Yes, No, Maybe So: Frozen
Saturday, September 28, 2013 at 7:14PM 
Hi, it's Tim. In the past couple of days, Disney has released the first full North American trailer for their upcoming animated musical Frozen, giving us the first look at the actual movie beyond that silly, vaguely aggravating gag reel with the snowman that accompanied Monsters University into theaters. Though "first" requires that we ignore the existence of a pretty fantastic Japanese trailer that doesn't resemble the new American one much at all.
Which means, among other things, that this new ad tells us exactly what the Disney marketing people think of their target audiences in different countries, namely... well, let's not give away the ending.
Here's the trailer in case you haven't had the chance to see it yet and the Yes No Maybe So breakdown after the jump
So let's have at it! Yes, No, Maybe So time!
YES
- Okay, so we can all agree that it's freaking gorgeous, right?
- I like the way that they're dribbling out the main antagonist in such a tiny number of dramatic key images. Disney's female villains are always the best, and seeing just enough of the Snow Queen Elsa to make the scope of her actions and powers clear is a terrific way to whet the appetite to see how great she ends up.
- Disney's "girl" movies are almost always more fun than their "boy" movies. Sorry, Wreck-It Ralph fans, I'm glad they're back to princess-style fairy tales.
NO
- Kristin Bell's super-modern vocal performance and the quippy dialogue she's been given are leaving me with horrible flashbacks to the Tangled trailer. That monologue about being awkard is everything I don't want from my animated kids' movies.
- The title cards, which do nothing but underline how schematic and formulaic all this looks right now. "See? Every one of our characters fills a pre-determined niche!"
- Speaking of the title cards, "no man?" I get that they're going for a (bad) play on words, but we've had a noun for human beings who are not gendered male for centures now. It also suggests that they're ashamed of having a female lead.
- Compared to the Japanese trailer, the scale of the movie seems so tiny and trivially comic. For whatever reason, the marketing people think that Americans want that, but it certainly doesn't scream "epic winter movie event".
MAYBE SO
- So far, the ads haven't featured Idina Menzel at all, and knowing that this is going to be a musical (also not featured), that's obviously a big question mark. If it works out, she's almost certainly going to be the highlight of the cast. Check out her preview of the song "Let It Go" from the D23 expo last month.
- Like I said, flashbaks to the Tangled trailer. And we all remember how that turned out, right? One of the most pleasantly old-school animated films of the last 10 years was advertised as something snotty and anachronistic just because... because. They struck gold with that, so maybe they're playing the exact same game.
Based on this ad, I'm a Maybe leaning No. I mean, it's a Disney musical, so I'm a giant, opening-night "YES!" in reality, but everything about this seems uninteresting, visually and narratively derivative of Tangled. But maybe there's something to be hopeful about, that we're not seeing yet. How about you? Excited to get Frozen? Yes, No, or Maybe So?
Reader Comments (16)
I'm a No. The word that comes to mind from that trailer is "zany." While I like fun animated movies as much as the next guy, trying too hard to be hip usually kills these movies. That Menzel song with the generic lyrics also wasn't doing it for me.
I'm a maybe so, but only because I'm hoping that this trailer turns out just like Tangled's did--an unadulterated piece of garbage which did its best to hide a rather lovely little movie.
I'm a Yes because I will forever support the animated musical genre but this seems to be trying SOOO much to be modern and hip. We'll see..
Disney animated musicals get a Yes after "Tangled" until proven guilty.
I'm a big NO on this. Looks like it's trying too hard.
Yes!
at this point I'm a "Maybe So".
The "super-modern vocal performance" is the thing that really bothers me. Same with Tangled. It's what I've come to dread the most with fairy tale movies - if it isn't set in modern times then why have the characters talk that way? It just screams TRYING TOO HARD and it takes me out of the film.
The quirky snowman doesn't help.
I'm a No. Couldn't even get through that trailer.
I've read people saying this is the one to beat for the Oscar but, based on the materials released so far, I'm finding it hard to get excited for it.
I'm a yes. But that is a horrible trailer.
Yes.
If you read the IMDb Trivia Section of the film, you will know why.
Sincerely
YRH Margrethe II
I'm a reluctant Yes, in that my lovely nieces will want to see this with me and I will take them so I will try and muster up as much enthusiasm for what the trailer is selling so terribly.
I love the Japanese trailer though, and one key reminder about the trailer comparisons is that the Japanese are accustomed to complex animated fare. In North America, animated almost always means a children's film. In Japan, animated movies are classified by genre just like any other movie that also happen to be animated. The trailers can then sell the movie however they want and don't have to project the cutesy image that Disney has to do here in North America to be a Disney movie.
I'm a Yes... to waiting for it on Netflix! More and more movies are falling into that category for me.
A NO... "The Snow Queen" is one of my favorite fairy tales. And I have the feeling from this trailer that they have gone too far ligthing up the story for the movie... I find nothing form the tale in this trailer, except for the ice and snow.
Eh.. that's all I really have to say. Just, "eh."
i am shocked to report that this looks shockingly bad to me. And i had high hopes after TANGLED which was really quite good despite a terrible trailer... oh wait... okay maybe i shouldn't give up on this one just yet.
but i'm tempted.
Yes!