** NOTE: This is the opinion of one writers of the Rotoscopers team. The Rotoscopers, as an organization, is still very supportive of Frozen and excited for its release as shown with the Frozember campaign. Frozember will continue to be a positive celebration of Disney’s upcoming film, this is just one article (out of 30 positive ones) to hear a different perspective on this issue from someone who is not as excited for Frozen (yes, there are people out there). Even if you disagree with her opinion, please don’t attack Mayra personally for expressing her opinions. One thing we love about our readers is how respectful we are to each other even though we may have differing opinions. -Morgan Stradling, Editor-in-chief, Rotoscopers.com**
While you can be sure to find many amazing Frozember articles in the coming weeks before the film is released, I really needed to get something off my chest before it drove me off an ice-covered cliff (which Morgan our editor probably already thinks I did): I am not excited for Frozen. I know, I know, I should be fired. But I swear, I have real reasons! And I’m sure there are others out there, though they may be few, who would love to get together and gripe about this. So for those people (and for the amusement of everyone else), here are the 5 reasons I’m not exited for Frozen:
1) Olaf
Let’s start with something that I know other people out there can agree with me on: Olaf. He seems to be an unfortunate creature, doesn’t he? Typically, I find sidekicks adorable and out of the way, as they help the main character do whatever they need to do while providing a couple of laughs. Olaf does not do this for me. He is front row center with his showy self annoying me with that loud squeaky voice! So he may not be my kind of ideal heroine sidekick, I can let that go when I finally get to watch the film…if only it weren’t for the rest of the things that are bugging me about this film.
2) Plot
Plot is one of those things that we honestly can’t talk too much about until the film is released. However, there have been so many trailer discussions, and so much knit picking at every single detail that has been broadcasted online that I feel like I could pretty much, even if vaguely, figure out what will happen in the film. Which makes me feel like the story will end up being way too simple, too direct. Besides, how much more direct can you get about two sisters who’ve grown apart because of a difference which will bring them back together again in the end?
3) Score
So many people are super excited for the songs in the film, and while I have no doubt that they will be well sung, I do have doubts about the quality of the score. While I may not be a musician myself, it just feels like a lot of the music will end up feeling the same, and either trying to pull emotion out of you as much as possible, or just act as really bad filler. And while I’m really hoping for the best here, I’m also cringing at this portion of the trailer which just makes me feel like I’m at a really bad Broadway musical listening to an overture:
4) Voice Acting
Since the trailers are about the only things we have to go on, the reason I may not be too keen on the voice acting could be because of the editing. Thinking about it, when you take a film and cut out all of the little bits that you want to use in a trailer and try to put them next to each other no matter where it is in the film those clips come from, it’s understandable that they may sound like it’s not great acting. However, when you have dialogue like “That’s no blizzard, that’s my sister!”, or “It is not nice to throw snow people!”…well, let’s just say the cheese factor is sky high.
5) Animation
The one thing I am excited for is the magic snow. It looks wonderful! Sparkly and light and just plain magical…but in regards to animation, that is about the only thing that looks amazing. The rest of the snow, including Olaf, looks dull and flat. Not to mention there is no atmosphere when it comes to anything besides blizzards. I am looking forward to watching this on CinemaScope again, and for the magic snow, but aside from that, I’m just going to say “meh” to the rest.
Even though there have been some not-so-thrilling reviews popping up online, I’m actually still hoping that this film will sneak up on me much in the same fashion that Tangled did where I was pleasantly surprised by liking it quite a bit. It wasn’t a great film, but it was nice…
I want to love Frozen, really I do, but I can’t help it if I’m a bit tough on the films of this generation. We should be at a point in filmmaking where we are no longer testing new ground (with the exception of ever-changing technology), but pushing the limits of storytelling through characters and plot. While I have my reservations now, I do plan on keeping an open mind once I do sit down in the theatre to watch this film.
