1.
Like: The animation
The animation is very similar to Tangled, and I generally like it. Especially in the "Let It Go" scene, when Elsa is making her ice palace. Watching it makes me wonder just how much time was spent of just making THAT specific scene. Arendalle in general looks very beautiful IMHO. Even the characters themselves look very well made. I even saw in a video on Youtube were it said that Elsa's hair had the most strands, or something like that.
Dislike: Too much singing in the first few minutes.
Look, I get that it's a musical, and I have nothing against that. Musicals are fun to watch sometimes. But if you notice that during the first 10 minutes or so, it's basically just song after song. And they do move the story along, yes, but it wasn't really necessary to have that much singing in such short amount of time. Watching the first few scene's seemed like they were trying to squeeze in as many songs as they could so the little kids watching wouldn't lose interest. But I'm sure most kids can be entertained without the need of constant music, especially when/if it isn't even necessary.
2.
Like: The songs in general
I admit that some of the songs themselves aren't bad. I even like "Let It Go" to some degree. I like how it describes how Elsa feels. But I also like "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?", because it describes Anna's longing to be with her sister like before. My own personal favorites are: both versions of "For The First Time In Forever". Despite how "squeezed in" the musical numbers felt in the beginning, I do like "For The First Time In Forever" for the simple fact of describing Anna and Elsa's personalities. It was plainly obvious that both characters had suffered: Anna was lonely and wanted more fun and happiness in her life, while Elsa was terrified, hoping to conceal her secret long enough til things went back to "normal" in their case.
Dislike: Olaf and the trolls
I know it's aimed at kids, but kids aren't the only one's who like Disney movie's. I mean, Olaf and the trolls are nothing more than just filler characters. Nearly 5 minutes after Olaf shows up and he's already irritating to watch. Remember that scene where they had finally made it to Elsa's ice palace? As Anna approaches the door--you could tell she was nervous. It symbolized how her life had been... a series of doors in her face. That was intended to be a very serious/emotional moment for her, and what does Olaf do? He makes her look dumb by asking this question: "Do you think she knows how to knock?" So, yeah, he ruined a perfectly good emotional moment, but it's played out as if we're supposed to laugh. Um.... nope. The trolls are also annoying to watch as well. The only remotely likable troll is the oldest one--and even THEN they serve no real purpose to the plot besides fixing what Elsa accidentally did to Anna. This movie would have been better if: A) The trolls actually did something to advance the story, or B) They just didn't exist at all. They're even on the DVD's language menu screen. -_-'
3.
Like: That first "sister moment" in the beginning
Remember that scene were young Elsa and Anna were playing around in the castle as Elsa demonstrated her powers? I actually thought that was cute. It shows what they were each like before the accident. You see Elsa all calm and in control, and Anna as happy as ever. It was nice to see them together, before things went bad.
Dislike: The parents
Before I go one with this, I know that parents aren't perfect. That's obvious in the movie and real life. But I can't just sit back and NOT point this out. When they went to the trolls to seek help for Anna, her father told the eldest troll that she can learn to control it, indicating they were going to help her with it. But that's not what happened. During the "time passing" scene's when Elsa's father was talking to the eldest troll, we see them practically LOCKING HER UP, and ISOLATING her from everyone but them! And in the "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?" scene, where do you see her father teach her how to control her powers? That's right, you don't. Her father tells her to, and I quote: "Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show". What. The. Hell? That's not helping her, that is telling her to fear her own gift! I'm sorry, I just couldn't ignore that. I understand that they had good intentions, but their intentions don't really matter when all they did was hurt both of their daughters. Moving on.
4.
Like: Breaking the "Love at first sight" cliche
Don't get me wrong, I don't hate seeing people falling in love, as long as it's REAL, genuine love. I don't approve of this shallow, superficial "OMG, he's/she's so hot/sexy/dreamy!" bull crap. That sends a terrible message to kids everywhere. But this movie breaks that whole concept entirely, and I LOVE it! Love interests are in no way bad, but not all movie's/show's need that in order to be good. Watching this for the first time, you probably thought, "Ugh... the main character's gonna fall in love, how predictable..." Uh, NOPE! Even when the movie wanted us to believe Hans was looking out for Anna, it went the other direction. I did feel for Anna when she realized he wasn't into her, but in a way, I feel it's what she needed. Her sister was far more important than rushing into a marriage just to feel loved. It was a nice, fresh new concept and I love that about this movie.
Dislike: Filler songs
While most of the songs were in fact fun to listen to, there at least 2 songs in particular which seemed to serve no real purpose: The annoying troll song and Olaf's summer song. Now, granted, I do think "In Summer" wasn't really all that bad. It was fun for the most part, but both songs in general didn't move the story along. At all. They were simply there just to fill in the space in the movie where you'd think a plot line would go. Just like the characters who sung them.
5.
Like: Character interactions
Like in Tangled, I also liked how the 2 sisters interacted with each other, even when they disagreed. During the scene that leads up to Elsa accidentally revealing her powers, there were some really great moments between the 2 sisters. For an example: When Anna and Elsa see each other after her coronation. We see Anna talking about how what she has dreamed of for so long had finally came true. And Elsa.... she clearly wanted the same thing. She didn't want to hurt Anna like she did, but felt she had no choice but to distance herself from everyone. And who's to blame? Their parents.
Dislike: Kristoff's backstory is never explained
We know why Elsa is the way she is, and Anna, too. Hell, even Hans' backstory was explained. But Kristoff? All we know of him is: He sells ice for a living, his friend is a reindeer named Sven. And he also lives with the trolls because, as he states, he was adopted by them. So... what? Is Kristoff an orphan like Eugene was? But where did he live before the trolls found him? Was he living with those men seen in the "Frozen Heart" opening scene? How did he meet Sven? In this one song--"Reindeer's Are Better Than People"--he also clearly states how he dislikes other humans, and that he only like animals (more specifically reindeer's). But WHY, though? Nothing about his life is ever explained, and that bothers me.
6.
Like: Anna and Kristoff's bond
While it wasn't as good as Rapunzel and Eugene's bond, IMHO, it was still fairly decent to watch. I like how Kristoff called Anna out for her urge to be married so damn fast. Granted, we know why Anna wanted this and I understand her reasons. But she honestly wasn't thinking clearly about it, and sadly, it backfired on her. But I also enjoyed the moments when Kristoff showed concern for her, despite only knowing her for barely a day. The two of them were OK to watch in general.
Dislike: Elsa's power's are never explained properly
The only thing mentioned in the whole movie was when her father states that she was born with the powers. What's even more strange is when he says this, he clearly hesitated when speaking. I'll give the exact words used in the movie: Troll: Born with the powers, or cursed? Father: Uh, born. After re-watching Frozen, I distinctly remember him saying it like that. So does this mean even her parents didn't know where they came from for sure? But then why does only her father seem to know what to do? Or better yet, has her powers caused issues before the accident? I ask this because, remember right after Anna's struck in the head, and Elsa holds her close, her parents come rushing into the room? And right as they enter, her father clearly says: "Elsa, what have you done? This is getting out of hand!" When Frozen 2 comes, I'll be watching to see if we ever get an explanation for her powers.
7.
Like: That one decent Olaf moment
Now, look, I do agree that Olaf was annoying, but he may not have been as bad as the trolls. Annoying or not, I did think that one moment between him and Anna was alright. You know, when Olaf rescued her, and he willing agreed to let himself melt away just to keep Anna from freezing to death. That's when he explains to her about true love. And I thought that was surprisingly well done. I give Olaf props for that.
Dislike: Elsa hardly does anything, until the very end
This movie honestly had a great start, but here is where I believe the movie's plot suffers so much. I get that Elsa was scared and fearful, because that was what the whole movie's main conflict was about. But the only thing she ever really DID do before the ending was that fighting scene in her ice palace with those men. And even though I did enjoy seeing her finally use her ice powers, she wound up being knocked out and sent back to Arendalle. And what kills me is even when she sees what her powers did to the area, all she wants to do is run and hide. I know it really isn't all her fault, but did she honestly think isolating herself would make a difference? Couldn't she have tried to locate the trolls and asked them for help? Granted, she may not have known where to find them, but come on! It really bothered me how she was practically useless during the whole movie.
8.
Like: Equal treatment
I liked how even though the movie's titled "Frozen", it's not all about just her. It was nice to see both sides of the field in Elsa and Anna's relationship as siblings. We see both of their reasons for them being the way they are, and how each had an affect on the other. Neither one sister was all right or all wrong--they had equal valid points, yet also equal faults. They each seemed to balance each other out.
Dislike: The parents being killed off so quickly
I may not have liked them in general, but I found it odd to have them killed so soon in the movie. In the song "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?", it shows us time passing as it goes from scene to scene, but to the viewers perspective, they're being killed too soon. Did they have no other use for them in the plot or something? I would have loved to see the parents reactions to the damage they'd caused to their 2 daughters. Why not have them feel guilty and remorseful for what they'd done? Have them realize their mistake and own up to it. Or something like that...... but oh, well.
9.
Like: The Rapunzel and Eugene cameo
I was disappointed that they basically didn't do/saying anything (and I know why) but I still loved how they showed up during "For The First Time In Forever". It was cool to see them again--though Rapunzel still has her short hair. I never had an issue with it, other than how it supposedly would never grow back out. It's cute and all, but why won't it grow back out?
Dislike: Elsa confuses me
Elsa's whole argument is that she wants to hide her powers from everyone out of fear that she'll hurt them, but during "Let It Go", what do we see? She's as calm as ever and in full control over her powers. I agree that at the start of the song, she was still fearful, but as it went on, she lost all her fear of it. And yeah, I realize that that was the whole point of "Let It Go", but does Elsa not consider that her fears are all in her mind? And that all she has to do to control them is to be calm and remember that she's loved? And I also realize that that was her whole problem, and that her parents are to blame, but.... couldn't she have realized this a lot sooner? And remember at the ice palace when she makes the giant ice monster to "escort" Anna, Kristoff and Olaf out? That scene made no damn sense. If she was so scared of her powers hurting the one's she loved, why the hell did she do that??? OK, OK.... on to the last one.
10.
Like: The movie's message
I liked that the movie went in a different direction. As I previously mentioned: This movie doesn't go down the usual rout and tries something new. This is a story of 2 sisters--Elsa and Anna--and how both needed to realize just how much they needed each other. And it applies to brothers, too. I'm not saying marriage is wrong, but sometimes it's good to tell stories about other issues in life.
Dislike: Poor plot line
But here is where I really think it fails: The message in general was clear, but how they went about the story honestly wasn't all that well done. The message you intend to display in a story may be cleverly thought out, but how you tell the story will say the rest. I once heard that they originally were going to make Elsa the villain. And it makes me wonder... why didn't they? What we got was OK, but wouldn't that have made a better plot? I honestly think that would have made Frozen more enjoyable to watch then what we got. Frozen wasn't terrible, but it just wasn't as good and felt over-hyped. I still like the movie, but I just wish they'd stuck with that original plot line.
