【電影簡介】

阿倫戴爾有兩位公主，時值幼年：長公主艾莎（Elsa）沉穩優雅，小公主安娜（Anna）活潑開朗。安娜夜半求姐姐陪自己玩，問她“想不想堆個雪人？”原本不為所動的艾莎聽聞這句即刻睜開眼睛。

原來，艾莎與生便有控制冰雪的能力，這給姐妹倆日常的游戲帶來無窮樂趣。艾莎將大廳變成溜冰場，按照安娜的樣子為她堆雪人雪寶（Olaf），姐妹倆玩的不亦樂乎。誰料突生變故，在雪堆上玩耍的安娜蹦跳速度太快，艾莎幾乎接不住她反因腳下打滑失手用魔法擊中安娜致其昏闕。艾莎抱住安娜驚恐哭泣不知所措，國王與王后循聲趕來帶兩個女兒前去地精處尋求解救方法，地精佩比爺爺（Pabbie）治好了安娜，為確保不留下心理陰影他將安娜關于“姐姐的魔法”的回憶全部消除，并告誡艾莎要謹慎使用這既美麗又可怕的力量。國王和王后為保護女兒教授艾莎“不去想（Don’tfeel）、控制它（Controlit）”并用“裁減人員”、“封閉城堡”的方式以防外人知曉艾莎能力和發生意外，甚至將安娜與艾莎分開。

【音頻文本】

In North American and the international market, Disney's 3D animated comedy "Frozen" is commonly accepted as the second step on the company's journey to a renaissance. Step one was taken in 2012 with the family comedy "Wreck-It Ralph." But in China, the film has suffered a fate of obscurity and is only recently showing signs of an improvement in box office numbers.

Built on the traditional fairy tale "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Anderson, Disney's latest princess story is a great boost from the original script by adding powerful vocals from Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel. I remember reading Anderson's book as a child and envisioning the adventure that runs through the lines. But I never imagined one that is so musical and full of emotion. Watching this piece was quite a pleasant experience.

But, somehow, such a fantastic film received merely lukewarm welcome in the Chinese market. There are two reasons behind this.

First of all, "Frozen" is mainly made for the kids, and would have been a nice choice during the Spring Festival period, a time of family reunion in China. Unfortunately, there happens to be another popular competitor – a domestic title based on the reality TV show of the same name, "Baba Qunaer", or "Where Are We Going, Dad?" With the show attracting extensive viewers across the country, a prolonged episode of the showplayed on the big screen is enough to get viewers flocking into cinemas. Since its debut on January 31st, "Baba Qunaer" has made 570 million yuan in just ten days, while "Frozen" only landed a meager 85 million in five days.

Secondly, I blame cultural differences. As a film mainly targeted for a young audience, "Frozen" has been translated and dubbed in Chinese. A large chunk of the film's charm is lost in translation. One example, based on my personal observation, is when the snowman made a joke about a male character by calling him a donkey, no one got it and no one laughed. Surely, the same joke works well in a Chinese context, but when it is translated and dubbed, no one notices it.

Another setback rests with the dubbing. The magic in the voices of the original cast is totally deprived in the dubbed version. Some of the songs were practically mumbled out, so the appeal of Disney's comeback piece is totally lost on Chinese moviegoers. The good news is, as the craze for the talent show ebbs away, the Chinese seem to have discovered this hidden pearl among the bustles of many domestic products. The rising demand for the original version of “Frozen” may be a glimmer of hope for the prospect of this Oscar nominated animated feature's here in China.

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