Year Released: 2013
Directed by: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee
Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad
(PG-13, 85 min.)
Genre: Animated, Kids and Family

Just like Different Drummer herself, our youngest set of Junior Critics, Peanut Gallery Branch, takes no prisoners. They are not intimidated by adult critics, even Different Drummer herself, and neither are they politically correct. As you can see they will fit in quite nicely here.

The original Frozen won the 2013 Best Animated Feature at the coveted Critics’ Choice Awards, but the younger crowd was not so easily impressed. Introducing Emmett, 7, and his brother Gram, 10 , who are bucking the establishment right out of the gate.

*****

I thought Frozen was too much of a “true love” movie. After their mother and father were lost at sea, the two princesses, Elsa and Anna, only had each other, but they had to stay apart because Elsa had a strange power that could be dangerous. A lot of the story was about Anna trying to find Elsa so she could remove the frozen curse she has put on the kingdom, but we also had to watch her fall in love along the way. Too much time on that lovey-dovey stuff for me.

But the graphics were amazing. The snow looked like it was actually falling on us in the theater – really beautiful. There was also a very funny snowman named Olaf, who actually brought my rating up one level. He was fun to watch because he was so dumb. I mean a snow man who doesn’t even know he will melt and tries to get too close to the fire to warm himself up? Too much!!

Peanut Gallery Critic – Emmett

Emmett is 7-years-old and lives in Austin, Texas. He plays the piano and does a pretty good soft shoe, too, once earning 7 dollars dancing on a corner near Broadway in New York City. He loves math and history and plays baseball, where his favorite position is first base.

*****

Frozen gave me frostbite! The movie might be great for a 6 or 7-year-old girls, but for boys, especially 10 years or older, it doesn’t work. The sister relationship is really the whole focus and that didn’t really connect for me.

Olaf, the snowman, was not necessarily funny for a 10-year-old, but would fit a 6 or 7-year-old’s idea of comedy. A lot of his actions had my brother laughing at his pain – sort like he does at the Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Emmett thought it was too “girly.” Maybe that’s true, but what I really didn’t like was the way they portrayed the guys in the movie. They made the whole group look bad. For example, Kristoff, the mountain man who helps Anna, sells ice for a living, and his only friend is a reindeer named Sven, who he pretends talks to him. They also made a lot of jokes about Kristoff smelling bad, too, just like his reindeer buddy. The princes and kings didn’t come off that well either, but I will let you discover that for yourself.

All that aside, the graphics were amazing. I really loved how they made the ice reflect off the sun.

Peanut Gallery Critic – Gram

Gram is a 10-year-old who lives in Austin, Texas. He wants everyone to know that he does not ride a horse to school and that his city actually has an impressive skyline, almost like the one in New York City. (P.S. “There are not any tumbleweeds in Austin either!”)

Gram is a sports fanatic; baseball is his favorite. Right now he is a pitcher known for his fastball and his dramatic wind up on the mound.

*****

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

Our Boys from the Peanut Gallery have come up with two frozen desserts to go along with their film. Any 7-year-old could make Emmett’s Cookie Ice Cream sandwiches. They can even choose their own favorite cookie to customize the recipe.

Gram’s Ice Cream Easy as Pie Dessert also suits his age group. Young cooks can choose between Graham cracker (obviously his favorite) or chocolate wafer crust. The recipe calls for either pistachio or mint chip ice cream, but Gram likes plain vanilla best. You decide.

We have also changed to color of the candy sprinkles to blue, which would be the color of your hands if you had to exist in Elsa’s frozen kingdom. Young cooks, feel free to customize the color of the sprinkles to suit yourselves or the season.

Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients

1. 1 scoop vanilla ice cream

2 Cookies (any kind )

Directions

1. Get one cookie and get the ice cream and put the scoop of ice cream on the one cookie.

2.Then get the other cookie and put them together.

3. Now you are done

4. Enjoy

So simple isn't it!

Food.com

Ice Cream Easy as Pie Dessert

What you'll need

1. 1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers or chocolate wafers

2. 5 tablespoons butter (melted)

3. 1 quart pistachio or mint chip ice cream

4. 1/2 cup hot fudge sauce

5. Blue sprinkles or candies

How to make it

. Place 1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers or chocolate wafers into a 9-inch pie pan.

. Stir in 5 tablespoons of melted butter, then press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan.

. Freeze for 30 minutes.

. Fill with 1 quart pistachio or mint chocolate chip ice cream, layer on 1/2 cup hot fudge sauce, top with 2 cups whipped cream, and sprinkle with red and green candies.

Freeze before slicing and serving.

Spoonful.com