Frozen (****1/2)

"Frozen," following in the footsteps of "Tangled,"  "Wreck-It Ralph," and "The Princess and the Frog," represents a return to form for the original Disney Studio (not to be mistaken with Pixar, mind you). Now in a full-fledged swing with computer animation, we may be on the verge of a new Golden Age of the Disney Studio. In terms of animated films this year, this is one to beat (again, my apologies to Pixar).

When you think of Disney Princesses, I'm sure your mind immediately races to Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, all strong-minded women who can control the course of their fate. The Prince in all instances is merely an afterthought - the icing on the cake, so to say. What a pleasure to discover that here, we have two Princesses; sisters named Anna and Elsa. They live in an unnamed kingdom that resembles something along the lines of northern Russia or perhaps Sweden. It's remote, it's gorgeous, full of people and colorful characters.

Elsa, though, has a terrible secret, one that she hides from Anna - she has been born with (and not cursed, perhaps a little room here for the sequel) the powers of winter. And by winter, we mean she can literally summon snowfall and freeze anything on touch. She spends her life wearing gloves. She is afraid, with her powers mostly out of her control. In a moment of emotion during her coronation, she accidentally slips the Kingdom into an eternal winter and flees to the mountains, leaving her younger sister, Princess Anna, to try and solve the problem.

Along the way, she meets Kristoff, a blonde-haired northern European type with a reindeer. Together, they haul snow for a livelihood. As you can expect, business goes sour when ice is suddenly in abundance. He joins with Anna to try and end the sudden winter wonderland. You can guess what might happen to them along the way.... Let's just say the term "true love's kiss" is thrown around a few times.

I really admire this movie, and in a broad range of categories. Yes, it's a musical, and the songs are catchy and never overly-hokey. The wide range of details from costumes to sets are all miraculous, as are the animation sequences themselves. One scene depicts Elsa building an ice castle for herself far up the side of a steep slope. Set to a show-stopping song sung by Broadway legend Idina Menzel, it's simply gorgeous.

The theater I was with was absolutely packed, half kids, half adults, and though the running time was nearly 2 hours, the film managed to hold the attention of all watching. It's very much refreshing to see a movie that pulls from the best of your childhood favorites (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, etc), and to see it done with such skill is even more special. Expect to be wowed.

(Awards potential: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, Best Original Song ("Let It Go," "For the First Time In Forever," "In Summer")