Idina Menzel

The Little Mermaid is usually credited with kick-starting Disney’s first animation renaissance, but this often-discussed period started 3 years prior with The Great Mouse Detective. Similarly, Disney’s second animation renaissance has been credited to Frozen and Tangled when it started years earlier. While it is convenient to think that all Disney needed was Idina Menzel …

Walt Disney Animation Studios has become, in its relative old age, both charmingly and cripplingly self-conscious. Each new entry seems to quiver in the shadow of the greats, the vaunted classics that have become untouchable for many.