Frozen: Disney Princesses Learn a New Lesson

The first thing you need to know about Frozen, Disney's latest animated princess movie, is that it was written and co-directed by a woman, Jennifer Lee. Thanks to her perspective, Disney has finally produced a movie with princesses who discover that "true love" doesn't always require a handsome prince.

Frozen tells the tale of two princesses in the kingdom of Arendelle, Anna and Elsa (voiced by the amazing duo of Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel). Elsa is born with the magical ability to create snow and ice, a skill she uses to make snowmen and create a winter wonderland whenever Anna demands. However a terrible accident leads to Anna being frozen by Elsa's powers. Her parents rush her to a group of trolls who are able to reverse the magic and remove all of Anna's memories about the incident and Elsa's powers. From that moment on, Elsa is too terrified to play with Anna and her parents decide it is best to keep her isolated in the castle as she tries to control her ever-growing powers.

A few years later, it is time for Elsa's coronation and the kingdom's gates are opened for the first time in years for the festivities. Unfortunately, Anna and Elsa get into a serious argument, causing Elsa to lose control and freeze everything around her. Unable to stop, Elsa flees from the castle into the mountains, but not before Arendelle has been enveloped in a perpetual winter. What follows is Anna's quest to find her sister and reverse the wintry conditions. On the way she meets various sidekicks who help her trace Elsa's whereabouts. A series of misfortunes suggest that both sisters might meet a tragic end. But there's a wonderful twist, where the people who would traditionally come to the rescue are revealed to be useless, while the princesses are in charge of their own fate. It's a witty, slyly subversive take on classic Disney tales, and ultimately a surprising and heartwarming story.

Frozen features impeccable animation, with a blend of hand-drawn and CGI imagery that will leave you shivering in your seat. It is highly inventive and features a haunting score inspired by native Scandinavian music. The soundtrack is composed by Christophe Beck (composer for the scintillating Paperman) and the movie opens with a traditional Sami song, which will instantly transport you into this world. The voice acting is excellent (Josh Gad as a silly snowman is particularly hilarious) and Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel are marvelous singers. The songs written by Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez are hilarious and inspiring, giving the audience the full Disney experience.

Like Brave, Frozen highlights a new trend of giving young girls better female role models who are less concerned with finding a boyfriend and spend more time focusing on the importance of family and becoming your own person. It's still a princess movie, but it's another step in the right direction and I can't wait to see what Disney gives us next.