Sophie's Film Choice #12: FROZEN

(Wicked meets Tangled. On ice).

We all know by now that I find it marginally uncomfortable to go more than a month without a fix of Disney. No spontaneous music? No impossibly shiny hair? No animals that have comically human characteristics? I wouldn't wish that world on anyone.

'That's right... you're FAR superior to a Disney horse...'

I actually managed to resist 'Frozen' until after Christmas (but we all knew it was inevitable viewing). So, was it all I had wished for and more?

From the opening 'Pocahontas'-esque chant, ('Diggedy dig' springs to mind) to the glittering and pinkish hue of the ice, to the cute baby reindeer, I knew I would get my money's worth. The story? Two sisters. One's a secret Ice Queen. She spends her time trying not to freeze stuff. She accidentally freezes everything. Much angst-ridden singing ensues, whilst the sister meets a handsome man.

'I couldn't find the Ben and Jerrys.'

As always in recent Disney Classics,  the characterisation and humour in 'Frozen' was spot-on. Kristen Bell gives a perfect performance as the slightly awkward and endearingly enthusiastic Anna, whilst Olaf the Snowman... well he just likes warm hugs!

Kristoff and his reindeer provide a boyish appeal to this film, their love-hate, slapstick fuelled relationship similar to that of Flynn Rider and Maximus in Tangled. In the meantime, there are some weird rock people who sing gospel music. Because why the heck not?

This is one of the few films in which 3D actually enhanced the clarity and depth of the visuals - Disney artwork continues to become more and more beautiful, and the scenery created in 'Frozen' was nothing short of breathtaking. Are there more than five ways of animating snow? you ask. Yes there are, my friend. Yes, there are.

The only slight disappointment in 'Frozen' was the consistency of the songs. Opening with an atmospheric and unusual track of unaccompanied voices, the rest of the film was characterised by musical theatre/pop tunes, perhaps more suited to the Broadway stage than a Classic Disney animation.

'Step away from the 'Elnett'...' 

But of course, this isn't all bad. It DID mean we got the joy of having our ears blasted off by the beltingly fabulous Idina Menzel, serving as the voice of the Ice-Queen, Elphaba (oops, I mean Elsa)...

Full of misunderstandings, chases, shady characters and heart warming revelations, 'Frozen' lives up to the Disney formula. Except for one thing: the love story is only secondary, and the ladies lead the action - which makes a nice change. (Expect sassiness of the sparkliest kind).

Sophie's Film Choice #11: ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

*Looks up from news desk, as if slightly (yet pleasantly) surprised*

Oh hello there! Thought I'd disappeared from the bloggersphere eh? Thought that 'Sophie's Choice' was no more? Well you thought WRONG!

That's right my fellow film enthusiasts! Much like Ron Burgundy, Sophie is back, and bigger than ever. Apologies for profuse use of exclamation marks (or the occasional cheeky smiley face) - I'm currently writing a regular blog for 13-17 year old girls, so the occasional mistake does sometimes (I LOVE HARRY STYLES!) slip in.

It is a shameful truth to acknowledge that I have seen a couple of films lately that I haven't had the time to review - I will give them a short summary now:

'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' - 4 Hours. Enjoyable barrel-fuelled escapades. They all go on a drug trip. Gandalf saves them.

'Thor 2' - I fell asleep. I believe this was due to work-related fatigue, as I was impressed with the hammer-wielding and Hiddleston brooding that I witnessed in my conscious minutes.

SO, to the main event - after nearly 10 years of waiting, with the beautifully haunting tune of 'Afternoon Delight' resounding in our heads, we finally saw the return of Ron Burgundy and his news team to our screens last year. And they did not disappoint.

'Yayy! We're getting paid SO MUCH for this!'

This sequel is extremely self-indulgent, completely illogical, undeniably stupid - and therefore hilarious. Imagine a killer whale, in a glittery biki, smoking a pipe and talking in an Indian accent. Yes - that random.

The old characters we have come to know and love are exemplified wonderfully in the first part of the film. In a re-uniting sequence, we can see that after 10 years: Champ Kind owns a fried 'chicken' restaurant (or 'chicken of the cave' - you figure it out), Brian Fantana takes photos of kittens (or 'pussies'...) and Brick Tamland thinks he's dead. Literally.

Ronald McDonald's grumpy brother. 

In fact, right from the funeral which Brick himself organises - for his own death - and then does a speech - Steve Carell really steals this film (with perhaps only Doby the Shark as his main contender). From the slow-motion, mid-air posing when the camper van rolls down the hill, to the horrendously awkward scenes with his new love-interest Chani (played by Kristen Wiig), Carell gives consistent laughs. I can only assume his lines are written by pointing at random words in the dictionary and stringing them together, but it works!

There really is no organised or coherent way I can analyse this film, as it's really a pastiche of ridiculousness. However, some of my personal highlights include:

1) A squirmingly awful scene when Ron meets his new girlfriend's family (BLACK!!)
2) The moment Ron becomes blind and can no longer distinguish between ketchup and beer (even after tasting them)
3) Walter Burgundy's face during the heart-felt song for Doby the Shark
4) An EPIC news team battle, involving far too many cameos, a werewolf and a Minotaur.

All in all, I loved 'Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues'. Whilst not as well-structured and concise as the first, the sequel makes up for it in pure, unadulterated silliness. A literally laugh-a-minute film, Will Ferrel shows that he's still got it (despite the wrinkles).

Stay classy, St. Albans.

WARNING: Scenes like this become normal after 20 minutes.