Frozen's Out Now in the US: What Did You Think?

After months of hype and waiting, Walt Disney Animation Studios' 53rd animated feature film finally hit North American cinemas yesterday! We really liked the film, our friends at Rotoscopers really liked the film, most of Rotten Tomatoes really liked the film; so now we want to know, did you? If you've seen Frozen, what did you think of it? Is it as good as the hype suggests? Or not? Let us know below! If you've not seen the film, beware of probable spoilers in the comments section.

The film opened very strong (particularly considering the fierce competition from Lionsgate's second Hunger Games film, Catching Fire, which has already made over $200 million domestically, and over $300 million worldwide), with a Wednesday debut of $15.2 million. The film is on course for an impressive $80 million five-day opening across the Thanksgiving weekend. Tangled took $68.7 million over the same period in 2010, and went on to gross almost $592 million, so things are looking very positive for Frozen! (Box Office stats via THR.)

The general consensus is positive, Rotten Tomatoes calls it "beautifully animated, smartly written, and stocked with singalong songs, Frozen adds another worthy entry to the Disney canon." Check out a smattering of reviews from the web below.

DrewTaylor, IndieWire: "'Frozen' feels like classic Disney animation. If someone had announced "Frozen" as the studio's follow-up to 'Beauty & the Beast,' no one would blink. It's that good."

Claudia Ping, USA Today: "A thoroughly involving story — both modern and timeless — Frozen embraces the classic Disney tradition, while avoiding stock conventions and formulaic elements."

Stephen Holden, The New York Times: "Allegorically, “Frozen” lacks the purity and elemental power of a classic myth like “Beauty and the Beast,” but at least its storytelling is fairly coherent, and its gleaming dream world of snow and ice is one of the most visually captivating environments to be found in a Disney animated film." (But avoid this review like the plague if you've not seen the film. The first sentence has a major spoiler.)

Meanwhile, a slightly snarky Todd McCarthy cynically calls it "shrewdly calculated." Adding "the most consistently annoying aspect of Frozen is the screenwriter's insistence upon putting banal and commonplace teen Americanisms in the mouth of Anna in a clear sop to that major component of the film's intended audience. Anna's dialogue is full of “you know” and “freaked out” and many other phrases her parents and sister never use; where did she pick them up? More than do the other characters, the two sisters have a plastic, big-cheeked, tiny-upturned-nose cherub appearance that looks fake and inexpressive and requires getting accustomed to." Ignore the grouching, very little of that is likely to annoy you. And McCarthy does at least concede that the film is "energetic, humorous and not too cloying... this tuneful toon upgrades what has been a lackluster year for big studio animated fare." (Again, beware of spoilers in this review.)

And should you need reminding, we (that's the royal we, for the moment) really liked the film. "Frozen is a triumph," said I, in my review. "A musically thrilling, narratively gripping, gleefully enthralling feat of animated excellence. It’s the best Disney film since The Lion King and, yes, it is the best animated film of the year."

Anyway, I'm rambling. What did you think of Frozen? And the Mickey Mouse short, Get a Horse!, that preceded it? Good? Bad? Great? Awful? Or, worst of all, mediocre? Tell us in the comments below!

Frozen hits UK cinemas on 6th December.