Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical

Rated PG • Disney+

It seems likely Disney is already cooking up plans for a live-action version of Frozen (2013), but in the meantime, you can watch Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical on Disney+.

As with other Disney shows, this stage adaptation doesn’t wander too far from the source material. Elsa, the ruler of the Nordic kingdom of Arendelle, can’t control her magical ice powers. She accidentally freezes her land and in her pain attempts to alienate her sister Anna. Anna, along with the ice merchant Kristoff and a living snowman named Olaf, tries to save both the kingdom and her sister.

The subtitle is a bit of a misnomer, considering this is a taped version of a performance from London’s West End. As is common in musical theater, the production features a multiethnic cast. The actors are likable, but Samantha Barks and Laura Dawkes, who play Elsa and Anna respectively, don’t have the same sparkle and power as Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell from the animated feature.

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who wrote the original songs, have written another 12 songs, which brings the total up to 20 musical numbers. For the most part, these new songs are forgettable filler that make you impatient to get to the bangers “Love Is an Open Door” and “Let It Go.”

The special effects are passable. There’s nothing jaw-dropping that makes you ask, “How’d they do that?” On the whole, Frozen is one of Disney’s lesser stage adaptations.

This story of a wounded sister who sacrifices herself on behalf of the person who wronged her still carries obvious Christian parallels, but the animated version communicates its message with more power and beauty.