I've barely started it, but it's looking like the stage version of Frozen is already a massive improvement over the animated movie.
Much more development of the family dynamics. Showing that the parents are uncomfortable with Elsa's powers and she's not supposed to be using them. Showing the girls playing together multiple times in multiple different ways and being the best of friends.
Anna as not just the sweet and enthusiastic little girl, but the goofy, bouncy, weird little girl. There are tons of elementary school girls just like this. Highly anachronistic, but very familiar.
Also, as an adult, that weird-girl energy continues at a much higher level than in the movie. She's like a combo of Anne Shirley and the weird best friend from every rom-com.
Elsa as someone with much more agency and complexity. Giving her so much more time with Anna makes both their personalities stand out more. Elsa's the introverted, cautious, prim-and-proper good girl--and she's got so much anxiety! Staying away from Anna is now much more explicitly her own choice--she's so afraid of hurting her sister again that she'd rather give her up.
Human Hill Folk are infinitely cooler and more intriguing than weird rock trolls.
Sven is so much cooler as a gorgeous puppet than as an animated character.
Anna meeting both Hans and Kristoff in the exact same meet-cute is absolutely brilliant. That choice alone solves so many problems with the love stories. Both men show up at the same time, giving them equal weight in the love stories. Now it's just that Anna turned her attention in the wrong direction, rather than feeling like she's getting lambasted for thinking she's in a Disney movie when she's in a Disney movie.
I'm sure part of my enthusiasm comes from my pretentious desire to like the obscure, weirder-format versions of extremely popular franchises (see: my love of the Star Wars audio dramas), but this is very promising.
