Frozen

Frozen, 2013, Disney. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Starring Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad and Santino Fontana.

In amongst the film awards upheaval this week, with Emma Thompson missing out on her Oscar nomination, 12 Years a Slave ruining my prediction that Gravity would win everything at the Golden Globes and the BAFTA’s continuing to make people scratch their heads with their definition of a ‘British’ film ( it seems like if the director’s grandma went to Edinburgh once, the film is deemed as British as afternoon drinking), there’s one film in one category which no one is betting against. Yep, Frozen will win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, and it’s been a long time coming for everyone’s favourite corporation, Disney.

Because Disney have never won an Animation Feature award, a hole in their trophy cabinet that must have been noticed by more than a few board members. Since the category debuted in 2001, there have been well deserved winners (can a girl get a hell yeah for Nick Park and Peter Lord for Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit?) and... Not so deserving winners (Happy Feet? Seriously?) but never a Disney Animation winner. It could be because their films haven’t been that great (they did give an award to Rango though, so maybe not), or they were always in Pixar’s long shadow, but this year the stars have aligned and their magic sparkle dust has fallen onto Frozen, since it seems to be reminding everyone of all the good things we love Disney for, as well as being an interesting, exciting and overall modern film about a relationship which just isn’t explored in mainstream cinema.

Frozen’s greatest selling point is its artistry; the whirling snow looks real, the settings and background fully formed and engaged with the characters. Disney spent years getting the technology to a place where their CGI films look as good as Pixar’s, but without losing that style and cinematography which defines their films, and it does a rare thing where the 3D adds a dimension to the overall feel of the film, rather than take away from it. 

In short, it looks bloomin’ gorgeous and it sounds bloomin’ gorgeous too. It’s got Broadway running through its veins, with songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez of Avenue Q and Book of Mormon fame. Both of those shows are said to be the funniest in Broadway history, something which shines through with In Summer, an ode to heat sang by a magical snowman, and Love is an Open Door, an upbeat, reggae pop song which is the precursor to a spur of the moment marriage proposal. Let it Go is Frozen's anthem, a celebration of freedom from fear sang on top of a literal mountain. Idina Menzel sings from the depths of her soul, early doubts that her voice doesn’t fit the character swept away by the second chorus. 

  
Just try getting this song out of your head. I double dare you.

However, the film’s secret weapon is its story, and here is where this new Disney moves on from Classic and Renaissance Disney. Two princesses, Elsa and Anna, live in the idyllic Nordic kingdom of Arundel, but Elsa’s ice powers endanger Anna, and so she locks herself away for fear of what people will do to her if they find out how powerful she really is. Elsa accidentally reveals herself though, and flees Arundel, leaving it in perpetual winter. Only Anna can bring Elsa back and with her, the summer. But there’s something else going on – that spontaneous engagement between Anna and Prince Hans (a dashing sort who has ‘Disney Prince’ written all over him) is rejected by Elsa, because hello, they’ve spent one evening together. Even though Anna and Hans spend just as much time as Cinderella and her Prince do, this injection of reality jolts you awake – are Disney really saying that love at first sight is.... unlikely? Ill advised even? Blimey, they really have moved on.

However, the best thing about Frozen is Elsa and Anna’s relationship. Elsa is cool and confident in her own skin, whilst Anna is flighty and unsure of herself as a woman in power. They laugh, they fight, they stand up to and for each other, they act exactly like sisters do. Just think about it - when was the last time you actually saw two sisters on film and they not be bitter enemies?

Every other mainstream film, when they show sisters on screen, take the Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? path, the elder usually insanely jealous of the younger’s looks/boyfriend/Pokemon cards – not so with Frozen! Elsa genuinely wants the best for her naive little sister and Anna’s song Do you Wanna Build a Snowman? shows that despite growing up and apart, she still goes to her big sister for help. It’s not just refreshing to see a loving, thoughtful portrayal of sisterhood on screen - it’s revolutionary.

The best kind of revolutions always start with plaits.

 So watch Frozen. Watch it because it’s funny, exciting, beautiful and vintage Disney. But watch it because the number crunchers will see how much money it makes and, maybe, Hollywood won’t be so scared of portraying a loving relationship between sisters, and just maybe, there will be more of them in the next few years. We need more Frozens in our collective cinema diet, and there’s a glimmer of hope that when it wins that Oscar, we’ll get them.