Frozen: El musical

Wonderful performances from all the cast, great staging and effects, they did really well at translating the movie to the stage.

I loved all the songs, the new songs fit in really well and were great fun to watch. I was very impressed with the performances of the young actors who played young Elsa and Anna. It was also good to have a mixture of close up and wide shots from different angles, which you wouldn't get if you saw it in the theatre.

As someone who loved the original movie, I thought they captured the essence really well while adding extra characterisation and moments which are fun to watch and build the story and the world.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought they did a brilliant job.

Although I have long be a fan of the stage, I have been leery of live action and stage versions of animated films ever since my wife insisted I take our children to the stage version of Lion King, battled 2-hours of traffic each way to get there, and the kids' reaction was they liked the cartoon better. However, I seem to be one of the select few who had not seen the animated version of Frozen before I saw this stage adaptation, so I had no preconceptions or expectations and did not have to spend my time deciding which was "better." I found this stage play perfectly enjoyable. I have been a fan of Samantha Barks for years and she, as usual, was exceptional both in her singing and acting. Laura Dawkes was a revelation; she has a great voice and is a born comedian. Craig Galavan operating the puppet snowman also provided comic relief. In fact, after watching the animated film, I actually preferred the stage play version in many ways. I am not a great fan of CGI animated people, and the humor struck me as funny when presented by live actors rather than "cute," as is generally the case with CGI animated figures. As with most musicals, there were only a few "hits", but the other songs were more than adequate to move the action forward.

Keep in mind while watching that an inherent problem with filmed stage shows is that the actors are projecting to an audience, not a camera, so they might look like they are overacting somewhat in the closeups.

I can't believe we are finally able to watch this beautiful show from the comfort of our own home.

I was able to see the London production a few times and truly have to say they did a fantastic job capturing the on-stage magic and translating it to the big screen.

Even though nothing compares to seeing the show in a theatre I love how they filmed the scenes and especially "Let it Go" is absolutely breathtaking. Now you are also able to see every detail and facial expression close up (which I love).

Story wise I really think the additions and little tweaks to the storyline made perfect sense for the stage adaption. It gives the characters and their development more depths and expands their background stories. The additional songs (also written by the original song writing duo (Anderson)-Lopez) fit perfectly and are as catchy as the "original" songs. "Monster" instantly became a new "on repeat" song of mine and to this days is one of my personal 11 o'clock musical theatre favourites.

Just a few words about the cast: they are PHENOMENAL!!! Every role is perfectly cast and Samantha Barks and Laura Dawkes (this was her West End debut by the way - can you believe it?) have the perfect stage chemistry and portray the roles of Elsa and Anna with such nuance and attention to detail. I don't think I have to mention they have the most beautiful voices as well ;)

I will rave on about this show and proshot for as long as I'm living. Please do yourself a favour and watch it (if you like Frozen and/or musical theatre).

Greetings again from the darkness. The first FROZEN movie was released in 2013 and the sequel, FROZEN II in 2019. FROZEN III is scheduled for release in 2027, but since the story (adapted from an original Hans Christian Anderson story) remains so popular, fans get a film version of the stage musical to tide them over ... and ensure no generation (or even part of one) misses out. Brett Sullivan directs the filming of Michael Grandage's stage presentation, and I'm still trying to figure out if young kids will embrace this version.

The talented cast is from London's West End stage production (a three-year run) and includes Samantha Barks (LES MISERABLES, 2012) as Elsa and Laura Dawkes as Anna. We open with young sisters, Elsa and Anna, singing together on "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?". It's the first mention of Olaf, but of course, results in Elsa's frigid magic accidentally injuring Anna. The parents, Royalty in Arendelle, freak out and react by separating the sisters ... until circumstances are such that the two girls come together again.

While there is no need to re-hash the storyline here, there are a few key points emphasized in the stage production. One of the first things we notice is that both Ms. Barks (Elsa) and Ms. Dawkes (Anna) have wonderful singing voices, although it's Anna who gets the most one-liners and laughs, and periodically steals the spotlight. Anna's 'meet-cute' with Hans (Oliver Ormson) is handled well, and the effects are spectacular when Elsa ices over the kingdom during her coronation while having a confrontation with Anna. Kristoff (Jammy Kasongo) and Sven are a welcome addition, yet it's snowman Olaf (Craig Gallivan) who draws in the audience with his love of warm hugs.

The showstopper, "Let it Go", serves up a stunning moment with both the stage effects and the magical costume change for Elsa. The familiar and catchy tune delivers pure entertainment for all ages. What is not so certain is how the younger fans of the movies will react to a dozen new songs written specifically for the stage presentation. The "Hygge" song is the most elaborate, yet the others seem to mostly blend in ... in a good way for seasoned musical lovers (but maybe not so much for young fans). At a minimum, this could very well be a nice transition to live theater for kids, while being extremely entertaining for us old-timers.

Debuts on Disney+ beginning June 20, 2025.

I respect that they included the details from the original movie, where Anna was hit in the face by Elsa, and Elsa revealing her powers to everyone, and also the short song "Reindeers are Better Than People". But I don't get a few things: they added new songs. Like, how weird is that?

The new song at the start "A Little Bit of You" or was it A Little Bit of Me?, was when Anna and Elsa chose to stay up late instead of sleeping, leading to a tragic accident. I don't get the hype about it.

I felt like the sequel to Frozen was my favourite, but when I decided to watch the original on television, I honestly couldn't agree on whether Frozen is better than Frozen 2, or Frozen 2 is better than Frozen. It was a real face-off!

So I think that's enough for today.

7/10.