially balked at the title, and yes, it certainly is Disney marketing trying to disassociate the film with anything young boys see as “girly”. At the same time, Frozen is a suitable title because the film really isn’t The Snow Queen, just an original story that happens to have the Snow Queen in it. Tangled on the other hand was a bad title, as that film was still (at heart) Rapunzel despite being a loose adaptation. I’m currently split on the title change, but at least Frozen sounds interesting. Tangled sounded bad then, and it still sounds bad. It made the film sound like a mindless comedy, it just didn't sound right.

So there’s a few things that already have me conjuring up theories. Out of all the things that Disney has told us so far, the thing I'm wondering about the most is what the "snowmen" will be like.

First of all, what will these snowmen look like? Certainly not like this...

Or this...

I believe that the snowmen that Anna will face on the journey will be more akin to the Frost Giants from Thor. I mean, it would be hard to take things seriously if your villainous snowmen looked like your typical snowmen gone bad. What kind of powers will they have? Will they look like humanoid creatures? Or strange beasts? The artists will probably have something interesting in store for us, so that’s certainly something to think about.

The earlier plot synopsis also mentioned “Everest-like extremes”. The synopsis also mentioned mythical creatures, so there are definitely a lot of things to look forward to in this film already. Visually, it should look fantastic. If the designs of these creatures are nothing short of original and creative, then it will show that Disney can do epic fantasy stories. Animation is the perfect medium for it, as several animated fantasy films have proven so. Disney has the opportunity to really give audiences what live action can't give them. Now what about art direction? Well, with mountains and forests, and probably a village or two in-between, this will probably be loaded with eye candy.

Older, oudated concept artwork, hence the Walt Disney
"Feature Animation" logo...

Now I can spend tons of articles jabbering about what everything might look like, but I do believe the overall style will be right in line with the look of Tangled. Tangled was a very good-looking film, and it certainly shows that Disney is really gung-ho about the painterly look they've been experimenting with. While it didn't really look entirely like a traditionally animated film (in my eyes, it was still a purely CG film), it still had some striking hand-drawn elements here and there. Frozen should take this style to new levels, though John Kahrs' short film Paperman should already indicate where this new approach to computer animation is heading. Of course, rumors are going around stating that Ron Clements and John Musker’s next film might resemble Paperman and finally blend hand-drawn animation and computer animation for a feature film. How things will look in Frozen, we don’t know, but I expect something new and exciting. Something that shows how advanced the new look of Disney computer animation will be.

In addition to potentially groundbreaking animation, visuals and a very good story, Frozen just needs to have a good screenplay. The Disney animated features haven’t been strong in the screenplay department for a good many years, but again, that was fault of executives and too much reliance on what focus groups were saying. Bolt and The Princess and the Frog boasted better writing than most of the Renaissance films, but still had some minor bugs and glitches. They certainly weren’t as great as the scripts for Pixar’s films, but they were top notch nonetheless. Ones that told the story right, and didn't ever take the audience for granted.

Tangled, on the other hand, had a rather inconsistent script. I know I’m in the minority on this one, but I wasn’t pleased with how Tangled’s dialogue was a tad bit modern (“Best... Day... Ever!”). Rapunzel and Flynn acted like it was 2010, not the middle ages. I know it appealed to audiences more so than something serious, but because of this, I can’t call Tangled’s script anything special. Fortunately, it wasn’t insulting. Modern slang in animated films set in the past tends to ruin things (think the annoying sidekicks in the Renaissance films), but in Tangled, it wasn’t as distracting. Perhaps it’s because the film never talks down to the audience like the Renaissance films often did, and neither did Bolt and The Princess and the Frog. The film didn’t water itself down, or lighten the load. Same with the other two films.

I just don’t want Frozen to have that kind of script. That doesn’t mean it has to be grim, super serious and brooding. This isn’t The Dark Knight. I don’t want that either, as Bolt and The Princess and the Frog weren’t anything like that. I just want something that’s not modernized, something that’s just timeless. Something that balances comic relief, drama and the occasional dark moments with style. No modern slang, no teenybopper talk, none of that. I just want a plain good script, like a Pixar film or the original Walt films (technically, those films were storyboarded). With what is supposed to happen in this story, I just can’t see a Tangled-esque script working. At least Tangled wasn’t heavy with action for the most part, and whenever there was drama, there was hardly any slang. Most of Tangled’s action scenes were fast-paced and fun, but the action in Frozen sounds like it’ll be much more intense and perhaps a bit of the violent side. The film is probably going to get a PG rating, since Tangled somehow got it. (Again, don’t question the MPAA’s logic)

Frozen will be produced by Peter del Vecho, who also produced Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh. John Lasseter, of course, will be executive producer. We have no word on who the screenwriters will be, and judging by how Disney picked the writers for Wreck-It Ralph, they may just surprise us. The cast? All we know is that Kristen Bell and Idiza Menzel will provide the voices of Anna and the Snow Queen, respectively. Both have a theater background, so right off the bat, we know this is going to be another musical. The songs will be written by none other than Robert and Kristen-Anderson Lopez. Robert worked on The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q, while Kristen provided music for Winnie the Pooh (along with her husband) and Finding Nemo - The Musical.

For those of you who are upset that someone like Alan Menken isn’t doing the songs, don’t be. Alan Menken can’t just do every Disney musical, and to be honest, Tangled only had one great song (the beautiful "I See The Light") while the rest were either good ("Mother Knows Best", "When Will My Life Begin") or just passable ("I’ve Got a Dream"). Not to say Menken isn’t good, he’s fantastic, everyone knows that. But he doesn’t have to provide the songs for every Disney film, so why not give the job to someone else for a change? After all, Alan Menken didn't write any of the songs for The Lion King, and Disney had fantastic songs in their films long before he came into the picture. Also, Randy Newman, in my opinion, did a fine job with The Princess and the Frog. Let’s give Mr. and Mrs. Lopez a chance.

Speaking of music, what kind of songs will this film have? For what sounds like a rather big, action-packed adventure, they’ll need suitable songs. I already expect a big love ballad (what is a Disney romance film without one?), but how about a different style of songwriting? Instead of following the Renaissance routine (Introduction song - big showstopper song - villain song - silly song and big love song), they should try something different and separate this from those Disney films. Why give what they have given audiences for so long? Why not branch out? The Walt Disney films? Some of them didn’t even have musical numbers, but rather songs that were sung offscreen. Some films even had a few, so they didn’t have to have one at every turn. Most importantly, they didn’t go the Broadway route all the time. The Renaissance films cut and paste the same routine, though they tried breaking free from that with films like Tarzan and The Emperor's New Groove. Personally, I want something totally different. That said, I look forward to getting a glimpse of what the music will be like. Knowing Disney’s super-paranoid ways, they’ll probably hide the fact that this will be a musical in the marketing (“Musicals? That’s like, so laaaaaaame!”) much like they did with Tangled.

In conclusion, I'm expecting another great film from Walt Disney Animation Studios. I'm only a bit skeptical about some things, mainly with the plot and such. I'm just hoping that the writers aren't going to attempt to recreate Tangled. I want something bold, new and risky. Risky like the first five Walt films. From what we know, Frozen does sound a lot more action-oriented than most of the Disney fairy tale adaptations, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how all of this will be pulled off. A Disney fairy tale with mythical beasts, "conquering of the elements", "Everest-like extremes", armies of evil snowmen, and lots of action? This could finally put an end to the whole "animation is for children" mindset. Hey, I can dream, can I?

So much potential, we can only imagine. Like Wreck-It Ralph and all the other upcoming projects, this is one to get really excited about...