Planes (2013)
Apologies! its been a while! We have watched a few more so must get cracking!
So, having presented us with pretty pretty fairies for the 7-year-old girls, Disneytoon Studios now presents us with zoom zoom planes for the 7-year-old boys. Not being a 7-year-old boy, I must admit I did not like Planes, but I think that’s probably to be expected. It’s a perfectly fine film. It’s fine. It’s totally fine.
It’s also probably the most forgettable film we’ve watched (and that includes five Winnie the Pooh movies), which means my recollections of it aren’t the best. We watched it nearly two weeks ago now and I was struggling to remember the plot the following day. I spent quite a bit of the runtime on her laptop and my sis was on her phone...so this isn't going to be a great review, in any sense of the word.
Planes is essentially Cars but with less story and theme. It follows the well-trodden underdog wins the big race story and will be easy for children to follow and/or fall asleep in front of on a rainy Sunday afternoon. You don’t need to know anything about the characters because they don’t have personalities or character arcs and you don’t need to worry about the plot because you can see it coming a mile off.
The animation of Planes probably wouldn’t seem half bad if it didn’t so obviously take place in the same world as Cars. Whatever you say about Cars (and even Cars 2) the animation is spectacular, and the texture-free cars and planes in this movie, with their limited expressions and lack of personality is a big step down. If it had only been released on DVD this wouldn’t be a problem, but this movie had a theatrical release.
Overall Planes is definitely a miss. I will probably never watch it again...and if I do, I probably won't remember it.
We did wonder is this world a democracy? Who rules cars or planes? My bet is the Cars!
Frozen (2013)
I really love Frozen. It’s entertaining and heartwarming and contains some absolutely bangin tunes!
First, the story. I wouldn’t say this plot was such a massive subversion of the boy-meets-girl trope, as the majority of the film is still dedicated to Anna and Kristoff, who are also the most developed characters in the film. Turning Elsa into a misunderstood young woman rather than a villain was a really really good idea though. I think this is an interesting way of acknowledging that good and bad are a bit more complicated than we sometimes see in Disney movies.
The characters, and the performances of them, are definitely one of the real high points of this film. Anna, in particular, is a really well-realised character. She is completely delightful and adorkable and I think is a lovely role-model for little girls. Kristoff is also completely brilliant, managing to be very likeable, even when he’s being a grumpy git. Both of them were extremely well-cast - how can you not love these two? Elsa is really great too, and you can’t help feeling sorry for her. That is until she lets rip with Let It Go and you just want to be her! I also think that Olaf is a big part of the reason Frozen is so good. He’s a bit like the genie in Aladdin, in that he saves the film from being just another Disney fairytale.
The other big standout in Frozen is of course the music. The songs are all beautiful and Let It Go is iconic, and for good reason. I thinks it’s better than Part of Your World - my sis does not agree, but it’s probably just the nostalgia talking. Of course Idina Menzel is a big part of why that song became such a moment in popular culture - that woman might have the most spectacular singing voice I have ever heard and she throws everything at that song. The whole sequence, including the animation, is a real turning point in the story and completely blows you away.
This all having been said I don’t unreservedly love the Frozen soundtrack. Yes, it’s got some real bangers, but not every song is amazing. Vuelie and the Frozen Heart song are both alright, but have nothing to do with the story, and it's a crime they never gave Jonathan Groff a proper song. Fixer Upper is a really fun song, but not very suitable at the moment it appears, which is when things are really starting to get serious. We need to build the tension at that moment, not break it. I think the main problem isn’t necessarily the songs themselves, however, but their placement in the film. Nearly all of the songs happen in the first half hour of the movie, and there are none in the third act. We are absolutely crying out for another Elsa song when she has been captured by Hans, and Anna and Kristoff need a love song of their own - these are somewhat glaring gaps in the movie and their absence leaves the film feeling lopsided.
The move is certainly not without a few minor flaws, and however much I enjoy, but I do very much enjoy it and I am thoroughly jazzed for the sequel. You’ve kept us waiting for 6 years, Disney, this had better be good!
P.S. Frozen the Musical is coming to London next year and I am very excited for it. I have listened to the cast album from the broadway version a lot of times and it’s sooooooo good!
P.S.S. For what it’s worth, my theories as to why Frozen is the most successful animated film of all time are as follows:
- We got two Disney princesses instead of just one.
- Let It Go
- Memes