Frozen is a wildly amusing Disney computer-animated movie, with a plot that resembles the classic princess movies but contains a unique twist of its own. The movie centers on the journeys of two princesses: Anna, an energetic and believable character voiced by Kristen Bell, and Elsa, who has magic ice powers, voiced by Idina Menzel.

The movie begins as the sisters’ close relationship is torn apart when Elsa almost kills Anna while playing with her developing powers. The girls’ parents make the brutal decision to keep Elsa’s power a secret, to erase the memory of magic from Anna’s mind, and to essentially isolate the princesses from the village they live in.

The movie’s plot is initially similar to that of Tangled, a comparable computer animated Disney princess movie. From the very beginning it establishes itself as an outstanding musical. Anna sings the adorable “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” song as her relationship with her sister becomes more and more distant, but she doesn’t relent in her touching requests to build snowman. The two sisters’ lives change when their parents are killed in a shipwreck, and the gates of the castle must open so that Elsa can undergo her initiation ceremony to become queen. Anna, like Rapunzel in Tangled, is ecstatic to become a part of the world she has missed out on, and finds a dashing fiancé almost immediately.

However, Elsa’s initiation ceremony doesn’t go quite as planned, and the plot takes an enjoyable twist away from the predictable storyline that was found in Tangled. Elsa flees into the forest, and Anna pursues her in an attempt to both save her sister and unfreeze the summer.

Anna’s perilous journey through the winter quickly becomes exciting and hilarious as she encounters several memorable characters along the way: Kristoff, an initially begrudging and enjoyably imperfect character, his pet reindeer Sven, and a hilariously oblivious talking snowman named Olaf.

Frozen, like many Disney movies, is a musical, but its songs are surprisingly well written, nicely sung, and not at all cringe-worthy. The characters are well animated and purposely flawed, making them more believable and entertaining to watch. Frozen illustrates the progress that Disney is making in computer animated fairy tales. The company is slowly learning that as animation becomes more realistic, the characters must also gain more depth in order for the movie to be a success. Although Frozen in many ways parallels Tangled in scenery, plot, and visual design, Frozen’s characters are more genuine in their actions, making the film as a whole far more enjoyable than its counterpart.

Frozen is a fun movie for all ages, with characters anyone can identify with, and a plot worth following. I can truthfully say that for once, I took my nine year old sister to see a movie, and I enjoyed it nearly as much as she did.