Frozen (2013)

Disney’s “Frozen” -– adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen’s book “The Snow Queen” -– is a solid piece of Disney Princess entertainment with catchy music. It might not stand aside instant-classic “Beauty and the Beast,” but it’s nice to see a throwback to that early 1990s era. Plot: A princess (Kristen Bell) vows to save the older sister (Idinia Menzel) she was once so close to as children after the latter unintentionally puts their perfect kingdom into a literal deep freeze. See, the sister/queen can create X-Men-style ice and snow with her hands, but has little control of the power. The townspeople seek vengeance, but our princess pleads forgiveness. Toss in a macho man, his BFF reindeer, and a singing snowman, and we have an adventure. Not all the pieces fit -- I love that little snowman (voiced by Jonathan Groff) with his ode to summer song, but he whiffs of tacked-on comedy relief. Ditto rock trolls. I dug, though, our female leads and the genre-tweaking dig at instant love and charming princes. The computer animation is flawless, naturally. But watching this old-school story, I longed for the nuance of hand-drawn animation. Flawless often can be … cold. B+

Snow White and the Huntsmen (2012)

Irony has a queen: “Twilight” Sulk Queen Kristen Stewart plays a woman more fare than Charlize Theron in “Snow White and The Huntsman.” The former is, of course, the orphaned princess whose life is ruined by her evil step-momma (Theron). This version skews toward horror with director Rupert Sanders laying on the foreboding atmosphere thick as Tim Burton in “Sleepy Hollow,” before it jumps into a WTF war film of castle storming. Snow White as Aragorn? Yep. Every time my cinematic soul jumped at a great visual or beloved actor –- Bob Hoskins! –- it was dashed by the banality of ripped ideas from other movies. A beefcake love triangle for our heroine, with the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) versus a prince (Sam Clafin) begs the question: Who thought that was a good idea? Neither man sparkles in sunlight. Theron oozes darkest evil, roaring over everyone as a sickly twisted feminist from hell. Best bit: The magic mirror on the wall is merely a warped delusion of her sick mind. Stewart is uninspiring and flat, her suddenly-a-bad-ass-warrior let’s-kick-ass “Braveheart” speech is a snicker. The second Snow White dud of 2012. C-

Brave (2012)

In Pixar’s “Brave,” red-haired and wild Merida is a Scottish lass who must make that terrible choice that seemingly every other Disney Princess has ever faced: Marrying for duty, not for love. She is no wallflower longing for Prince Charming, though, but a huntress who climbs tall mountains that lord over her Highlands home. When iron-willed mother (Emma Thompson) pushes our heroine to choose a suitor, she bolts. “Brave” is, wonderfully, the first Pixar film to focus on a female lead, but it’s also, sadly and oddly, the first of its films to bear a heavy, unmistakable thumbprint from new parent company Disney. From the princess angle to the heavy lessons, the DNA here is as old as “Snow White.” The plot fully kicks off when runaway Merida encounters a witch who promises to “change” her mother with a spell. What trouble magic brings I will not say, but its resolution is so simple and straight forward, I kept waiting for another shoe, any shoe, to drop. More Hesitant than “Brave.” In true Pixar fashion, the animation stuns, and the voice cast (Kelly Mcdonald plays Merida) is flawlessly chosen for talent, not name. B