animated film – Reel Time With Richard Ades

Carolyn Bowman plays Elsa, a princess with a dangerous magical gift, in the North American tour of Frozen. (Photo by Deen van Meer)

By Richard Ades

Disney’s 2013 flick Frozen was met by universal acclaim and won the Oscars for best animated film and best song. The stage adaptation, which opened on Broadway to mixed reviews in 2018, was nominated for three Tonys but won none.

Apparently, the stage musical is not as perfect as its cinematic forebear. But after seeing the touring version Thursday at the Ohio Theatre, it’s obvious that it remains pretty entertaining.

Not that it couldn’t be better. To pad out the running time, book writer Jennifer Lee added extra scenes that often seem superfluous, while composer/lyricists Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez added extra songs that aren’t as catchy as the original eight.

That the show delivers as much entertainment as it does despite the filler is due to the sterling work of director Michael Grandage and his talented cast, as well as the beautiful stage vistas created by scenic/costume designer Christopher Oram and lighting designer Natasha Katz.

Anna (Lauren Nicole Chapman) and Hans (Will Savarese) dance the night away. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)

Like the film, the stage show revolves around the troubled relationship between royal sisters Elsa and Anna, whom we first meet as adolescents. The older Elsa is cursed with the magical ability to inadvertently freeze anyone or anything around her. After a careless act nearly kills her younger sister, Elsa’s parents force her to isolate herself from the world, and particularly from Anna.

On Thursday night, Norah Ann Nunes and Erin Choi played the rambunctious Anna and tortured Elsa, respectively, and indelibly established the personalities they would retain as young women. (Avelyn Choi and Sydney Denise Russell take over the roles at alternate performances.)

The action then fast-forwards several years to find queen-to-be Elsa (Caroline Bowman) still avoiding public contact and nervous about getting through her impending coronation without freeze-drying the guests. Meanwhile, Anna (Lauren Nicole Chapman) is stir-crazy and more than a little man-crazy and looks forward to meeting possible beaus at the coronation ball.

As Anna, Chapman sometimes lays on the comic schtick a little heavy, but both she and Bowman have abundant acting and singing chops. They use them to flesh out the sisters’ estranged relationship, which suffers a seemingly mortal blow after Elsa accidentally plunges the kingdom into eternal winter and flees into self-imposed exile.

Anna (Lauren Nicole Chapman) and Kristoff (Dominic Dorset) struggle to cross an icy bridge. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)

Other major cast members include Will Savarese as Hans, a prince who meets Anna at the coronation and immediately wins her heart; Dominic Dorset as Kristoff, an ice merchant who comes to Anna’s aid after she wanders into a snowstorm in search of her sister; and Jeremy Davis as Olaf, a snowman brought to life by Elsa’s magic.

Olaf is one of the show’s two most ingenious creations, being a puppet that Davis supports and manipulates in full view of the audience. The other is Sven, Kristoff’s four-legged companion, whose expressive movements and postures are delivered by the limber Dan Plehal in a reindeer costume. (Collin Baja plays the role at alternate performances.)

While the relationship between Anna and Elsa provides the show’s dramatic heart, it’s Kristoff, Olaf and Sven who provide most of its humor.

Snowman Olaf (Jeremy Davis) meets Sven (alternately played by Collin Baja and Dan Plehal), who seems to be eyeing the carrot that serves as his nose. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)

As in the film, the musical highpoints are the hummable “Do You Want to Build a Snowman,” “For the First Time in Forever” and especially “Let It Go.” The latter showstopping earworm is beautifully delivered by Bowman’s Elsa and is accompanied by a feat of stage magic that defies explanation.

As for the musical low point, that would have to be “Hygge,” a goofy song-and-dance number that wasn’t in the original film. It’s one of several moments that make you wonder why Broadway’s Frozen couldn’t have skipped all the filler and been staged as a poignant one-act.

Still, a two-act Frozen is better than none at all. Onstage or on film, Disney’s tale of sisterly love is a treat.

Broadway in Columbus will present Frozen through Aug. 6 at the Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St., Columbus. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes (including intermission). Tickets are available at BroadwayInColumbus.com, by calling CAPA at 614-469-0939 or at the Ohio Theatre’s CBUSArts Ticket Center. For information on future tour dates, visit frozenthemusical.com.

By Richard Ades

Max and the rest of his furry friends are back in The Secret Life of Pets 2. Like its 2016 predecessor, the animated flick is an affectionate and occasionally funny look at the dogs, cats and assorted other animals who share our homes.

The sequel finds a few things have changed for Max, the good-natured mutt who shares a New York apartment with his beloved human, Katie (Ellie Kemper), and a giant-sized canine named Duke (Eric Stonestreet). For one, Max is now voiced by Patton Oswalt, replacing Louis C.K. (for obvious reasons).

A more substantial change happens after Katie meets and marries the amiable Chuck (Pete Holmes) and subsequently gives birth to a mischievous imp named Liam (Henry Lynch). Max has heard tales of how children ruin pets’ lives, and the stories seem to come true when Liam starts using him as a toy-slash-punching bag. But as the toddler grows, Max learns to love him—a little too much, in fact. He spends so much time worrying about the child’s welfare that he develops a nervous scratching habit and has to be fitted with the dreaded “cone.”

Again directed by Chris Renaud, the sequel continues the original’s lush visuals, depicting NYC with a series of warm-toned cityscapes and later turning the countryside into a verdant wonderland. Written by Brian Lynch, who co-wrote the original, it again builds to an action-packed finale. The main difference is that the original told basically one story, while the new film separates itself into a trio of concurrent tales before bringing the characters back together at the end.

In the main thread, we follow along as Max’s family pays a visit to Chuck’s uncle out in the country, where a tough farm dog (Harrison Ford) pushes the visitor to conquer his fears. Back in the city, Max’s Pomeranian friend, Gidget (Jenny Slate), has been left in charge of his favorite squeeze toy and is horrified when she accidentally lets it bounce into an apartment full of hostile cats. Determined to get it back, she asks neighbor cat Chloe (Lake Bell) for advice on how to pass as a feline. (First lesson: Cats don’t chase balls.)

In the most outlandish tale, a newly arrived dog named Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) is determined to rescue a tiger from a traveling circus and its abusive trainer (Nick Kroll). She enlists the help of the once-villainous Snowball (Kevin Hart), who is now living with a doting owner and fancies himself a bunny superhero.

As a result of its trio of stories, Pets 2 seems more scattered than its predecessor, but the characters are as lovable as always. Among the voice actors, Haddish mainly does an impression of herself, but most give their characters distinctive personalities.

What is the film’s prime audience? The later mayhem, complete with homages to kung fu and Three Stooges flicks, will mainly appeal to younger viewers. However, the gentle jokes about the quirks and neuroses of our animal pals should appeal to adults as well—especially those with pets of their own.

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

The Secret Life of Pets 2 (PG) opens June 6 or 7 at theaters nationwide.

Tag: animated film

Staged ‘Frozen’ is icily beautiful and warmly poignant

Sequel continues revealing pets’ quirks, fears and adventures