Frozen

Rarely has the snow and cold of winter looked as inviting as it does in Frozen, a visually striking 3D animated musical that should please both children and adults alike.

This loose adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Snow Queen combines many classic elements of animated features into a batch of mostly endearing characters and a relatively exciting adventure.

The story takes place on the Scandinavian fjords, where Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) becomes estranged from her sister, Princess Anna (Kristen Bell), after an argument during Elsa’s coronation ceremony leads to her inadvertently exposing a unique power to shroud the kingdom in a perpetually harsh winter. Elsa retreats to a remote ice castle while Anna — with the help of a mountain man (Jonathan Groff) and his loyal reindeer — attempts to track her down and heal their relationship while finding a way to reverse the spell. Further complications, however, endanger Anna as well as the future of their kingdom.

The best animated films, of course, find a way to bridge audience enjoyment between adults and youngsters, and this screenplay by Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It Ralph) — who also directed the film with animation veteran Chris Buck (Tarzan) — manages to do that.

Kids should appreciate the lively pace, colorful visuals and plentiful sight gags. The animation is crisply detailed, the voice work is solid, and the handful of musical numbers are memorably evocative of some of the fine work that Disney has done in that regard in the past.

Frozen contains the obligatory collection of quirky supporting characters (although it lacks a truly menacing villain), one of which is an obnoxious talking snowman sidekick named Olaf (Josh Gad) who gets far too much screen time.

Anna might not join the ranks of classic Disney animated princesses, but she is a strong-willed heroine who teaches modest lessons of acceptance and self-esteem. Yet the film tries too hard to evoke past studio successes, even drumming up a scenario in which she must be saved by “true love’s kiss.”

That feel of familiarity might be intended as an homage, but it decreases the charm of an otherwise amusing effort that — unlike the harsh wintry chill outside — is warmer than its setting would suggest.

Rated PG, 102 minutes.