Monday, January 6, 2014

Why Frozen might be one of the Best Princess Movies Disney's Ever Made

**Be warned.  Spoilers abound.**


I recently watched Disney’s new animated movie Frozen.  I saw it twice, actually, both because I loved it so much and because I wanted my mom to be able to see it, and my stepfather surely wouldn’t be into it.  For those who haven’t seen it, this blog will spoil the ending.  If you don’t plan on seeing it, or don't care, here’s the breakdown:

The story is about two young princesses living in a Norway-esque kingdom with their parents.  One of the sisters (Elsa, the grown-up version voiced by the amazing Idina Menzel) was born with a magical gift: she can summon ice and snow at will.  Unfortunately, it’s a somewhat dangerous power, and she accidentally injures her sister.  An adorable troll helps heal the younger (non-magical) sister, Anna, but also takes away the girl’s memory of her sister’s unique gift.  He also warns that people’s fear of her power could be her downfall.  Elsa is therefore hidden away from Anna and the rest of the kingdom for her own safety and the safety of others.  Cue a sweet growing-up-alone montage (who knew Kristen Bell could sing?) and in true Disney fashion, tears for the parents who die when their ship is overturned while on a voyage.  Eventually Elsa must become queen, and then, of course, chaos ensues.

The main story itself is not uncommon for Disney, and in fact is “inspired” by the Snow Queen stories of Hans Christian Andersen.  Like most Disney takes on these old stories, however, it is vastly different from the original.

Still, there were so many reasons why this movie was a step forward for Disney and for princess stories in general.
  1. Anna is bold, clumsy, and a lover of chocolate.  She’s not the stereotypical “perfect princess” that one might expect.  Snow White and Aurora, for example (though Aurora is one of my favorites) were delicate, genteel, and prone to attracting small woodland creatures.  Anna just might trip over one on accident if she got excited enough.
  2. Elsa might be seen as the “evil queen” by some characters in the movie, but the real villains are actually men.  This may come as a shock, but think about the villains in earlier animated Disney movies: Sleeping Beauty had Maleficent, Snow White had the Evil Queen, The Little Mermaid had Ursula, Cinderella had the Evil Stepmother, and 101 Dalmatians had Cruella DeVille (yeah, I know, not a princess movie).  Sure, there were male villains thrown in, as well, but some of the most iconic villains in Disney animated history are evil women.  I loved that the women in this movie were not working against one another.  Why do women have to hate one another in so many movies?
  3. The men are not the saviors.  In so many of the other films, despite including some great character traits on the main female characters’ parts, and despite the fact that many of the movies are named after the female characters, men end up saving the day.  Yes, Anna has some assistance from male friends (oh, Olaf, you silly snowman), but in the end, it is her unconditional love for her sister which saves both their lives, not romantic love.
  4. This movie teaches about what love really means.  Sure, Anna gets extremely excited when finally exposed to life outside the castle walls.  Early on, she makes a silly choice in deciding to marry a man she’s just met, but this is all meant to poke fun at the ridiculous nature of romances in some of the other stories (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella).  I love that the dialogue makes a point to stress just how ridiculous it is for someone to think they can marry someone after one meeting.  Olaf has a wonderful monologue telling Anna that loving someone means putting their needs above your own, and then he does so himself when he almost melts because he’s so close to the fire keeping her warm.  As he says, “Some people are worth melting for.”
  5. It’s really a musical, and the music is great.  The creators embraced choral singing as well as solo work, and almost all of the music is quite awesome.  The voice actors were great singers as well as actors with backgrounds in musical theatre, which I think is a must.  I know I am biased on this point, but it is refreshing to see a true emphasis on the music in a film.
I still cannot get over how wonderful it was that Anna saved herself in this story.  The creators could just as easily have had Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff) save the day.  How empowering for young girls to be able to see a conflict resolved by sisterly love rather than an often hollow romantic love.  I can only hope that the next princess movie, which I have heard should be coming out in a few years, will step even further into the realm of empowerment for girls.  I hope, also, that boys and men can appreciate the strength of the characters in this movie and see that girls can be heroes, too.  I am curious, in fact.  How do children respond to this story?  I’m a child at heart, as is my wonderful husband, so we attend these movies despite the fact that we do not yet have children of our own.  I hope that the frequent singing in the film does not keep some children from enjoying and learning from it.  Please share any experiences you’ve had with both girls and boys’ responses to this movie, as well as your own.  If you haven’t seen the movie, I would definitely suggest seeing it even still, despite the spoilers above.  And remember, “Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.”


If you’d like to read more, check out the following article.  After writing this blog entry, I encountered a much more artfully written piece which shared many of my thoughts.  Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. You wake up my inner feminist. I've never noticed the things you pointed out about the women villains and women hating each other and men saving the day. Excellent points! I would really like to see this movie, despite the spoilers.

    I remember laughing at the tongue-in-cheek idea that Disney explored previously with Enchanted where Gisele meets the Prince and they become engaged to be married the following day. I am glad they are continuing the theme!

    I, along with you, hope they level the playing field further in the future for boys and girls.

    I am loving your blogs. I love picking your mind and seeing you express your thoughts and opinions! If possible, it's making me love you even more than I already did.

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  2. Thanks so much, Misti! And I think we all have a little feminist, if we just look inside. ;)

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