What better way to start this countdown to Christmas than with a film that is in almost no way a Christmas film. It has been posed to me on many occasions that Frozen could be considered a Christmas film, and yes before you ask, that is entirely a fabrication of the truth. One person said that to me once and I said “Probably not though.” and they agreed. However, there are things about Frozen that can feel full of the joys of Christmas but maybe the question that we should ask is Are Winter and Christmas intrinsically linked? The classic western ideal of Christmas is after all snow and reindeer and freezing temperatures. Well let’s break this modern phenomenon down and put it under our patent pending Christmas microscope and answer the all-important question: Is Frozen better than The Polar Express?
The Christmas Story
Let's play ignorant for a while and act like not a single one of us is in any way aware of Frozen. Two sisters who also happen to be princesses are having a great time. One has magic ice powers and you can just imagine what hi-jinks they get up to. Of course magical powers just cause trouble and it's not long before she accidentally almost kills her sister by firing a big old block of ice into her face. Well because of all that drama, her parents put her in indefinite isolation meaning she can't see her sister anymore. It's a bummer for sure, Sam even wept uncontrollably at the opening of Frozen, that's how affecting this film is, or just how delicate Sam is, either way the whole town is really not in the best of ways. It all ends up with the magic one (Elsa) running away and turning the whole town into ice. In the end the sisters’ love of each other is what saves the town and ultimately, themselves. Now none of that is direly un-Christmassy; love and coming together are two strong themes of Christmas and there is something decidedly Nordic about all of the art direction that does just give you that warm Christmassy feeling. Overall I'd say its message of family sticking together is consistent with the likes of The Santa Clause, Die Hard and the classic It's a Wonderful Life.
4/5
The Voice of Christmas
What is better than having a dream and sticking to it no matter how out of reach it is? Olaf, the talking snowman, doesn't really think his dream of seeing summer through. And yet, isn't there something a bit Christmassy about ignoring the consequences and just going with it? We overeat knowing the pain it will cause, we overspend knowing that we will have no money for the rest of our lives and we even oversleep, leaving very little of Christmas day left. Olaf just doesn't care, he is happy and I'll be damned if he doesn't make me feel really Christmassy.
4/5
The Annoying Kid at Christmas
But Christmas is annoying. And I'll be damned if you don't also want to punch that snowman off a cliff. You can no longer mention Frozen without it carrying the weight of the zeitgeist it became. Every store in the known galaxy selling every known commodity with Frozen plastered all over it. Olaf is the pinnacle of this. A character that in the context of the film is full of warmth and wisdom but when cast out into the greater scope of the world is just purely annoying. But this category isn't about the most annoying character, it's about that obnoxious brat that gets their comeuppance right at the end as we all collectively stick out our tongues and laugh in their stupid little faces. Olaf doesn't get any comeuppance; he is still roving about this planet getting away with his multitude of sins.
0/5
The Christmas Miracle
The miracle here is simply that Anna doesn't die. If it were Christmas and someone was about to die and then they didn't, there is no doubt that would be pretty miraculous but really there is no Deus Ex Machina here, it's just love. The power of love is Christmas at its best but really all that falls down when saving Anna makes it summertime again. Frozen seems to suggest that love actually causes the end of Christmas so right there that's an immediate fail.
0/5
The Christmas Message
I may be stretching here, but it's clear that the Christmas message in Frozen is that there is no place for romantic love at Christmas. When Anna rushes back to get a kiss from her Prince Charming it turns out he wants to kill her. Then when she thinks, right I'll kiss the other guy I like, that all falls down. No, it's not romantic love, it's family love! Good stuff Frozen.
3/5
Additional Points
-On closer inspection it turns out that the entire film takes place in Summer -2
-Reindeer, Snowmen & Singing! +1
-It's objectively not better than The Polar Express -1
Conclusion
You know, Frozen is a real gem of a film. It burnt itself out hotter and faster than any film in recent memory and yet, in around two decades Frozen will come back into the public consciousness and we shall say "This isn't half bad". One thing is for sure though, this really, really isn't a Christmas film. It is however a stellar boxing day film or maybe even just a great winter film. It's nice having a film that can slot into a season without being rigidly attached to it.
9/25
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