Disney's 2013 movie Frozen is, by pretty much every measure of success, a goddamn juggernaut. Beloved by millions, it's a multi-award-winning box office colossus that boasts probably the most inescapable song since My Heart Will Go On, and earlier this month it was announced that a sequel has been greenlit. Hot on the heels of that announcement, the new short Frozen Fever goes out into the world attached as a prefix to Disney's new live action telling of Cinderella. Frozen Fever sees cast and characters reunited for the special event of Anna's birthday, and sees the efforts of sister Elsa and co. as they try to make the day as special as possible. However, the real issue for the day isn't the potential hijinks of Kristoff, Olaf and Sven, rather Elsa's refusal to admit that she has a cold. And when Elsa gets a cold, she gets sneezy, and when she gets sneezy... things get snowy.
That's largely where things rest for the duration of the short. Where its feature-length predecessor was noted for its wit and scale and positivity, Frozen Fever has... well, some cutesy charm and that's about it. The one new thing it can rest on is the song: Making Today a Perfect Day. The song is a musical love note from Elsa to Anna, as the former guides the latter on a speedy tour of the castle, giving birthday gifts and trying to carefully cover up the sporadic sneezing that is summoning up little snowbabies, which then must be corralled by Kristoff and Olaf before they destroy Anna's party. From Anna's perspective, the song becomes more of a plea for Elsa to stop and admit that she's not well enough to continue. It's all well and good, but isn't much more than that.
Ultimately, Frozen Fever does just come off more as a placeholder than anything else, albeit a perfectly pleasant one. It's light, it's fairly charming, the new song is decent, and at seven minutes it certainly doesn't outstay its welcome. Also, it will quite likely do its part to pull in those who were perhaps slightly on the fence about the feature film it precedes, removing doubt, if there were any, that the Frozen property remains a formidable draw at the box office. However, there's no real attempt to reach for something more. Just a gentle reminder of an assured dominance.
Frozen Fever will be available to see before Cinderella this Friday