I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving, anyway, with the holiday season upon us, for moviegoers like me, it also means a lot of quality films will be out as well. From family films like 'Coco' (2017) (which this short is attached to), to big event blockbusters like 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' (2017) (which I am really hyped for).
'Olaf's Frozen Adventure' is a harmless family short, something that I think many kids - who love 'Frozen' (2013) - would probably enjoy. The "controversy" (if you can call it that) is that this short film is a whopping 21 minutes long, when we expect to see one that is no more than 5 minutes. This is due to the fact that this was meant to be a TV holiday special, but at the last minute, Disney decided to release this theatrically with 'Coco'.
This is where that "not such a good idea" thing comes in. I enjoyed the 2013, Oscar-winning animated film. I rated it 9/10 on my IMDb account, which is the same rating I gave to other Disney classics from 'Pinocchio' (1940), to 'The Lion King' (1994), and even 'Zootopia' (2016). I also enjoyed the 2015 short film 'Frozen Fever' as it does keep my nieces and nephews quiet when they're unsettled.
I guess the main issue I have with this is that, it would be better if it aired on TV, and that, well... the "Frozen Mania" can only last so long before it - no pun intended - melts away. Especially since the highly anticipated sequel is set to be released in 2019. Just two years away. It's pretty clear that Disney is using everything they can to make 'Frozen' as profitable and relevant as possible. Then again, as a 'Star Wars' fan, they're milking that franchise too, especially the Marvel films.
In other words, I don't want something like 'Frozen' to become what 'Despicable Me' has for Universal, or what 'Cars' is to Pixar. Those films were made to sell toys with their sequels, and people quickly got sick of them. Remember when 'Despicable Me' (2010) was popular?
Anyway, 'Olaf's Frozen Adventure' is harmless enough to keep your kids entertained... but is it as bad as... say... The 'Star Wars' holiday special? Not quite... but it's close to that if you're a massive 'Frozen' fan. The story does feel a little repetitive with the whole "Elsa feels guilty of not spending ten annual holidays with Anna because she shut the door on her face", they did this with 'Frozen Fever' on Anna's birthday. Josh Gad does what he can as the voice of Olaf, but giving him center stage is about as good of an idea as doing the same with Jeff Goldblum in 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' (1997), or Dory in 'Finding Dory' (2016). They're not annoying, they're just better off as side characters to keep the comedy minimal.
Take what you can about this review... if the length dismays you, just think, you could be watching 'The Emoji Movie', which is more than an hour longer than this. So, take a second guess before you label this as "torture".
