Disney’s FROZEN Will Warm Your Heart–and Don’t Miss GET A HORSE! Short at Beginning

(Reader note: I was able to see the sneak peek of FROZEN as part of a media event.   My ticket and that of one guest were covered, but I was not otherwise compensated and my opinion remains my own. #spon #DisneyFrozen)

Disney’s newest release, FROZEN, will warm your heart, no matter what your age.  Packed with adorable characters (Olaf and Sven steal the show and turn it into a movie both boys and girls will love), stunning scenery and a timeless message of love, FROZEN is a huge hit in my book, possibly my favorite Disney hit in decades.

I was able to meet with one of the directors, Jennifer Lee, while in Los Angeles for the PLANES premier, and hearing her talk about the work that made this movie come together was simply mind-boggling.  The art team went to Norway before they started sketching out the scenes, staying in an ice hotel so that they could see first-hand how light looks through ice.  You’ll agree the trip was well worth it when you see just how realistic the ice castle appears in the movie.  It’s stunning, and that still doesn’t give it enough credit.  The animation team was sent to Wyoming to get a feel for the chilly conditions. We were told even the guys put on full gowns and walked through the snow so that they could get a real feel for how it felt to walk knee-deep in the slushy stuff.  Again, they nailed the look in the movie, making it feel like you are right there with the character, freezing through the storm.

FROZEN is inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson story ‘Snow Queen’ and features songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who also worked on the Broadway hit ‘Book of Mormon’.  Did I mention it is from the creators of Tangled and Wreck it Ralph?  Yeah.  That, too.  It stars Kristen Bell (the voice of Anna), Josh Gad (Olaf), Jonathan Groff (known from Glee, as the voice of Kristoff) and Idina Menzel (the voice of Elsa, the Snow Queen).

The movie is really all about the relationship between sisters, but has a twist of adventure that makes it full of chilly fun.  In the movie, Anna teams up with Kristoff and his reindeer friend Sven for an epic journey that includes Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf. They’re trying to get to Anna’s sister Elsa, whose icy powers accidentally (or angrily, depending on your perspective) doomed their kingdom to an eternal winter.

In the movie, Elsa is staying away from Anna out of fear that she might hurt her with her power to turn what she touches to ice, but Anna doesn’t realize this and feels her sister’s frigid behavior is due to selfishness and lack of love.

There’s a love story in the movie, too, with a twist of an ending that I don’t want to spoil for you.

In the end, only an act of love can save Anna’s heart from freezing and the bond of family is going to have to beat out the bad guys.

There’s so much more to share, but just let it suffice to say this movie is going to be a huge hit. HUGE.  It’s THAT good!

GET A HORSE! Mickey Short–Don’t miss it!

OH!!  And pay attention to the short movie right before FROZEN:  It’s a Mickey short, GET A HORSE!, and it will also knock your socks off.  It’s 3D and literally shifts between the days of black and white movies and today’s high tech world, with characters popping off the screen. I’ve never seen anything like GET A HORSE!  And here’s something else really amazing:  they used audio clips that were recorded by Walt Disney years ago and spliced them together for the lines voiced by Mickey Mouse.  So, at the end of the movie, there’s actually a movie credit for the now-deceased Walt Disney!!!  Tell me that’s not simply phenomenal!

I could have just seen the short and walked out of the theater thrilled because of the amazing things Disney animators accomplished in this clip.