What would have made Frozen Better

[Melissa25]

Take the Pope hat off Olaf and definitely give him more to do.  The Duke of Weselton (Robert Creighton) was underused.   I thought for sure I would have seen more tap coming from Creighton. 

[RippedMan]

I wonder how immersive? He does like to make the audience move around which def wouldn’t work with a crowd full of toddlers.

Honestly, the actresses ages didn’t bother me? Do they specify in the show their ages? I never really thought anything of it. Although, Anna’s snow outfit made her look like a dwarf on stage. She looked so incredibly tiny and small compared to everyone else. And wasn’t Murin in both versions?

[KathyNYC2]

222disneyland said: "its not even Aladdin Quality from what I heard"

You can hear a lot of different things from a lot of different people. Personally outside of James Iglehart and the big spashy Gotta Have A Friend Like Me number, I thought Aladdin was dull as nails...and overall I enjoyed Frozen more.

And I really don't know how you can make this comment and then later suggestions on how Frozen would be better having never seen it. Nothing personal. I would say that to anyone regarding any show.

[JudyDenmark]

RippedMan said: "Honestly, the actresses ages didn’t bother me? Do they specify in the show their ages?"

Not specifically, but the plot is that Elsa has come of age and is being formally coronated, which I assume is not happening at age 40. And we know that Anna is younger. Assuming that Elsa's coronation is happening at age 18 or 21, I would consider them both older teenagers/young women. I don't think they needed to be played by actual teenagers, but Caissie Levy and Patti Murin are both 37.... and it stuck out to me. (FWIW, I say that as a fellow 37-year-old... I don't mean to be ageist, it's just about the right casting for the role.)

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

I keep reading this thread title as “frozen butter”.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Kad said: "I had heard Timbers' vision was characteristically huge and visionary, with immersive elements, but with a price tag that made Disney balk.

Frankly, even had Disney given Timbers a blank check, I think Frozen itself is sort of an inert property. Timbers would've distracted from the flaws, certainly. But at the end of the day, Frozen is Frozen."


That would make sense, since the set designer with a long history with Disney (Bob Crowley) jumped ship, too.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Allowing it to be developed by creators who had a unique voice would have helped.

[BwayLB]

After seeing An American in Paris last year I wished Bob Crowley stayed on board too

[broadwayboy223]

It needed spark, creativity, etc. Better new songs. I REALLY wish we could have seen some of Timbers work on the show..

[Elegance101]

There's nothing "ageist" about saying two women are 15 years too old for their parts. I'm an adult, I can't play Annie. Nothing wrong with that.

Also, Disney said once (forgot where/when, sorry) that Anna is 18 and Elsa is 21. The ages of the princesses has always been known, even if it wasn't confirmed in the dialogue of the movie/musical (for example, Snow White is 14, Ariel is 16, etc.). Elsa is dark and brooding, so she could be a little older, but Anna is cute and naïve, which is something a 38-year-old will have trouble playing no matter what. Murin is a talent and she would've been perfect for this 10 years ago. To me, it's as if Disney didn't want to take any chance with fresh faces (or an interesting director, for that matter) and went the easy way out. Which they've done before (Sierra Boggess), so I don't know why this time seemed different.

[Tennis Fan]

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO there was a thread about FROZEN'S Denver tryout, specifically about how LET IT GO was staged with what was supposed to be elegant simplicity -- yet the streamlined concept backfired.  IIRC, the singer simply sang LET IT GO before a curtain of snowflakes & the effect was underwhelming instead of a WOW showstopper.

HAS LET IT GO's understated staging changed from its Denver tryout several months ago?? An out-of-towner wants to know!

 

[Elegance101]

Tennis Fan said: "HAS LET IT GO's understated staging changed from its Denver tryout several months ago?? An out-of-towner wants to know!"

It has not.

 

[CallMeAl2]

Put Frozen 2 on stage instead. We've seen the movie - we don't need to see the same story crippled by the lack of animation. As Sondheim said, "Give us something new". Then there is no apples to apples comparison.

That said, this kind of risky creative approach is anathema to the Walt Disney Corporation. Robert Iger's approach is to never create anything when you can buy or reuse an existing property. 

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

They should have mined more from the melancholy elements of Elsa and Anna's relationship.

The movie's middle section is the weakest part of Frozen. After Let it Go which is phenomenal, the story becomes very meh until the climax and end which is great. 

I think that's the biggest difference I see with Frozen next to every other Disney Broadway adaptation. Even the most mediocre adaptations the story was already SO strong. Frozen is flawed but there are so many charming elements in the animation, the flaws don't stand out as much.

When you take away gorgeous cgi and swirling exciting ice magic, the story's problems are more apparent.

Oh and the new songs. Disappointing. Really disappointing. 

These songwriters are much much better than this, the new songs feel like a rush job.

[BwayLB]

CallMeAl2 said: "Put Frozen 2 on stage instead. We've seen the movie - we don't need to see the same story crippled by the lack ofanimation. As Sondheim said, "Give us something new". Then there is no apples to apples comparison.

That said, this kind of risky creative approach is anathema to the Walt Disney Corporation. Robert Iger's approach is to never create anything when you can buy or reuse an existing property."

I don't always trust Bob Iger either. But I still watch Disney stuff. The story will decide if I'm excited for Frozen 2