Great music. Charming, endearing characters. Lots of heart. These are the ingredients one will find in just about every classic Disney film, and they’re the ingredients that make Frozen a modern classic in its own right. I’ve heard a lot of comparisons to Beauty and the Beast and the heyday of Disney animation in the late 90s, and while it’s good, it’s not quite that good. Don’t get me wrong, it is really good, but it’s not quite in the same league as the first animated feature to ever be nominated for Best Picture. Still, between this, Tangled, and Wreck-It Ralph, Disney seems to be entering another sort of heyday of Disney animation with the CG era.
Speaking of another heyday for Disney animation, let me just say that the short at the beginning of this film really helps to reinforce the notion that Disney is back on their “A” game. It’s easily one of the best, most brilliant, most innovative use of the modern medium of animation I’ve seen Disney do in quite some time. If you’re going to see Frozen in 3D, the main reason to do so is for this animated short. What starts out looking like some long lost classic Mickey cartoon (bit of trivia, it does use some rediscovered voice work of Walt Disney as Mickey) turns into a brilliant mix of old and new with hand-drawn animation giving way to fully rendered, gloriously 3D CG animation. Then, just to top itself, it starts mixing the two up and then starts jumping back and forth between the two styles. It’s just great stuff and great fun; it’s the best of what Disney has always been about in the realm of animation.
As for the main feature, it’s another example of what Disney does best: fairy tales. This one is based on the Hans Christen Anderson fairy tale of the Snow Queen, but as is often the case, this is a very “Disney-fied” version of that story. In fact, one of the best parts of this fairy tale is how it takes some of the classic Disney fairy tale elements and turns them upside down. A prince and princess falling love at first and after just one dance? Not so much. In fact, that idea gets some fair amount of ridicule here. Cute, talking animals? Well, there’s an animal here, but it doesn’t talk. Not really…well, he kind of does, but…you know, just go see the movie. It’s hard to explain and entertaining to see. While these are great fun to see all flipped around, other elements of classic fairy tales remain firmly intact, such as the happily ever after. In truth, that’s just something I wouldn’t want to see changed in a Disney fairy tale.
Another great feature of classic fairy tales is the fact they often have a good moral to teach, and Frozen brings this to the forefront once again. The moral here, as is mentioned several times in the film, is love can melt a frozen heart. 
Love being the most powerful magic is often a theme in most fairy tales, but here it isn’t about the romantic love found with a Prince Charming; it’s actually something much deeper and more lasting. Plus, that whole idea of “love melting a frozen heart,” that’s something that was introduced long before there were movie theaters. The Bible tells us that concept originated with God. It tells us that it’s his kindness that brings us to repentance (Romans 2:4). In fact, when one stops to think about how God sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die a horrific death not because of anything he had done but because of everything we have done, all just so we could go free, find freedom and forgiveness, and enjoy the grace and love of God the father; well, it’s hard to imagine anyone encountering that kind of love not having their heart melt.
There was a time when Disney was synonymous with great, family entertainment. With movies that everyone in the whole family could enjoy. Then Pixar came along and usurped Disney’s place in that regard. Now that Disney and Pixar are basically part of the same family, you can see the old guard is learning a lot from the new up and comers. Pixar is still the king of the heap when it comes to great movies, but Disney recent efforts are re-establishing their own in-house animation studio as a force to be reckoned with once again. What makes Frozen a success is instead of trying to chase after Pixar, it looks back to the classics of Disney’s past. This film has some of the best music I’ve heard in a Disney film in years. The songs are catchy, memorable, and most importantly, help push the story along. The characters are all enjoyable, and while the story overall treads a familiar and safe path, it throws enough twists and turns to surprise any complacent viewer who may think they’re just seeing another standard fairy tale. Frozen is fun and beautiful, filled with great music, funny moments, and great characters, and has something that only recently has started to re-emerge in Disney’s animated efforts; that special dose of Disney magic.
