Disney’s newest princess movie, Frozen, is taking theatres by storm with its unique rendition of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.” Featuring similar aspects from past movies and returning to the olden days of Disney storytelling, Frozen opens doors to new opportunities as it features a loving atmosphere, a wonderfully composed soundtrack, and convincing characters.

The movie seemed promising when the first trailer was released. The small nitpick I had was with the character stylization. Before Frozen was Tangled, another Disney princess movie many came to admire. Looking at the style of Tangled and then over to Frozen, similar aspects including facial expressions, body forms, fabric decisions, and even the tone were very similar and seemingly re-hashed. One movie imitating another, even unintentionally, seems somewhat lazy and unoriginal. Some designs for the monsters and creatures were interesting, but the point still stood that Frozen being unoriginal according to design. Sure, many past Disney princesses had similar expressions and body types, but each had a specific trait that defined them from the rest.

Elsa, the older of two sisters, is born with ice powers and can magically create anything out of snow and ice. But after an argument with her sister Anna, Elsa unleashes her previously secret powers. Scaring the townsfolk, she flees to a wintery and isolated mountain. The adventure begins to bring summer back to a frozen Arendale.

Elsa was interestingly interpreted during the time she had on screen. With a song performed by broadway star Idina Menzel, the movie kicks off into the thrilling adventure of Elsa’s change and Anna’s journey.

Anna is the opposite, having fun quirks and awkward interactions with the new people she meets. However, her personality seems rehashed from Tangled’s Rapunzel, who looks about the same age as Anna as well. Aside from that small attribute, Anna brings a fun tone to the movie’s adventurous and wild plot. Many other favorable characters included are an ice salesman named Kristof, his sidekicked reindeer named Sven, and a summer-loving snowman named Olaf. All the characters have unique and interesting aspects that contribute to the film.

The animation that brought this tale to life was extremely intricate and well-detailed. The design team that created character clothing did particularly well, and Disney even used a CGI snowflake generator to dispense snowflakes with unique patterns, much like actual snowflakes.

The movie proceeded with the clean slate of a regular princess movie formula, giving it the “true love” plot device, a regular story attribute that these days is a Disney princess must-have. However, the way it was represented and then distributed to the audience was a great twist, and showed a great representation of what it means to love someone.

All in all, Frozen was a delightful family-friendly feature that I would love to see again. With its charming story, unique structure, and familiar animated style, it would seem Disney is returning to the old fairy tale formula. I highly recommend this film to anyone with siblings, or anyone wanting to spend time with family or friends.