[movies] Frozen and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
In the past week, I have managed to see both Frozen [ imdb ] and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug [ imdb ].
My capsule reviews...
Frozen: Does for Nordic culture what Brave did for Celtic culture.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: The Starship Troopers of fantasy movies. A feature film made from 2.5 chapters of a completely different book. Fun, though.
Slightly more detailed thoughts...
Unlike almost every other recent animated film nominally targeted at the children's demographic, Frozen really did not have an adult layer. A handful of specific jokes and lyrics, perhaps, but that's about it. This film relentlessly targets the 'Disney Princess' demographic. Also, as elusivem pointed out to me, it was clearly written to become a Broadway show. The first half of the movie is almost nothing but show tunes numbers, and the voice cast are largely Broadway stars. As a movie-goer, I resent this with the same low-grade irritation that I resent movie scenes clearly intended to fuel the forthcoming video game. I want to watch a movie that was intended to make sense as a movie, not go see part of a multimedia, multichannel marketing vehicle.
As for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, yay Peter Jackson for having the money and the sponsorship to make eight or nine hours of Lord of the Rings fanfic. When I think about the book, these movies are such an utter waste of potential. (This is very nearly the opposite of my feelings about Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, mind you.) When I take them on their own terms, these movies are more entertaining than that complaint implies, though the second one is much better than the first. And it's mildly weird to see Legolas look decidedly middle-aged after his youthful appearance in a movie set decades later. You'd think Weta could have done something about that. Otherwise, I stand by my capsule review. This one is fun if you leave your memory of the book at home.
My capsule reviews...
Frozen: Does for Nordic culture what Brave did for Celtic culture.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: The Starship Troopers of fantasy movies. A feature film made from 2.5 chapters of a completely different book. Fun, though.
Slightly more detailed thoughts...
Unlike almost every other recent animated film nominally targeted at the children's demographic, Frozen really did not have an adult layer. A handful of specific jokes and lyrics, perhaps, but that's about it. This film relentlessly targets the 'Disney Princess' demographic. Also, as elusivem pointed out to me, it was clearly written to become a Broadway show. The first half of the movie is almost nothing but show tunes numbers, and the voice cast are largely Broadway stars. As a movie-goer, I resent this with the same low-grade irritation that I resent movie scenes clearly intended to fuel the forthcoming video game. I want to watch a movie that was intended to make sense as a movie, not go see part of a multimedia, multichannel marketing vehicle.
As for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, yay Peter Jackson for having the money and the sponsorship to make eight or nine hours of Lord of the Rings fanfic. When I think about the book, these movies are such an utter waste of potential. (This is very nearly the opposite of my feelings about Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, mind you.) When I take them on their own terms, these movies are more entertaining than that complaint implies, though the second one is much better than the first. And it's mildly weird to see Legolas look decidedly middle-aged after his youthful appearance in a movie set decades later. You'd think Weta could have done something about that. Otherwise, I stand by my capsule review. This one is fun if you leave your memory of the book at home.