When it
comes to Disney animated classics that define generations, I’m sure many can
agree that the one to define the current generation is Frozen. This is the Disney
film that in recent years, the world is definitely sure to see just about
everywhere. There’s countless merchandise of the film, constant plays of the
film’s soundtrack, and yes, even spinoff films.
For all of this, people either can’t stand the oversaturation, or simply
love it because it focuses on what they feel is such a great personal
story. I, personally, am in the group
that loves the film, feeling it brings out a lot of heart in meaningful
relationships and themes, all unfolding in the timeless style of classic
Disney. As for the oversaturation, while
it can be understandably suffocating for many, I can’t bring myself to be too
bothered. Knowing Disney’s history, it
makes total sense for them to constantly push something so highly successful so
they can stay active and continue to fund great new ideas. Plus, I always make sure to keep my Disney
viewing experienced varied, so while most overplay one movie, I just play Frozen and then move onto another Disney
film.
Regarding
spinoff films, it’s best to go into them cautiously, not necessarily expecting
it to measure up to the original film that put the entire franchise on
the map. Basically, yes, their existence
really is to cash in on the popularity of the first film by placing its
characters into any story that could attract a large audiences. In addition to a simple short loaded with references to the first film, a Lego series, and a full-fledged sequel, the
franchise has also gotten to a Christmas special. Actually, it was planned as just a special,
but then the decision was made to release it as a featurette, playing in front
of theatrical screenings of Pixar’s Coco. Now, despite existing for the money, a lot of
these spinoff films have the benefit of having the same talent as the minds
behind the original. With the artists
and storytellers of the genuine original Walt Disney Animation Studios, the
real heroes of the company, behind it, there’s reasonable hope for care going
in. This factor alone is especially
apparent in the aforementioned Frozen Christmas
project which is also the subject of today’s MC Toon Reviews Shorty:
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
(October 27, 2017)
One thing
that should be noted is that going into this film is the fact that it was meant
to go straight to TV before becoming a theatrical short. You may not think this is unusual since both
Pixar, as well as Walt Disney Animation Studios for a while, have a history of
showing shorts before their films. The
main difference is that the usual short film was only just a few minutes long,
leaving the spotlight free to be taken up by the main feature film. This short film, on the other hand, runs for
a whopping 22 minutes, much longer than what most moviegoers would be accustomed to. Because of the length, most audiences who
came into the theater for Coco were
left frustrated by having to sit through a long Frozen short to get to the main feature.
There are two reasons why I was really not bothered by how this short
was released. For one thing, being a big
Disney fan, I know that they have somewhat of a history of releasing short
featurettes of this kind of runtime in front of features. An example of this is Mickey’s Christmas Carol which was released in front of a
re-release of The Rescuers. This happening before really diminishes any
potential frustration from me, but as this practice has not been done since
1990, I kind of get why this isn’t so for others. Another thing is that with the original
intentions of this film being created for TV, expectations are much easier to
manage. It goes without saying that
films created for theaters have much higher expectations than those created for
TV, so it’s easy to plan on something simplistic here. Also, even if it’s longer than most
theatrical shorts, it’s still a short, a further guarantee that what you’ll get
will be on much less of a scale than the expected theatrical experience. Keeping all of these things in mind is very
necessary, because simple and basic is the best way to describe the story of
this film.
Being a
Christmas short, one can expect a story about celebrating the holiday, and
that’s what audiences ultimately get.
There’s a major emphasis on festive colors and decorations around the
kingdom of Arendelle, Christmas outfits to make good merchandise out of, and
more. The conflict is nothing really
major or threatening to any ways of life.
It’s just the fact that Anna and Elsa don’t seem to have any noteworthy
traditions to celebrate the holiday, discovered just after ringing in the
season for the kingdom. To make up for
that, Olaf, the comic relief talking snowman, goes around learning a little bit
about other people’s traditions. Through
it all, he hopes that his findings will help him come up with traditions that
Anna and Elsa can call their own. Then
through all his extravagant efforts, he loses all the tradition materials he
picked up along the way, and it seems like there’ll be no holiday for his
friends after all. This doesn’t matter
though, because in the end, it’s decided that Christmas is meaningful and
special as long as everyone is together.
As you can tell, it’s a very basic story with a simple
conflict, and a message that’s very easy to see coming. Along with the fact that a lot of time is
devoted to exploring exactly what kind of traditions people have during the
holiday season, there’s a feeling of a more kid-friendly aim. This in turn would not be the best for Disney
Animation’s reputation since it typically knows how to hit the mark with
audiences of all ages, and makes the cash-grab existence prominent. Yet, it’s still very wholesome and
entertaining as it is, and there are still good elements to make the experience
the least bit worthwhile for anyone into the Frozen franchise.
With the
storytelling capabilities of the crew of the original Disney Animation Studios behind it, the simple holiday conflict has significant weight to it. The most noticeable example is how there is a
legit tie to the driving plot point of the original film, which is Anna and Elsa
being separated for most of their lives.
Of course, this would come with so many great areas of life they’d miss
out on, and having good Christmases together is arguably one of the saddest
things to miss. If they did have any
meaningful traditions, they were most likely out of recent memory, like long
before the accident of Elsa’s ice magic hurting Anna that sparked
everything. As for the whole process of
finding a tradition for the royal sisters, a lot of one’s enjoyment of it will
depend on how much one likes Olaf. This
is a character who people either love for his charm, or detest and find
annoying. I am personally am very much
in the former group. That’s not to say
he’s one of the best Disney characters ever, but in just about everything of
this franchise I’ve seen, Olaf has plenty of charm and likability. He’s got a
calm, innocent, laid-back approach to life that makes his personality something
all his own. He can even be quite wise
and thought-provoking without even trying.
In fact, I’d say he’s among the most sincere comic reliefs in Disney,
right down to how he’s a lot softer than you’d expect from someone designed to
make audiences laugh. In the case of
this short, I would say that his ways aren’t as effective as they were in the
original film or sequel with his childlike ways emphasized to a bit of a fault. There’s also encouragement for them with
little balance, as evidenced at the start with everyone playfully commenting on
his excitement of the holiday season beginning.
Still, when the conflict is established, everything good about Olaf’s
character makes itself known with an apparent sweetness to his motives. Plus, going door-to-door to look for
traditions is an interesting approach and in line with how someone like Olaf
would go about the situation. Even
learning about what different people do at this time of year has a lot of fun
to it through Olaf’s witty remarks about the traditions. They don’t always land well with a few raunchy
gags involving fruit cake and getting a used sauna towel from Wandering
Oaken. That’s not mentioning how
everything backfires is somewhat contrived, like it’s trying to give this
simple short a reason to be on the big screen with out-of-place carnage. Despite that, I’d say that Olaf’s quest for
traditions is enough to make this special, again depending on how much you like
the character.
The most
substantial part of this short, though, is just how important Olaf is to Anna
and Elsa’s holiday after all. It goes
hand-in-hand with their separation arc that defined the original film. A lot of detractors of the film often say
that there wasn’t enough time of them together to sympathize with their
separation, or that there was no heart to it.
Personally, while seeing how close they were more would have been nice,
I think what we got is enough. As for no
heart to their separation, I’d say that the decision, while wrong, is very
understandable, but that’s another topic.
Still, it means a lot for this simple Christmas special that it actually
develops Anna and Elsa’s relationship.
While Olaf is off doing his thing, the girls look through the attic to
see if they can find traditions of their own.
Among the childhood memorabilia is a box of crafts connecting to Olaf,
who if you recall from the start of the original film, is basically the symbol
of their childhood innocence. This in
turn makes for a good fit that he played a role not just in making their
Christmases special, but also in keeping their relationship strong while
separated. It may be a little touch, but
this little thing truly goes a long way in showcasing the genuine heart in this
sisterly relationship. In the context of
this single special, it also makes for a genuinely heartwarming end when they
find Olaf and comfort him over his ‘failed’ attempts of finding traditions. A single embrace with Anna and Elsa who tell
him how he himself is their tradition, grows into something special as everyone
Olaf met in his quest gather to join him.
Consider this the short’s way of saying that sometimes a special bond
with such a nice character can go a long way, and worth making part of all
traditions.
This brings on what may very well be the key force behind the success of this franchise, the music. Now it should be noted that the songs throughout this special are nowhere near the quality of the iconic soundtrack of the original Frozen, but they suit this single short well. Almost all of them have the perfect amount of Christmas spirit needed to lighten up a holiday environment. In fact, they make the whole special immersive despite the simplicity of the story. The opening song, “Ring in the Season” sets the feel of this time of year right away, perfectly in line with scenes of everyone gathering at the Arendelle castle for the holiday. However, it’s hard for any good feeling of the song to truly sink in as it immediately follows two other songs. Those songs also happen to be the weakest. One of them highlights the frankly disgusting customs of Kristoff and Sven’s traditions, and the other is a short regretful tune from Elsa that’s merely forgettable. They’re not bad, but they’re nothing too great either, and being so close together doesn’t help. Thankfully, there’s much more space between songs when Olaf starts his tradition quest, and they help make what he does legitimately fun.
In addition to Olaf’s
charm, “That Time of Year” brings a lot of fun and personality through bringing
traditions together as well as anything educational to the procedure. Being festive, show stopping, and mostly
funny as a song by itself helps too.
However, the best song is saved for last, and it’s the one to drive the
theme of the short home, “When We’re Together.”
It’s got the perfect heart, and emphasis on Christmas’ message of family
and the chemistry between the main cast and all the families Olaf met. Seeing everyone together for a single wonderful
celebration brought together by one innocent, good-hearted snowman throughout
the song is the ultimate culmination.
Along with great singing talents and orchestrations and scenes of Elsa’s
magic adding to the festive scenes, you can’t ask for anything better from a Frozen Christmas. Ultimately, for all its simplicity in
storytelling and message, the charm of this cast along with great music make
for a pleasing holiday experience.
There’s no
denying the major simplicity of this story as well as the corporate reasons to
the special’s existence. Even the
premise alone is an acquired taste, and I can understand who audiences who saw
this film in theaters felt gypped when they paid to see Coco. However, if you know
what you’re in for, especially being aware that it was meant for TV, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure us perfectly
likable for what it is. It takes
something with little to it, and puts in all its efforts to make it not just
solid Christmas viewing, but also a legitimately worthy part of the Frozen franchise. With the charm of the cast, great music, and
warm feeling of Christmas all around, it may not be the best thing for that
time of year, but if you’re looking for wholesome holiday entertainment, this
is a good place to find some as only Frozen
can present it.
Recommended
Stay Animated Folks,
