I went into “Frozen” with tempered expectations — Disney’s last couple of attempts to revive the princess formula (“Tangled,” “The Princess and the Frog”) were, for me, pleasant but characterless, and this musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” looked to be in the same mold. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised: after a rushed, muddled first act, it settles into a touching, visually textured work of authentic Disney classicism, with a welcome feminist twist on the original fairytale and a pleasing lack of the smarmy, adult-targeted irony that permeates so many kids’ films these days. I wouldn’t go quite as far as Drew McWeeny did in hisA-grade rave, but I might just call it my favourite Disney animated feature since the studio’s brief 1990s golden age.
But enough from me — what do you think? Is it on-form Disney? And is it Oscar-worthy? I’m sure many of you will be checking it out over the holiday weekend, so when you do, be sure to share your thoughts here, and vote in the poll below.