ICE PRINCESS

REVIEWED BY RISSI C.

Our rating: 5 out of 5

Rated:

For generations, Disney has been enthralling audiences with magical journeys. Whether through movies or their theme parks, they have something that just works. For little girls, a big draw is their princesses. I know my little girl imagination was enraptured by such films as Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. Today, they are still bringing in audiences with Enchanted., and Ice Princess. While this three-year-old film doesn’t exactly have a “real” princess in it, it still manages to be enchanting.

She’s klutzy and can’t seem to ever have more than a three word conversation with strangers; Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) is a science geek who hasn’t ever felt pretty or popular in her life. Her mom (Joan Cusack) and she have been imagining Harvard ever since Casey was a small girl and her teacher tells her she could do anything she wants in the science field. Despite liking science, Casey also has an infatuation with figure skating. While working on a project for a scholarship, Casey begins taking a beginners class taught by former skating icon Tina Harwood (Kim Cattrall) and after a simple “SnoPlow” class, Casey comes to find out that she has some “raw” talent.  

Realizing that skating is more than just a passing fancy, Casey becomes dedicated to learning more about the art, despite being told she can’t due to financial difficulties. In exchange for helping out other skaters, Casey gains help in choreography and techniques from Nikki, Tiffany and Tina’s daughter Gen (Hayden Panettiere). Just when Casey is beginning to make progress, her mom finds out. After years of teaching her daughter to succeed in the world of science, she is heartbroken to that Casey wants to pursue a career in a competitive sport. Ice Princess will probably connect with a number of different people on different levels. 

It has several elements involved that director Tim Fywell interweaved beautifully. There is the mother-daughter relationships, a story about a lonely klutzy girl and an artful sport that would make anyone feel glamorous. Ever since I can remember, I’ve followed the sport of figure skating and for a while I wanted to be Michelle Kwan--that “dream” has long since gone by the wayside, thank goodness! Today I still enjoy watching this graceful sport and this film beautifully depicts that elegance while just making you believe that any magical dream can come true. The mother-daughter relationships are wonderfully brought to life; Tina and Gen as well as Joan and Casey are written extremely well. Both of their stories go through a time that isn’t what a mother-daughter relationship should be and both are repaired in a very sweet, touching way. All of us have probably felt a little like Casey at times and no doubt wished we could feel differently, even if for just an hour.

This film is based on the novel by Meg Cabot who also brought us The Princess Diaries. The acting is really good in this film. Kim does a superb job at playing an ice diva with a past while Joan is great as a mother who only wants the best for her daughter. They have a fantastic scene together when Joan picks Casey up after a competition. Michelle, Hayden and Trevor Blumas as Casey’s love interest Teddy, deserve mentions also. This film not only did a nice job with the overall story, but also brought in a nice amount of subtle humor. From Casey’s brainy babbling conversations to fellow ice skater Nikki, there is always something that brings a laugh. 

The ice skating sequences are magically shot and I can’t imagine them being any different; Casey’s final skate was lovely. The ending to this movie is really cute too. With a G rating, there is hardly much worth mentioning. Gen tricks Casey into going to a party, saying they will attend a movie. It’s implied that Tina lies and cheats to get what she wants, especially when it comes to winning. Tina hurts someone intentionally by buying new skates. The romance between Casey and Teddy is sweet and never goes beyond a kiss. Gen and her mom have a couple of disagreements as do Casey and her mother. Gen fibs on occasion about skating. The tagline for the teen flick Aquamarine reads “the sweetest treat since Princess Diaries”, however I must disagree. This is one of the “sweetest treats” of the Disney collection! By the end you see the wonderful lessons learned by all of the main characters. Compared to the recent mother-daughter movie Because I Said So, this is a much better alternative and is appropriate to watch with a ten-year-old. So grab your sis, daughter, niece or best friend and become enchanted with Ice Princess, I think you’ll find it exquisite.