"We are born in ice and snow, with rain and snow falling ceaselessly in the mountains."
"The vast army of snow gatherers extracts and removes the solid ice from our hearts."
"Beautiful, dangerous, mesmerizing, crystalline—there is ample charm within the ice and snow."
"Break through the solid ice in your heart, for love, charge towards fear."
At the ArcLight Cinema, as the opening of frozen was presented to the audience, many people shared the same feeling.
"Mom, that snowflake looks so real, it's so beautiful."
"It is indeed extremely beautiful, much prettier than the scenes in the polar express, it's almost like two different experiences."
"Dad, is it a musical, a Disney movie?"
"No, this is an MGM movie, but it really looks like Disney's style."
"Disney style, interesting. MGM actually did what Disney should have done. Is this a provocation?"
"Probably not. frozen was greenlit very early, production started over a year ago. At that time, MGM and The Big Six hadn't started their war yet."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Eric Cooper started Facebook last year. Who knew he would break ties with The Big Six then? But now Facebook and YouTube have become his important promotional tools. Perhaps he had been planning everything all along."
"You're making him out to be too mysterious. Let's watch the movie, I still need to post my review."
"Do you think if frozen succeeds, Disney's expression will be very unpleasant?"
"Heh heh. If I were Michael Eisner, I would definitely be furious."
The camera zoomed in, focusing on a sleeping little girl. She had white hair and lay quietly on her side.
Then, a red-haired little girl clumsily climbed onto the bed and started pulling her sister, just like children in real life.
Audience members who had seen the trailer naturally knew these were the young Elsa and Anna, two sisters.
Their skin looked soft and supple, and their eyes, movements, and expressions all appeared very coordinated, once again causing many viewers who had seen the polar express to exclaim in admiration.
The two sisters played ice and snow games in the palace, and Elsa was seen using her magic.
Many viewers who had read the original story immediately understood that she would become the Snow Queen.
"I'm telling you, this white-haired character will turn into the evil Snow Queen, and she'll freeze everything with her magic," an older sister told her younger sibling.
"You mean Elsa will become a bad guy?"
"Yes, just like the Evil Queen in Snow White."
"But she looks so cute, and Anna is cute too."
"Just wait and see, she'll definitely turn into a bad guy. I've read the storybook."
The mother gently patted the older sister, signaling her to shut up and not spoil it.
At this moment, on the big screen, Elsa accidentally injured her sister Anna with magic, knocking her unconscious.
"See, I told you she'd turn bad. Now Elsa messed up."
"Quiet, darling, don't disturb others."
"Okay, Dad, but the story will definitely unfold just as I said."
Due to her inability to control her magic, and to avoid harming others, the King could only dismiss the servants, leaving only a few people living in the vast castle.
And the two sisters could no longer play together as usual; Elsa hid herself in Room.
Even after her parents' accident, she still didn't come out.
In the scene, separated by a door, Elsa, dressed in mourning clothes, sat on the floor back-to-back with Anna.
Both sisters shed tears, and many viewers felt a pang of sadness seeing this scene.
Arendelle Castle had always restricted outsiders, and many years passed this way, until Elsa came of age and it was time for her coronation as Queen.
Today was a grand occasion, and the castle could no longer remain closed; subjects and guests had to be invited in.
From a wide overhead perspective, the full panorama of Arendelle was revealed to the audience for the first time.
"Wow. What beautiful scenery, where was this shot?" Nicole asked softly.
"Norway. Dozens of people went to Norway for a month on a business trip, and then created the appearance of Arendelle."
"Are you sure it wasn't a publicly funded vacation?"
"Perhaps, but you also have to give employees some benefits. To bring frozen to this level in a year and a half, everyone was exhausted and put in a lot of effort."
"You're a good boss, you know how to think of your employees."
"Heh heh. If you want the donkey to pull the mill, you have to feed it hay, right?"
"Norway, it's truly beautiful. How about we go there to see it, to travel?"
"Okay, when should we go?"
"Actually, I'd rather take the children to see the scenery together."
Eric's eyes instantly widened: "When did that happen? That's too fast."
"What are you thinking? Even if there was, you couldn't test it now. I'm just expressing a beautiful wish."
"Then can I also make a wish?"
"Go ahead."
"If we're going, we should all go together. We can't play favorites, right?"
"If you can convince the four of them, I can accept it too."
Soon, Prince Hans appeared, having an awkward yet sweet encounter with Anna.
The audience immediately understood: a classic prince-and-princess meet-cute, surely followed by Elsa turning evil and the prince saving the princess.
As the coronation ceremony began, the musical numbers made the story even more joyful.
And Anna, this naive and sweet princess, actually wanted to marry Prince Hans, whom she had only just met.
However, her rashness also stemmed from a long period of not receiving affection.
After all, she had always wanted to be closer to her sister, but Elsa, fearing she might hurt her, consistently refused.
For girls who have long suffered from a lack of love, it's easiest to be swayed by a little kindness.
As the older sister, Elsa naturally couldn't allow her to be so rash, leading to a fierce argument between the two sisters. Anna accidentally pulled off Elsa's glove, which suppressed her magic.
For years, Elsa had always hidden in her room, and her magic grew stronger with age.
But due to lack of practice, coupled with her fear of magic, her control was even weaker than in childhood.
In her agitation, magic surged forth, terrifying everyone, injuring many, and plunging all of Arendelle into a frozen kingdom.
She fled in a panic, like a startled deer, wanting only to escape quickly.
Seeing her sister flee in terror, Anna realized she had made a mistake and rode Hans's horse, chasing her into the deep mountains.
And before leaving, she temporarily entrusted the governance of Arendelle to Hans, a decision that once again proved her naive sweetness.
At this point, the movie was half an hour in, and with the Queen finally about to transform into a major boss, many bored viewers finally perked up.
Although the visuals were exquisitely detailed, aside from the visuals, the old-fashioned plot in the early stages failed to capture the interest of even many children.
On the big screen, an extremely long-distance long shot, almost impossible to achieve in a live-action film, was presented to the audience.
The camera slowly approached, finally focusing on Elsa, walking amidst the swirling ice and snow.
She was alone, set against the vast valley and the deep sky, creating both a natural stage and making Elsa appear pitiful and helpless.
At this moment, the BGM began. Unlike the a cappella singing of the previous musical numbers, this was the first time BGM appeared in the movie.
Celine Dion's impassioned rendition of "Let It Go" began to play.
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the Queen
Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
I'm never going back, the past is in the past
I'll rise like the break of dawn
That perfect girl is gone
Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway
At this moment, "Let It Go" played simultaneously in tens of thousands of cinemas in over thirty countries worldwide.
Celine Dion's singing was like arrows, piercing deep into the hearts of all viewers.
Whether you were American, Chinese, European, Southeast Asian, Indian, or Arab.
Everyone felt that penetrating cry, as if it was liberating one's soul.
Amidst the song, Elsa cast aside the gloves that bound her, discarded the cape behind her, and finally threw away the crown symbolizing the Queen's power. She chose to embrace herself, to accept herself.
Here, magic was no longer a monster that harmed others, but a shining star in the night.
Elsa unfastened her cape, as if unlocking her closed-off self.
She stepped onto a levitating staircase made of magic, running with both trepidation and joy towards the higher mountaintop, a smile gracing her face, as if she had found her true self.
As Celine Dion's high note arrived, the ice castle also rose from the ground, its magnificent ice palace shocking everyone's senses.
With Elsa's forceful stomp, a giant frosty snowflake appeared beneath her feet.
When her blue dress turned icy white, the emotional climax was completely reached.
Many viewers felt a sense of out-of-body experience, as if they had seen the most beautiful thing in the world.
The film critics present had even confirmed in their hearts: next year's Oscar, "Let It Go" is a sure win!
A three-minute solo dance by Elsa completely revealed the girl's inner world to the audience.
From repression to liberation, from hiding to standing in the sunlight, she grew into the Snow Queen.
"OMG! Mom, I think I'm in love with this evil queen."
"She's not evil, Juliet, at least not yet. Elsa was just forced, don't be influenced by old stories."
"Holy cow! This song is too good, I feel like my skull is about to fly off."
"Hehe. Brother, don't you regret coming to the movie with me?"
"Sugoi! Although Spirited Away won the Oscar, our animation still has a big gap compared to Hollywood."
"Shimatta, I feel like my whole being has been sublimated, smida!"
"О ч е н ь х о р о ш о!"
"!"
After this song, the attention of all the audience members was completely captivated. They watched the big screen intently, afraid of missing a single detail.
The scene shifted to Princess Anna, who met the farm boy Kristoff in the snowy mountains, and the two journeyed together.
They endured wolf attacks and various disasters, and also encountered a talking snowman, Olaf.
Olaf was clearly modeled after the snowman the two sisters built as children, and the appearance of this little character brought more laughter to the cinema.
Eventually, they found Elsa's ice castle, but the two sisters argued again. Elsa didn't want to go back to being the monster in the eyes of the world.
During the argument, she accidentally struck Anna's heart again, forcing the two of them to leave her.
After diagnosis by the trolls, it was revealed that someone struck in the heart could only be healed by true love, so Kristoff could only take Anna to find Prince Hans.
But Prince Hans also brought people to the fortress and deceived Elsa with words, capturing her.
The original frozen had a point that many people criticized: Prince Hans's transition from good to bad was too abrupt.
Although he seemed a bit greasy in the early stages, he was still brave and resourceful, and dared to fight the snow monster. By all accounts, he appeared to be a gentleman.
Yet, in just a few words, he turned into the big villain. The lack of a smooth transition in between left many viewers unconvinced.
This impression arose because the creators buried Hans's treachery too deeply.
For example, he was overly enthusiastic when he first met Anna.
When Arendelle was first frozen, Anna was clearly cold, but Hans saw her and didn't take off his coat to give to her.
There was also a crucial scene in the ice palace battle, when the crossbow bolt was shot at Elsa.
It seemed Hans saved Elsa, but in reality, before saving her, he had already glanced at the hanging lamp above, and then Elsa was struck.
However, these details were too subtly hidden; almost no one noticed them on the first viewing, which led many people to believe that Hans's transformation was too abrupt.
Eric adapted this, adding more shots that highlighted Hans's treachery.
A large portion of the audience for this film consists of teenagers and children. Why play subtle games? To get high box office numbers, everyone needs to understand it.
Finally, Anna turned into an ice sculpture to protect her sister, and just when everyone thought Kristoff would save Anna with true love, it turned out that Elsa saved her sister.
Love was no match for familial affection, once again subverting the traditional fairy tale.
When the two sisters said "I love you" to each other, many adult viewers and film critics had a strange feeling.
The affection between these two sisters seemed excessively strong, and who wrote the dialogue? Why did it always feel a little… that way?
You ask, which way?
It's… it's that lesbian kind of feeling.
And as the end credits song began, Celine Dion once again sang "Let It Go," and the production team credits rolled.
Elsa CV: Ashley Olsen.
Anna CV: Mary Olsen.
Screenwriter: Eric Cooper.
Many people almost spat out a mouthful of blood. No wonder there was such a strange feeling—it was all your doing, young man!
Eric's mind replayed the scene after the voice acting session that day, when the three of them immediately got into a brawl.