The Huntsman: Winter's War is a mixed prequel/sequel

Movie Title:  The Huntsman: Winter's War

Grade:  B

Rating:  PG-13, 2 hours 3 minutes

In a Nutshell:    This ain’t no Frozen Film critics are ripping this prequel/sequel to shreds, but I actually enjoyed it.  There is some humor, adventure, great CGI, beautiful landscapes, fun action sequences and even romance.

Sure, the story is a little messy and uneven, but it’s still entertaining and visually stunning, especially if you liked Snow White & The Huntsman .  It has more enchanted charm than the first one, even if it’s a sequel that viewers never asked for.

 Uplifting theme: 

• “Love doesn’t make you weak.  It’s all that ever gave me strength.” – Eric/The Huntsman
• What does the mirror show YOU?
• What is the source of YOUR power?
• “Love conquers all…so I’ve heard.” – Queen Freya   (It really does.)
• Jealousy and revenge hurt you more than the other person.

Things I liked:

• The majority of the CGI is really impressive.  Some of it is fake looking (the fog on people's breath), but most of it is really good and believable.  I thought it was cool (pun intended) how there are delicate snowflakes in the air wherever Queen Freya stands.
• The musical score by James Newton Howard is really good, noticeably good.
• I could watch Charlize Theron all day long.  I think she’s absolutely beautiful…the fairest of them all. Unfortunately, the story about how she comes back to life is a bit weak and vague. Who cares though, really?  We get to see Charlize in beautiful gowns looking wicked and glamorous.
•  I loved the river scene with the sprites and the enchanted forest scenes with the fairies.  Adorable turtle covered in moss.  (You might miss him if you're not paying attention to the background.) The film is from the same producer who worked on Maleficent and has that same feel.  You can read my movie review for Maleficent here.
• The dwarves offer plenty of comic relief.
• You get to learn a little bit more about Eric/the Huntsman and his back story. Chris Hemsworth works his charm and even has some funny lines.  I don't remember him talking with a Scottish accent in the first film, but he lays it on pretty thick in this one.
• I really like the title "Winter's War".  It refers to the coldness of heart and the internal battle between good and evil, love and hate, as well as the actual snowy winter scenes where battles are fought in the movie.

Things I didn’t like:

• They talk about Snow White, but you only get to see her from the back.  Apparently, Kristen Stewart didn’t want to have anything to do with this film, so they used a body double.
• I really like Emily Blunt, but her portrayal as Queen Freya was a bit...shall we say...cold?  She has a new movie coming out in October called The Girl on the Train  
• Lots of leather.  Lots.  Some of the clothing looked like new, fresh costumes and should have been messed up a little bit to look more authentic.  Queen Freya and the Evil Queen look wonderful.
• There is a fight scene in a tavern that has good action, but it’s filmed too close, so you can’t see everything that’s going on.  It has no music in the background, just fight noises, which actually was an interesting sound choice.
• Like Maleficent , the protagonist could teach young girls an important lesson in personal empowerment, yet becomes completely unhinged and evil because of a man who betrayed her.  Not exactly a good role model for our daughters.
• The beginning and end feel a bit heavy, but the middle feels like a magical adventure.

Funny lines:

• “This is the worst plan ever.” – Eric/The Huntsman
• “What are you going to do: take on two evil sisters and their entire armies?” – Sara (Jessica Chastain)

“Yeah, pretty much.” – Eric/Huntsman

Interesting lines:

• “Men have forgotten what it means to be afraid.” – Queen Freya
• “You may know much, Ravenna, but you do not know all.” – Queen Freya

“I’m afraid I do.” – Ravenna

• “If she could not raise a child, she would raise an army.” – narrator who is the wonderful Liam Neeson
• “In my kingdom, there is but one law: do not love.  It is a sin.” – Queen Freya

Tips for parents:   

•  Some profanity, as well as "colorful" Scottish insults
• The goblins might scare very young children
• There are some inappropriate sexual innuendoes, but they’re subtle and will probably fly over most kids’ heads.  There are two scenes when sex is implied, but you don’t really see anything.

Planes: Fire and Rescue doesn't reach movie altitude

Movie Title:  Planes: Fire & Rescue

PG, 1 hour 24 minutes

Grade:  C+

In a Nutshell:  You know when you make a Xerox copy of another actual Xerox copy and the quality gets worse each time?  That’s kind of this movie. The first Planes movie was a spinoff of the successful Cars franchise, but landed with a thud.  So what’s a movie studio to do?  Make a sequel!  No doubt the merchandising for little boys will be big.

For a movie about airplanes, it just doesn’t quite reach the altitude we all wish it did.

If your kids loved the first Planes, then go for it; you’re in for more of the same.  If you and your kids were bored out of your minds the first time around, skip this one.  You can read my movie review from the first Planes movie here.  Go watch Frozen again.

Uplifting theme: 

• Heroism
• Friendship
• Responsibility

Things I liked:

• Every animated film is better with the awesome voice talents of Patrick Warburton. Seriously.  Put him in everything.
•  The scenery was beautiful as “we” flew over deserts, mountains, and meadows.
• It’s better than the first Planes , but that still doesn’t make it an actual good movie.
• It’s definitely geared towards the tots.   
• It’s always fun to hear the lovable voice of John Ratzenberger.

Things I didn’t like:

• There were quite a few sexual innuendos intended to entertain parents, such as “How’d you like to rub tires?” and “We wore off the treads on our honeymoon” and “Yeah, they’re real.”    Not classy.
• I love Modern Family’s Julie Bowen and was happy to hear her voice the character of Dipper.  Unfortunately, I didn’t like Dipper at all.  She’s an airplane who constantly throws herself at Dusty for some cheap laughs.  Great role model for little girls, eh?
• I’m kinda tired of the obligatory fart jokes in lil tyke flicks.
• I got a little dizzy with some of the aerial dips and tricks.
• The most emotional scene was one with two old RV’s who expressed their love for each other.  Sweet, right?  Well, yeah, except their loving words were spoken in between inappropriate sexual innuendos and winks towards the parents. 

Did you notice?

• The planes and cars watched a “George Lexus” movie.   (George Lucas)
• Later they watched “CHoPs”..."139 episodes of lawbreaking love".... like the old CHiPs: The Complete First & Second Seasons .

Funny lines:

• “It’s a mysterious mystery.” – little bulldozer
• “This is so exciting, I’m going to overheat.” – random car in a group scene

Tips for parents:   I thought some of the fire scenes were scary and could frighten little ones.  Otherwise, the movie is mostly harmless fun.

Rio 2 movie review from a tired mom

Movie Title:  Rio 2

G, 1 hour 41 minutes

Grade:   C+

In a Nutshell:   Forgettable.  Young children will be entertained, although the 4 year old sitting behind me kept asking his mother “Can we go home?”  That’s a not a good sign coming from the target audience. 

Theme: 

• Birds of a feather flock together?
• Humans are evil and destroy the planet.  (I’m getting really tired of hearing that from every movie I see lately.)
• Brazil is always ready for a party.

Things I liked:

• The colors are bright and fun, like watching a box of Fruit Loops explode on the big screen.
• I loved all the Brazilian tropical fruits, nuts, plants, and local products on display.
• The animation of the water in the Amazon River looked terrific.
• The only scene that made me laugh out loud was the talent show audition scene. 
• I thought all of the hats Nico tried on were cute.  I’m assuming Jamie Foxx’s character had a larger role in the first Rio?  I never saw it.
• Jesse Eisenberg is capable of playing smooth geniuses (The Social Network and Now You See Me ), as well as unconfident underdogs.
• Beautiful aerial views of Brazil.  I loved the montage of paper pop-up maps as they traveled through the landscapes and cities.  It makes me want to plan a trip to the country.
• The feathers on all of the birds’ heads were well designed and allowed the characters to distinguish their personalities one from the other.  The beaks also had impressive detail.
• There is a sleepy sloth who sings super fast rap.  Have you ever heard a sloth squeak in real life?  Totally adorable.
• I thought the Capoeira turtles were hilarious.  Check out this video about Brazilian Capoeira.

Things I didn’t like:

• I never saw the first Rio .  There is a quick flashback from the first movie to let you know why the cockatiel has a grudge against Blu, but I still felt like I was missing something…like why the first one was popular.  There are minor characters in this movie that were obviously carried over from the first, but since I hadn’t seen the first one, I didn’t feel a bond with them.  Their roles are not that strong in the sequel and didn’t add much to the story. 
• Many of the actors were underutilized, especially the terrific singing talents of Kristen Chenowith, Jamie Fox, Anne Hathaway, and will.i.am.  There were several songs, but most of them were too short for children to fall in love with or know how to sing them at home (like everyone is STILL doing with the soundtrack from Frozen .)  I couldn’t understand the lyrics in the “big” musical number sung by all the birds, making it even more difficult for the audience to leave the theater repeating them.  Kristen Chenoweth’s song was quite operatic, something a little girl is probably not going to be able to duplicate very well.  Her character’s little frog mouth had cute vibrato while she was singing though and I could hear children in the audience repeating her occasional funny lines.  This little lethal lover is sure to be the standout of the movie with children who beg for movie merchandising.   Bruno Mars sings, but it lasts less than 30 seconds as well.  With all this voice and singing talent, why didn’t director Carlos Saldanha really take advantage of it?
• Monkeys are usually scene stealers, but in this movie they’re not even cute.
• I can’t stand all that disgusting drool on the dog.  Why would anyone want a dog that salivates that much all over anything?  The animation was good though.
• The anteater’s tongue was pretty gross.  Cleverly used throughout the movie, but still gross.

Inspiring lines:

• “Happy wife.  Happy life.”    True.  The movie shows the sacrifices Blu is willing to make for his family.  Jewel, his "significant other", scolds him for being selfish, but she doesn't sacrifice a single thing for him in this movie.  It goes both ways to have a happy life.

Funny lines:

• “We’ll attack at the midnight hour, because it’s more evil.”  - Nigel
• We are going to the Amazon…yay!  (Blu)   Pedro says “Like the website?”
• “Wow.  Nigel es muy macho.”  - Gabi
• “I’ll be pooping on your party pronto.” – Nigel
• “It’s a spoon and a fork.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.” – Blu   “Put down the spork.”  - Tiago
• “I love it when you get all dark and brooding.”  - Gabi

Tips for parents:  There isn’t as much adult humor to keep you entertained, as other animated films out there right now, such as Mr. Peabody and Sherman, but you can always get a nap out of it.   I almost dozed off a few times, but maybe I was just tired? There are a couple of jokes about poo, but otherwise, the language is perfectly clean.  Thankfully, nobody flips the bird in this film. Your children will be preached to about environmentalism.  The “camera” zooms in on this “No entrance” sign, which most children won’t understand.  “No entrar” means no entrance in Portuguese.  Now you can tell your kids and they'll think you're super smart.

Veronica Mars fans celebrate KickStarter success

Movie Title:   Veronica Mars

PG-13, 1 hour 48 minutes

Grade:  B+

In a Nutshell:   

Who says you can’t go home? Thanks to Kickstarter, fans of the Veronica Mars TV show finally get to watch a new, extended “episode” of their favorite fast-talking teen-detective, all grown up. The first couple of minutes of the movie sum up the entire Veronica Mars series so newbies can try to keep up.  It even shows screenshots from the original show that ended 7 years ago.  Fans are LOVING the movie.

Snarky Veronica (the talented Kristen Bell who no one knew could sing so beautifully until Frozen came out) is soon to graduate from Stanford law school and begin a “grown up lawyering job”, creating a new life after leaving Neptune, California.  Veronica’s ex-boyfriend, Logan (Jason Dohring), is now an officer and a gentleman, but in a heap of trouble, drawing Neptune’s “very own Angela Lansbury” back to her home town to help him solve a crime.  Upon seeing him in uniform, Veronica tells him “You should only wear this.  Ever.”  Later he sees her dressed in her old high school attire and says the same to her.

Fans will love this movie.  Those being introduced to the characters for the first time will catch on quickly and enjoy the “who dunnit.”

Uplifting theme:   

• Keep a taser in your purse.  (wink)
• Sometimes we leave to find ourselves, only to realize we were in the right place all along.

Things I liked:

• Kudos to Kristen Bell for being featured in two movies in only a few months.
• Tina Majorino’s new grown-up do looks good on her.
• I wish I could spit out clever one-liners as fast as everyone in the movie.

Things I didn’t like:

• That’s pretty convenient that the murder happens around Veronica’s 10 year high school reunion so we can see the old gang again.  About attending the event, Veronica moaned “I circled that date in my calendar ten years ago and vowed to skip it.”  Interestingly enough, everyone wore black at my ten year reunion too.  I think the whole evolution of high school reunions is fascinating.  I missed my 5 year reunion and heard that everyone just got drunk and trashed the hotel.  At my 10 year reunion, some of the social lines began to blur and everyone was trying to prove to everyone else that they were successful.  At my 20^th reunion, everyone talked with everyone and began really opening up, sharing their failures and lessons learned in life.  At my 25^th reunion, it was a big love-fest and celebration of life with everyone hugging and kissing a lot.  I hate to admit I’m getting this old, but at my last reunion (30 years), everyone got drunk and trashed the hotel again.  Ha ha
• I knew for certain that I was missing out on some inside fan jokes since I had only seen a few episodes of the original TV series on UPN years ago.
• Who dates a guy named Piz?

Things to look for:

• Logan’s beach house ON the beach rocks.
• Movie reference to The Accused in the bar scene on Karaoke night.
• Perez Hilton web site
• The Jean Genie clip with James Franco.  James Franco is the new Kevin Bacon; we’re all only 6 people away from him.
• It was fun to see Eden Sher taking a break from her role as Sue Heck, the geeky teenager with braces on the TV sitcom The Middle.  In Veronica Mars, she plays James Franco’s assistant
• Keep watching after the credit rolls for more footage of James Franco trying to put on jeans…but wait, there’s even more at the very end.

Funny lines:

• “New me?  People say I’m a marshmallow.” – Veronica
• When being stopped by the local police, Veronica’s dad explains: “It’s the Neptune way…protecting and serving the highest bidder.”
• “Wow.  Two beers?  That’s how long it takes for you to get surely?”  - Veronica talking to black friend
• “Stay out of the brownies, unless you want to go on a long, strange trip.” – Dick  The attorney says “A little free advice: murder suspect should avoid proximity to narcotics.”   Dick says “Medicine Man, I got my card…chronic depression.  You wouldn’t think, huh?  Mmmm…I can feel my self worth coming back right now.”
• The attorney says “Facts are important.  Yes, but lucky for us, they’re not the end-all, be all.”  Classic attorney, right?
• “What do you expect?  They’re Canadians.” – Logan
• “It’s a one-time deal.  A farewell tour, if you will.  Then again, did you ever hear the one about the junkie who was satisfied with just one more taste of the good stuff?  Neither have I.” – Veronica
• “What’s the largest capacity memory stick we own?” asks Veronica.  Her dad quips “Aw, you wrote that on my first Father’s Day card.
• “Deputy Sacks, kudos for rocking the stash til it came back in style” snarks Veronica to a 70’s looking cop in Neptune.”
• “I really don’t think you should trust her.  She seems kind of skeezy.” – Andrea Estella
• “As it turns out, I am too legit to quit.”  - Veronica
• “I appreciate you keeping it PG-13 for me.” – Logan
• “Come back to me.”  “Always.”  - (No spoiler alert)  Fans will appreciate this scene in a deeper way than newbies.

Tips for parents:  Talk & clip of a sex tape, profanity, 1 F-bomb, murder, shootings, inappropriate sex talk.

2014 Oscar Winner list

I always love the glitz and glamor on the red carpet at the Academy Awards.  You've probably heard by now that Ellen crashed Twitter as she took the world's famous Selfie with a few A-listers during the evening.  What you really want to know is who won, right?
And the Oscar went to ....

Best Picture:

"American Hustle"

"Captain Phillips"

"Dallas Buyers Club"

"Gravity"

"Her"

"Nebraska"

"Philomena"

"12 Years a Slave" WINNER

"The Wolf of Wall Street"


Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips"

Bradley Cooper, "American Hustle"

Jonah Hill, "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Michael Fassbender, "12 Years a Slave"

Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club" WINNER


Best Supporting Actress:

Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine"

Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"

Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years a Slave" WINNER

Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County"

June Squibb, "Nebraska"


Best Director:

David O. Russell, "American Hustle"

Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity" WINNER

Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"

Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"

Martin Scorsese, "The Wolf of Wall Street"


Best Actor:

Christian Bale, "American Hustle"

Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"

Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"

Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyer's Club" WINNER


Best Actress:

Amy Adams, "American Hustle"

Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine" WINNER
Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"

Judi Dench, "Philomena"

Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"



Best Original Screenplay:

"American Hustle"

"Blue Jasmine"

"Dallas Buyers Club"

"Her" WINNER
"Nebraska"


Best Adapted Screenplay:

"Before Midnight"

"Captain Phillips"

"Philomena"

"12 Years a Slave" WINNER

"The Wolf Of Wall Street"

 
Best Animated Feature:

"The Croods"

"Despicable Me 2"

"Ernest & Celestine"

"Frozen" WINNER

"The Wind Rises"


Best Foreign Feature:

"The Broken Circle Breakdown," Belgium

"The Great Beauty," Italy WINNER

"The Hunt," Denmark

"The Missing Picture," Cambodia

"Omar," Palestine


Best Visual Effects:

"Gravity" WINNER

"The Hobbit: The Desolation"

"Iron Man 3"

"The Lone Ranger"

"Star Trek Into Darkness"



Best Cinematography:

"The Grandmaster"

"Gravity" WINNER

"Inside Llewyn Davis"

"Nebraska"

"Prisoners"


Best Costume Design:

"American Hustle"

"The Grandmaster"

"The Great Gatsby" WINNER

"The Invisible Woman"

"12 Years a Slave"


Best Documentary Feature:

"The Act of Killing"

"Cutie and the Boxer"

"Dirty Wars"

"The Square"

"20 Feet from Stardom" WINNER







Best Documentary Short:

"CaveDigger"

"Facing Fear"

"Karama Has No Walls"

"The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life" WINNER

"Prisoner Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall"









Best Film Editing:

"American Hustle"

"Captain Phillips"

"Dallas Buyers Club"

"Gravity" WINNER

"12 Years a Slave"


Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

"Dallas Buyers Club" WINNER

"Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa"

"The Lone Ranger"


Best Music (Original Score):
"The Book Thief"

"Gravity" WINNER
"Her"

"Philomena"

"Saving Mr. Banks"


Best Music (Original Song):

"Alone Yet Not Alone" from "Alone Yet Not Alone"

"Happy" from "Despicable Me"

"Let It Go" from "Frozen" WINNER

"The Moon Song" from "Her"

"Ordinary Love" from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"




Best Production Design:

"American Hustle"

"Gravity"

"The Great Gatsby" WINNER

"Her"

"12 Years a Slave"


Best Short Film, Animated:

"Feral"

"Get a Horse!"

"Mr. Hublot" WINNER

"Possessions"

"Room on the Broom"


Best Short Film, Live Action:

"Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)"

"Avant Que De Tout Perdre" (Just Before Losing Everything)

"Helium" WINNER

" Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa?" (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)

"The Voorman Problem"


Best Sound Editing:

"All Is Lost"

"Captain Phillips"

"Gravity" WINNER

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

"The Lone Survivor"


Best Sound Mixing:
"Captain Phillips"

"Gravity" WINNER

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

"Inside Llewyn Davis"

"Lone Survivor"

Skip the Nut Job

Movie Title:  The Nut Job

Grade: C-

   

In a Nutshell:  Skip it.  When stunning animation movies like Frozen are out in the theaters, why would you waste your time or money on this one?  It’s a meager attempt at following the recipe for a successful kids’ movie.  Young kids may be entertained, but parents will either fall asleep or want to stab a fork in their eyes.

Filled with an unlikeable main character, endless capers, dumb gangster goons, an obligatory dance scene and electrocution moment, and lame lines such as “Let’s not get nutty around here”, this Saturday morning cartoon falls way short of being memorable or magical.

Uplifting theme: It’s important to work together.  Teamwork doesn’t have “I” in it.

Things I liked:        Great voice actors include Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Maya Rudolph, and even ventriloquist Jeff Dunham.  Unfortunately, none of them had good material to work with, so their talents were underutilized. I thought the red cardinal that Racoon carries around was pretty cute and I liked the 3D popcorn popping effect.

Things I didn’t like:  When the writers couldn’t think of clever jokes they just resorted to lots of farting and burping. The animation itself was simply inferior.  The supporting characters lacked visual distinction or interest.  The scary rat gang looked like ugly stuffed animals.

Funny lines:

• “Is that Bubonic Plague you’re wearing?”  - Surly
• “That’s my cologne, made of tree sap and falcon tears.” - Surly

Inspiring lines:

• Hmmmm….can’t think of any.  Pretty sad, right?

Things to look for:

• Baby squirrel sucking its thumb
• Little bird’s trembling lips when the tree burns

Tips for parents:  See something else. 

Frozen will warm your heart

Movie Title:  Frozen

Grade: A+

In a Nutshell:  Magical.  Visually stunning. Old school Disney romance with a modern feel, similar to Tangled.  This one is worth buying on DVD for the fam.  Somehow this is going to be made into a Broadway musical some day, right?  The detail and humor are Disney perfection.

Uplifting theme:  Love IS an open door.  It’s a bit of a dramatic illustration of believing the mistaken notion to “conceal it – don’t feel it.”  Embrace yourself and your unique strengths and weaknesses. Of your worries and stresses - let it go.  Girls, your handsome prince may not wear a suit with epaulets.  Not all Disney villains are evil...some are just misunderstood.

One of the best surprise themes in this Disney heroine/romance movie is that you don't have to marry a handsome prince to be happy and if you do find your true love, he may not be the handsome prince you imagined.  Another empowering theme for young girls is that romantic love isn't the only one that will break evil spells.  (SPOILER ALERT) It's the pure love between sisters and the sacrifices they make for one another that changes them and the story.

Things I liked:  Idina Menzel 's beautiful voice…yes please. All of the snow-filled animation is simply gorgeous from the delicate snowflakes to glittering snow packs to icy palaces, foggy breath, windy flurries, and a lively snowman.  You can hear the snow crunch and you feel like you’re IN the fog and cold snow storm….watch it in 3D if you can!  The human movement, facial expressions, and Kristoff’s awesome hair are all amazing.  We’ll probably see Kristoff’s boots for sale in the Ugg store pretty soon.  Elsa’s cute figure is inspiring and yet false advertising at the same time.  Kristen Bell did a terrific job too.  Who knew she could sing?  Who knew she studied opera while growing up? She's been holding out on us!

If you LOVE the music from this movie and can't get enough, I've got great news for you!  They released another version of the movie intended as a "Sing-A-Long" where audiences can join in on the music.  Also released are some songs that didn't make it into the movie.  You can watch those at:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnew92/6-bonus-songs-from-frozen-that-you-need-to-hear-9qja

Things I didn’t like: The African chant music seemed out of place until a friend of mine explained it wasn't African, but actually Scandinavian.  Oh!  My son (the animation student in college) thought the artwork was so elegant that Olaf the Snowman seemed out of place and a bit of an annoyance a la Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars.  My sister disagreed and thought Olaf was a welcomed comic relief, connecting the two sisters to their childhood relationship.  Speaking of Olaf, lovable Josh Gad, who voices the enthusiastic snowman, praised Disney’s animation talent by saying “If there’s something snow can do, Disney animators have absolutely discovered it!”  The Art Direction team was sent to Norway for inspiration for snow-filled mountains and even costuming on the film.

Funny line:  “We finish each other’s….sandwiches.”

Things to look for:

• Famous artwork on walls in the palace.  I especially love the Fragonard. 
• Drool on Anna’s mouth when she’s asleep
• Aurora Borealis.  That’s on my Bucket List for things to see before I die.
• The axe in the beginning scene.
• Romantic robot dancing from the movie Hitch when Anna and Hans sing “Our mental synchronization can have but one explanation.”
• Anna sings through the keyhole
• So much to see in the troll scene!
• Flynn and Rapunzel from Tangled have a cameo performance!

Insightful quotes:

• “Only true love can thaw a frozen heart.”  – Pabbie/Grandpa
•  “Some people are worth melting for.”  - Olaf the Snowman
•  “Don’t know if I’m elated or gassy, but I’m somewhere in that zone.”  - Anna
•  “You sacrificed for me?”  “I love you.”  - Anna & Elsa   (something all sisters should say to one another)
• “The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded.” 
• "People make bad choices if they're mad or scared or stressed."  - Troll 

Tips for parents:  No bad language.  Thank you! Enough action for the boys to be entertained, beautiful music for the girls to sing along to, and thought-provoking character development for adults to enjoy.  Thanks to YouTube, you’ll be able to watch some of your favorite songs and scenes again until the DVD hits store shelves.  LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie.