DVDizzy Forum

Sounds like this'll be just like Jungle Book as far as adaptations go, unless this curse involves an evil mirror and trolls and stuff.

Wow,

This is gonna be great!... And it's a musical! Sweet.

FigmentJedi wrote:Sounds like this'll be just like Jungle Book as far as adaptations go, unless this curse involves an evil mirror and trolls and stuff.

Cue Duster in 3... 2....1... and GO.

estefan wrote:So, "Frozen" will indeed by a musical with Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (of Winnie the Pooh) writing the songs.

Major disappointment. I was hoping Alan Menken would do it. It's not that the Lopezes can't do a good job, it's just that it seems quite unfair and inconsiderate (dare I say ungrateful?) on Disney's behalf since not only did Menken write the songs of their only recent hit (Tangled), but he has already worked hard on two different incarnations of the tale for Disney (the Tokyo DisneySea version, and the recently-scrapped 2D film version).

^Maybe he read all the comments on UD about how lackluster the soundtrack for Tangled was and just didn't have the stomach for it anymore

(For the record, I love the soundtrack for Tangled. It wasn't my favorite, but I liked it better than The Princess and the Frog - though I'm just commenting as to my personal preferences here and not intending to get into the artistic merits of either or both soundtracks)

Sotiris wrote: Major disappointment. I was hoping Alan Menken would do it. It's not that the Lopez can't do a good job (I find their work descent -- still they don't have Menken's credentials or versatility)

Two of Lopez's stage shows have been massively acclaimed and popular Broadway hits and both won the Best Musical Tony. I think that's enough to give him plenty of potential.

From The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q only, both hilarious and yet poignant musicals, I personally consider Robert Lopez to be the most talented song-writer on Broadway today. So it's exciting to see him write the songs for another Disney musical.

Also I don't think Menken is that upset. He has a good number of stage shows in the works right now and three are currently playing on Broadway, one of which is based on a flop movie he was involved with and he just won a Tony for. Menken doesn't need to write every single Disney musical. It's good to have some variety, otherwise we might not have not gotten Elton John's excellent Lion King soundtrack or (at least, I think so) Randy Newman's fantastic songs in The Princess and the Frog.

I was sceptical for Newman on PatF but it turned out that I liked PatF's OST much more than Tangled's so...

While I don't wish to disrespect Alan Menken, I'm quite happy that Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez are going to be on this project. It's pretty clear that the Lopezes are wonderful songwriters, and it's good to get some new blood into the game. It'd probably also give them greater exposure than a Pooh movie or a theme-park musical ever could.

The casting of Idina Menzel also sounds pretty cool. She's a very talented woman, and an animated musical would be a great vehicle for her. Now all they need to do is call the movie The Snow Queen again. And maybe change the names of Anna and Kristoff back to Kai and Gerda.

It seems that Menken was rightly disappointed with Disney. They are not offering him any new projects, film or otherwise. All projects he has previously attached to were either cancelled or he ended up being replaced.

Enchanted 2 and the live-action version of Beauty & the Beast were both cancelled, the musical series for ABC he was to write with David Zippel was not picked up while the fate of the stage version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame still remains unknown as there hasn't been any sign of progress in years.

Even for the stage version of Newsies, it was Menken who insisted on being involved. Disney was going to produce a stock & amateur version and wanted to bring a new composer to write additional songs but Menken wouldn't have it.

They are not appreciating him enough. That's why he's collaborating with DreamWorks Animation now. This is the second project they have replaced him on in recent years. He was initially attached to do The Princess and the Frog and got replaced by Randy Newman and now he is being replaced by Robert Lopez on Snow Queen.

I wouldn't be against this if Disney had offered Robert Lopez a new, different project but being replaced after working for so long on this project is no short of insulting.

DisneyDude2010 wrote:Idina Menzel AHHHHHHHH!
omg omg omg omg omg omg omg......
yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay yay


I am literally so happy, she is such a unique talent and I am really glad Disney have chosen her as I believe she is great to play a Disney Animated Character.

I'm right there with you! I love Idina Menzel and it's great to know that she'll be in another Disney film. I don't know much about this project (I haven't had the time to keep track of everything that's been going on), but I'm super stoked that Menzel's going to be in a Disney film. I loved her in Rent and Wicked; plus I've seen her at the Cincinnati Pops a year and a half ago and she was spectacular live, so I'm now highly excited for this film.

wonderlicious wrote:While I don't wish to disrespect Alan Menken, I'm quite happy that Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez are going to be on this project. It's pretty clear that the Lopezes are wonderful songwriters, and it's good to get some new blood into the game.

I agree, and also with what estefan said. I'm only speculating but perhaps the songs that Alan Menken had written for the previous versions of the film weren't very good and that's why they've gone with different songwriters...either way I liked what the Lopezes did in Winnie the Pooh and I'm sure they'll do a great job again in Frozen.

All in all, I think the casting and this news of the plot changes make Frozen sound very promising. I'm not a fan of musicals or Glee but judging by the reaction I've seen to her casting, Idina Menzel sounds like a very good choice for the role of the Snow Queen.

Its subjective of course, but Menken hasn't written anything truly great for Disney since 1998. There were cute songs in both Enchanted and Tangled but they didn't live up to his prior contributions. I used to be a big advocate of his, but I'd rather he leave his legacy at Disney and move on.

I can't fathom why Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman haven't been brought onto a Disney project yet. Their songs for Smash are comparable with some of Disney's best. Gorgeous, memorable melodies and very witty lyrics.

Disney replaces people on their projects all of the time. Even as far as the '60s, Walt Disney replaced Terry Gilkyson with the Sherman Brothers on The Jungle Book (though "The Bare Necessities" still made it in). Marc Shaiman wrote an entire score for The Emperor's New Groove, only to be replaced by John Debney at the very last minute. And they're constantly switching up directors. Despite Jan Pinkava's co-director credit, almost all of Ratatouille is Brad Bird's doing. Wreck-It Ralph and The Emperor's New Groove were also being worked on by different directors.

And Disney is not the only studio to do this, as it's a regular occurrence in Hollywood. Gendy Tarvakovsky is the eighth director or so to helm the upcoming Hotel Transylvania. Superman Returns took so many years to get made, because so many directors and writers were attached and then de-attached from the movie, including Tim Burton, Kevin Smith and JJ Abrams. However, probably the most famous example is Eric Stoltz filming almost all of his scenes in Back to the Future...only to be replaced by Michael J Fox. And those are only a couple of times it's happened.

I personally think Alan Menken can do no wrong, but if Chris Buck and John Lasseter think The Lopez Duo is a better choice, well, we'll see how the final film turns out. Robert Lopez has already shown he can write a fantastic and heartfelt "I Want" song.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PnIvvOmikko?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Now all we need now is the Snow Queen purists coming to form an angry mob.I mean they have now changed the main character from Gerda to Anna.Kai is now revamped into some other character as well.I have a feeling the more hard core feminists would like the change because now Anna is doing this to save the land instead of looking for a man.More reasonable feminists would like the fact that there is another strong female lead.Yeah,in my opinion there is a difference between reasonable feminists and hardcore feminists.

I just wonder if they are going to make the Snow Queen into a AntiVillian or pure evil Villian.

Disney seems to deviate more from the original tale with Frozen than they did with Tangled.

Kristen Bell will star as Anna, a young girl who ventures to find Snow Queen (Idina Menzel) and end the perpetual winter that has fallen over their mythical kingdom. Still uncast in the movie is the role of the leading man, Kristoff, a mountain climber who leads Anna on her quest through snowy peaks and dangerous cliffs to find the legendary Snow Queen.

Source: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/06/11/d ... ated-tale/


What's still unclear is whether there will be a romance between Anna and Kristoff. Anna has been reported to be a child and not a teen or an adult while Kristoff seems to be much older (assuming with him being a mountain climber and all).

I was able to see some production art for this at SIGGRAPH this year, although they might change some things from production to final film obviously.

Gerda was a younger girl (not a teen) with dark tan/brown Caucasian skin and brown hair. Eyes were brown too. We got to see two magical old ladies, one tall, one short concocting some magic.

Source: http://d-princesses.livejournal.com/124 ... d=14233538


I also found something else although I'm unsure if it holds any merit:

Kristin Bell is set to voice the lead in FROZEN, an animated musical about a young woman, cursed by her evil sister who must traverse treacherous territory to melt her frozen heart.

Source: http://www.tracking-board.com/tb-exclus ... many-more/

Sotiris wrote:What's still unclear is whether there will be a romance between Anna and Kristoff. Anna has been reported to be a child and not a teen or an adult while Kristoff seems to be much older (assuming with him being a mountain climber and all).

I would guess that Anna is a teenager and there will be a romance between her and Kristoff. Perhaps she was a younger girl in previous versions of the film but I'd be surprised if she was younger than the likes of Ariel and Rapunzel.

Sotiris wrote:I also found something else although I'm unsure if it holds any merit:

Quote:
Kristin Bell is set to voice the lead in FROZEN, an animated musical about a young woman, cursed by her evil sister who must traverse treacherous territory to melt her frozen heart.

The Disney press release corresponds with what's been reported today:

In “Frozen,” a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, so Anna (voice of Bell) must team up with Kristoff, a daring mountain man, on the grandest of journeys to find the Snow Queen (voice of Menzel) and put an end to the icy spell. Encountering Everest-like extremes, mystical creatures and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.

The Snow Queen's name will be Elsa according to the press release:

Walt Disney Animation Studios presents an epic tale of adventure and comedy in "Frozen," a computer-animated feature film slated for the big screen in November 2013. Directed by Chris Buck and produced by Peter Del Vecho, "Frozen" features the vocal talents of film/TV/stage star Kristen Bell as Anna, a young dreamer about to take the adventure of a lifetime, and Tony Award®-winning actress Idina Menzel as Elsa the Snow Queen. The movie will feature original songs by Broadway greats Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

In "Frozen," a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, so Anna (voice of Bell) must team up with Kristoff, a daring mountain man, on the grandest of journeys to find the Snow Queen (voice of Menzel) and put an end to the icy spell. Encountering Everest-like extremes, mystical creatures and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.

Source: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=91379

Man,I can just see the pitchforks and torches now when the angry mob comes to the Disney Studio claiming that they have ruined one of the greatiest fairty tales in the world.

I have a feeling that Walt Disney himself would have approved because in my opinion if a story from the orginal tale won't work then why not have fun with it and change it to your own liking.

So,the Snow Queen has a name now well this will be interesting and probably set it apart from that Russian version of the Snow Queen.

jazzflower92 wrote:Man,I can just see the pitchforks and torches now when the angry mob comes to the Disney Studio claiming that they have ruined one of the greatiest fairty tales in the world.

I agree and I understand why some might be upset by the changes but this film has been in development at Disney for so long, gone through several re-writes and been shelved more than once so I don't really have a problem with them if they've finally solved the issues that Disney has had in adapting in this fairy tale.

DisneyAnimation88 wrote:

jazzflower92 wrote:Man,I can just see the pitchforks and torches now when the angry mob comes to the Disney Studio claiming that they have ruined one of the greatiest fairty tales in the world.

I agree and I understand why some might be upset by the changes but this film has been in development at Disney for so long, gone through several re-writes and been shelved more than once so I don't really have a problem with them if they've finally solved the issues that Disney has had in adapting in this fairy tale.

Now that I think of it its evolution is really simliar to Tangled's development hell.In fact the story of Rapunzel and The Snow Queen I have heard have been tried since Walt Disney's day to be turned into movies.If they have finally nailed a story then props to them and lets see what is the result.

I also think its evolution is also simliar to The Little Meremaid's.I wonder if there was a big uproar when purists found out how much the stroy had been changed.

So,I think that the Snow Queen will be more of a tragic figure than a villian.Which would be something a little bit more different from Disney.

jazzflower92 wrote:

DisneyAnimation88 wrote: I agree and I understand why some might be upset by the changes but this film has been in development at Disney for so long, gone through several re-writes and been shelved more than once so I don't really have a problem with them if they've finally solved the issues that Disney has had in adapting in this fairy tale.

Now that I think of it its evolution is really simliar to Tangled's development hell.In fact the story of Rapunzel and The Snow Queen I have heard have been tried since Walt Disney's day to be turned into movies.If they have finally nailed a story then props to them and lets see what is the result.

I also think its evolution is also simliar to The Little Meremaid's.I wonder if there was a big uproar when purists found out how much the stroy had been changed.

So,I think that the Snow Queen will be more of a tragic figure than a villian.Which would be something a little bit more different from Disney.

At least Little Mermaid was essentially a brighter and happier version of the story with a sanitized ending. From the sound of Frozen, the only thing that it has in common with the story is a deadly winter and a Snow Queen.