Frozen (G) ****
Walt Disney Studious, that grand old dame of animated movies, has survived a stretch in the doldrums and is now back to doing what it does best - spinning a little fairytale magic.
Frozen, based loosely on the Hans Christian Anderson tale The Snow Queen, sees the return of the team that brought us the wonderful Tangled a few years ago.
Frozen sees the Disney team go into full on musical mode in this movie which is peppered with tunes. It’s a mark of how well the songs work, and how strong they are, that after a while you forget that you’re watching a virtual musical. In fact, two of the songs provide the movie’s highlights.
Set in a distant kingdom, the story centres on two female characters, queen-in-waiting, the mature and responsible Anna (Kirsten Bell) and her feisty, wayward little sister, Princess Elsa (Idina Menzel).
We learn in the opening minutes that Anna has a dubious power - the ability to turn things to ice. After a childhood accident that left her sister injured, Anna has locked herself away from the outside world and is reluctant to come out again, a situation she is unable to avoid come coronation day.
When a tragedy plunges the entire kingdom into eternal winter, Anna runs into hiding for fear of causing further disaster.
And Elsa, who is unaware of her sister’s strange power, goes in pursuit of her, gutted at their separation.
Every princess needs their sidekicks, so Elsa’s joined by mountain climber Kristoff, a wonderful reindeer named Sven who frankly deserves a lot more screen time, and the slice of comedy genius that is Olaf. He’s a snowman who’s dreamer of sunnier climes, blissfully unaware of what that will mean for him.
Far from the story being broken by the music, two of the film’s strongest set-pieces in fact revolve around songs. Ice queen Anna’s building of a snow palace to the tune of Let It Go (covered by pop singer Demi Lovato) is as striking a piece of animation as you’ll see anywhere this year. And the hilarious In Summer is worth the ticket price alone.
Nebraska (12A) ****
Convinced he’s won a million dollars in a sweepstakes, an elderly man (Dern) embarks on a road trip to collect his winnings.
Alexander Payne’s two most recent films, the wonderful Sideways and The Descendents, marked him out as one of my favourite filmmakers.
Here’s he’s going deeper into arthouse mode with this slowly-paced tale shot in black and white. But he still displays his skill for turning the simple into the touching and profound.
At the centre of it all is a wonderful performance from veteran actor Bruce Dern, who steals you heart (and makes it ache a little) as an elderly man fighting for his independence.
He’s no angel however - Woody Grant has been drinking heavily all his life, partly because he likes to and partly to block out the persistent nagging from his bolshy wife (June Squibb, excellent).
When he receives a letter telling him he’s won a million dollars in a fake Nebraska lottery, a revitalised Woody is determined to cross two states to collect his winnings.
Fearful that his father is showing signs of dementia, and unable to talk him out of travelling, his son Will reluctantly agrees to drive him there. There are strong echoes of the Coen Brothers around the movie’s banter-heavy dialogue and general sense of quirkiness.
But Payne manages to make the film his own by gradually building up the bittersweet tone he is so effective at creating.
Nebraska won’t be for everyone. Its simple storyline and deliberately slow pace sets it apart even from Payne’s more accessible indie films.
But his love for his characters, flawed as they may be, it obvious as always, and this quiet film gradually turns into a remarkably intimate portrait of one family.
