‘Frozen’

I just returned from taking my daughter and one of her friends to see “Frozen,” the latest release from Disney, and I’m pleased to say it’s almost as good as the hype makes it out to be.

“Frozen” is set around two royal sisters, Elsa and Anna, the older of whom can create cold and snow and ice, and the other of whom absolutely adores her older sister. Unfortunately, when the two are still young, Elsa accidentally hurts Anna with her powers. The king and queen decide it is necessary to keep Elsa’s abilities a secret from everyone, including Anna, whose memories are magically altered so that she recalls the fun they have had, but in a more pedestrian way. Years go by, and Elsa strives to keep her ability hidden, which by necessity means that she must control her passions and feelings, and keep her distance from everyone, especially Anna.

And then, on the day of her coronation. Elsa loses control and plunges the entire kingdom into a deep winter freeze, at the height of the summer.

There is so much to love about this movie. Idina Menzel, most famous for being Elphaba in “Wicked” and Maureen in “Rent,” absolutely rules as Elsa, and not surprisingly none of the three of us who went to the movie can keep “Let it Go,” the main track from this movie, out of our heads. (I predict we will use this song to annoy immensely each other, and Oldest Daughter, within a week.)

And of course, I love the message this movie has for girls. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty waited for their princes to come save them, all Cinderella wanted was to go the ball, Flynn Rider became Rapnuzel’s new dream, and so on*; but Elsa and Anna don’t need men to come rescue them. In fact, Anna leaves her betrothed behind, to go find her sister, and though she needs help from a woodsman to make the trip, she’s no helpless damsel needing him to bail her out of a task too big for her to handle. She needs a guide, and that’s about it.

Honestly, there is nothing anti-feminist about this movie. Even when True Love is needed to save the day, it’s not the sort of True Love that carried the story in “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid,” or a dozen other Disney formula one films. One of the best aspects of “Frozen” might be the way that it, like “Tangled,” is deconstructing some of the oldest, most familiar Disney tropes, and leaving something of far greater power and meaning in their place.

I also loved that while there were some unscrupulous people, and sometimes in unexpected places, there were no Jafars, Gastons or Maleficents here. There were no larger-than-life villains or villainesses plotting villainy for the love of evil. There was an evil that had to be overcome, but the main source of that evil was the well-intentioned but misguided goodness of Elsa’s parents in teaching her to suppress her abilities.

The movie suffers somewhat from the presence of Olaf, a talking snowman who does nothing in the story except provide cheap laughs and a forgettable song. I’m disappointed but not terribly surprised that the filmmakers left him in. Hopefully the frivolous sidekick will be the next Disney staple to be re-examined, and characters like Olaf will go to the chopping block if they can’t actually advance the story in any way.

And, like that other Disney classic, “The Lion King,” “Frozen” could have used a little more work in the music department. It’s got some standout numbers, from the opening tune about ice, to Anna’s song, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” and — of course — Menzel’s “Let it Go,” but it’s got other tunes, like the one sung by a group of helpful magical trolls that are just pointless. Unfortunately, it’s too easy to imagine the creative team sitting around a table in Disney offices and saying, “It’s been too many minutes of dialogue. We need another song, right here.”

Sure, the song was goofy, but — like Olaf — it does nothing to advance the story, and in any storytelling format, every moment needs to count, in as many ways as possible, or it needs to be cut.

Still, despite those weaknesses, this is a strong showing from the House of the Mouse, and it’s one I’m sure we’ll be adding to our home collection at some point. After Middle Daughter comes our youngest, and like every other girl, she needs as many affirmations from the media as she can get about her value and strength as a girl, and not just stories that she needs to wait for the right man to come along and solve her problems for her.

* Mulan saved China. Mulan for the win.