Everything and anything has been said about the film - glorified as the greatest animated movie ever, a masterpiece of feminism and storytelling, the most overhyped/overrated/most annoying movie ever, etc. Queen Elsa has made her way into popular culture as an icon of femininity, relatability, and on some levels with the LGBT community for her big “coming out” musical number “Let It Go”, which has either become a beloved song people will sing at the drop of a hat, or an insanity-inducing racket that makes people want to shoot their ear drums out.
And, yes, Frozen is everywhere. It is Disney’s most profitable, popular film on this magnitude since, say, Lilo & Stitch (and isn’t a Pixar, Marvel, or LucasFilm property). Though in this case, the marketing department actually understood what they were dealing with rather than basing all merchandise on a series of trailer gags. The initial marketing for Frozen labelled as a completely different movie, again, something which Disney’s marketing makes a bad habit of doing. Early trailers and promotional materials focused on the action and Olaf’s comical antics rather than the true heart of the movie, making it look like a cheap DreamWorks rip-off which Disney has done before (here’s looking at you Chicken Little!)
But, surprise, surprise, Frozen turned out to be legitimately great. A movie with such heart and passion to its story and characters, an epic musical score and songs, gorgeous animation, and great voice acting, Frozen is a deliberate return by Walt Disney Animation to their Renaissance days, and is the best non-Pixar film they have made since Brother Bear. People have suggested since the release of either The Princess and the Frog or Tangled, Disney has been in a second renaissance of animation, which I am tempted to agree with. We’ve had Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Moana follow in the footsteps of Frozen and they have all been amazing.
Frozen takes us back to the classic musical fairy tales of Disney, but also doubles as a modern examination of the formula they’ve been cultivating for seventy-five years, critiquing and even making fun of the expected tropes of the story, without descending into a pop reference-making mess which the Shrek films became. But that’s beneath the surface, as Frozen is a magical, heartfelt, and at times powerful, suggestive film that expresses the theme that love comes in many forms beyond the traditional “princess meets prince” plot cemented in Disney’s earlier princess movies.
This review contains major spoilers for the whole movie!
The story is very, and I mean, very loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's “The Snow Queen”, jettisoning everything from the story aside from the titular queen. In fact, Frozen is very much its own entity, and really didn’t need to be based on anything. Our heroines are Princess Anna and her big sister Queen Elsa, who both live in the Finnish/Norwegian/Scandinavian-like kingdom of Arendelle, which really isn’t explored much as a setting and all we really know about it is that is told through Anna and Elsa and dialogue by other characters. Elsa was born with ice magic for reasons unknown which will hopefully be explained in the sequel (though Once Upon A Time already tackled that mystery in its unofficial follow up in its fourth season). Things are good and innocent til Elsa accidentally hurts Anna with her magic.
Her well-intentioned parents take the girls to the local rock trolls, where the elder Grand Pabbie removes Anna’s memories of Elsa’s magic and immediately terrifies Elsa by informing her that unless she controls her magic, she’ll be feared and hated by everyone. Note that he said “controlled”. Well Elsa’s parents apparently have selective hearing, so they decide that the best course of action is to isolate (or “ice-olate”) their daughters, not only from the outside world, but from each other.
Elsa becomes so terrified of hurting anyone else that she spends the next few years confined to her bedroom and seemingly not once interacting with the confused Anna. And, this being a Disney film, the king and queen both die in a sea storm, leaving Elsa to hide away alone and Anna yearning for love and human contact akin to the representation of the classic Disney Princesses. I ask several questions such as why Elsa’s parents just hid both girls away, and misunderstood Grand Pabbie’s words, but it all contributes to the tragedy and future paths that Anna and Elsa both go on. My view on the parents has only soured in the years since the film’s release. He said control, i.e., master her powers. Not just conceal them and hope Elsa get control them, despite becoming increasingly anxious and neurotic.
Cut to the present day where Elsa is to become queen, which you can imagine is pretty terrifying for the girl - the most private person in Arendelle is about to have the most public life imaginable. Meanwhile, Anna is over the moon to finally interact with people, and being perpetually still naive and idealistic about the world, she falls head over heels with the handsome, kind Prince Hans of the Southern Isles after they literally bump into each other. As you might guess, Elsa’s house of cards comes crashing down when Anna and Hans immediately decide to get married, Elsa’s powers are exposed, and her worst nightmares come true.
Elsa quickly flees Arendelle to the mountains, causing the kingdom to be swallowed by what could be an eternal winter. Wanting to make amends and get some answers, Anna sets off alone to find Elsa and stop the winter. Meanwhile, Elsa, finally free of her metaphorical shackles, delivers one of the best show-stopping numbers of all-time and tests the true capabilities of her powers by making herself an impressive ice palace to hide away in. Yeah, despite “Let It Go” being Elsa’s big song of freedom and empowerment, she essentially has made an even bigger door to hide behind.
Anna gets lost and teams up with a tough, bluntly honest ice harvester named Kristoff, who prefers his reindeer Sven to people, and later, a child-like talking snowman named Olaf accidentally brought to life by Elsa. Yeah, the limitations of Elsa’s powers are seemingly endless. I do like Kristoff, though he mostly serves to point out the flaws in Disney’s own story formula, and his reasons why he dislikes people are never really explored. Sven is your cute animal sidekick that thankfully doesn’t transform mentally into a dog.
Olaf is a breath of fresh air in terms of comic relief sidekicks. During the Renaissance, all of Disney’s sidekicks became snarky, often rude, obnoxious characters voiced by appropriate film stars. Our resident snowman is deliberately innocent, kind, curious, and looks at the world through the eyes of a child. He’s only been alive for a number of days, so he sees it through optimistic wonder, fascinated by everything, has a hard time understanding realism and more darker topics, and is a bit of an idiot, though out of a lack of understanding rather than just being an idiot. He is a great concept for a character, being a snowman who wants to experience summer, and is unaware of what will happen to him in sunlight and water. It has been suggested that Olaf is actually the personification of Elsa’s innocence and positive traits, guiding the sisters to reunite, and prove that love can thaw any frozen heart.
Anyway, after some travelling and finding Elsa’s ice palace, Anna and Olaf try to open Elsa’s door in a manner of speaking, but when they reveal her powers have caused eternal winter, Elsa freaks out and accidentally freezes Anna’s heart (the only other thing brought over from The Snow Queen) and then kicks our heroes out of her castle using a giant snow monster named Marshmallow. Hans and a band of men arrive at the palace and take Elsa captive, though Hans treats her fairly despite the obvious desire to go on a traditional witch hunt from certain other characters trapped in Arendelle.
We also see Elsa move a little closer to the antagonist she was originally meant to be, threatening to kill two characters in a manner that went beyond self-defence, though Hans snaps her out of it. I’d like to see Elsa be tempted to throw her weight around a bit in the second film. Clearly at the end of Frozen, Elsa still has a lot of weight on her shoulders. Heck, Frozen Fever is based around Elsa dedicating herself to making amends with Anna at the cost of her own health. More on that short later.
Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf go to see the rock trolls, and after a rather unnecessary musical number, Anna falls ill and it is suggested that an act of true love can save her. So, we’re off to find Hans and get the traditional true love’s kiss. Too bad we find out that Hans is actually a douche nozzle. Yes, it in a surprise plot twist, Hans is revealed to be a manipulative schemer who plots on removing both sisters from power to become King of Arendelle and escape the shadow of his older brothers back home.
Having the Prince Charming character as the badguy is a fantastic move on Disney’s part. It further punctuates Disney’s modernisation of their own formula, acknowledging that not every “nice guy” will be as kind and loving as they have depicted them as before. There are douchebags like this in the world and it is about time the House of Mouse acknowledged this. The realism of Hans’ treachery is well-written, and a real shock for both Anna and the kiddies in the audience. I don’t really recall what the reaction was like in the screening I saw, but a lot of people were genuinely shocked by the plot twist in reviews I have read.
On the negative side, there isn’t really much indication or even build up to revealing that Hans is the badguy. People suggest that the trolls used magic to make him evil, and that is quite an interesting theory. Disney has recently adopted this habit of throwing in surprise villains in their films instead of the usual obvious villain who enjoys being evil. Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen both do it well, but Big Hero 6’s reveal was a little empty despite their noble attempts to make the badguy there sympathetic. This isn’t the first time Disney has examined the handsome guy being the villain. Just look at Gaston.
And Hans’ plan really makes no sense. He can’t become king of Arendelle because he isn’t related by blood to the royal family, even if he married Elsa or Anna, he’d have no right to the throne. Here in the UK, Prince Philip, husband to the Queen, isn’t called the King, despite technically being on the list of succession. But, we’re here to talk about singing snowmen, not confusing successive rites.
Anyway, the film has a tense climax that culminates in Anna sacrificing herself to protect Elsa from Hans and is frozen solid, only for their sisterly love to thaw Anna out and reunite the two royals - love conquers all and any kind of love can help bring people together. The film closes out on a surprisingly quiet end. No big ending number, not much fanfare, but with the safe knowledge that at least for now, Anna and Elsa will be better off. Elsa is more comfortable with her powers and sense of self, and Anna is more world-weary and has a more healthier relationship with Kristoff, whose romance with her kind of comes in too quickly. Elsa makes it perfectly clear that “you can’t marry someone you just met”, yet the film supports the idea that Anna and Kristoff can fall in love in about two days, and this is mere hours after Anna found out the first person she fell for was a conceited douchebag.
The story is fantastic despite the minor flaws, and it is the relationship between Anna and Elsa that make this film worth the watch, even if you aren’t a Disney or animation enthusiast. The trials and troubles these two girls go through on their personal journeys are heartfelt and harrowing. Their voice actors do fantastic jobs - Kristen Bell never makes Anna seem like a parody of the Disney Princesses, and really emphasizes Anna’s giddy, sweet, but intrepid nature.
Idina Menzel is phenomenal as Elsa, making the character her own without just turning into Elphaba with ice powers. Both characters are well-written, and will remain popular for years to come. Disney has made a nasty habit of making all of their princesses in post-film marketing look and act alike, being overly beautiful, smiling, and flighty (like how Giselle was in Enchanted), but Elsa and Anna are a real breath of fresh air, and hopefully have reminded Disney that their leading ladies are all different.
The supporting characters are great fun too. Kristoff and Sven are very likeable, even if Kristoff’s role as Disney pointing out its own flaws coming off a bit too bluntly. Olaf is adorable and hilarious without ever becoming irritating or obnoxious. Hans is a good character as well, having a bit of weight during his innocent princely attitude, and a sense of crushing realism when he pulls his big evil turn. The other notable character is the evil Duke of Weselton, voiced by rising Disney veteran Alan Tudyk, played as the big bad but is more of a scheming but snivellus bureaucrat akin to Pocahontas’ Governor Ratcliffe. Wandering Oaken, the trolls, and Marshmallow all play necessary roles, though I’d like to explore the world and culture of the rock trolls beyond “run puns galore!” Just what is their story?
The production side of Frozen is stunning. The animation and all that comes with it is beautiful, world class, and some of Disney’s finest work since their change to strictly doing computer animated pictures. All of the scenes involving snow and ice are lovely to look at, and the whole “Let It Go” sequence is some of Disney’s finest work. Speaking of which, a major highlight of the movie has to be its soundtrack. Kristin Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez changed the whole focus of the story upon discovering their tune for “Let It Go”, and their work is amazing. Aside from the rock trolls’ song, most numbers are catchy, memorable, and have their place within the story.
“Let It Go” is obviously great, iconic, memorable and will forever become one of Disney’s most sung songs. “Do You Want To Build A Snowman” is the second best song, being very hard-hitting, moving, and heartbreaking as it goes on, seeing Anna and Elsa separated by both a physical and a metaphorical door, and the events that shape them. I also particularly like the catchy “Love Is An Open Door” and Olaf’s summer song. The general melodies of the film are quite beautiful too, particularly the opening melody during the opening credits. I feel the rock trolls’ song “A Bit of A Fixer Upper” feels a little unnecessary, but is still kinda fun.
Frozen remains extremely popular, but I think it is at that point now where the film is being overused. Shoved down the throats of the consumers at every given opportunity for the past five years has made some people fed up with it. I don’t know if Disney knew this film would be a huge hit or not, since the marketing was naff, but they drained the canal and unleashed their endless waves of merchandise upon the masses. I still love these characters, but even I was getting tired of seeing Frozen everywhere. Toys of virtually every single scene in the movie have appeared, and every time Elsa and Anna show up in new clothes, you just know that toys will follow. Interestingly, I’ve never seen any real big showpiece toys like for Elsa’s ice palace, or for the gigantic Marshmallow. And while Disney have been continuing to bring out more stuff on the assembly line, they’ve been met with increasing anger.
I feel that the short film Frozen Fever, while charming, was ultimately pointless and hollow, seemingly existing for the franchise to bask in its own magnificence. Every iconic moment from the film is replicated or referenced in some shape or form, and what the hell is going on with Elsa’s powers? I’m still trying to figure out how she can change the fabrics, colours, and design of dresses using weather based magic. When the sequel rolls around, they need to address how Elsa can produce snow and ice, create life, and manipulate fashion. The short is there just to sell new toys, namely via the sisters’ new dresses and the cute mini-snowmen. Apparently Elsa can now create mass life just by sneezing. What happens when she farts or burps?
A lot of people also claim that Frozen offered many firsts for Disney. It is a story about two sisters. No, Lilo & Stitch did that first. It is about princesses who don’t need a man to solve all their problems. Mulan and Brave both did that. It is modern and edgy and stuff. Well, yes, it certainly is the most prominent, but Disney started their whole deconstruction thing with Tangled, where Flynn Rider was puzzled why everyone was singing. In honesty, I think this deconstruction of their own formula has grown stale now. Frozen is the big one, but Moana has also examined it, Zootopia had some elements in there, and now Wreck-It Ralph 2 plans to have this big set piece where every single Disney Princess will appear together, basically discussing and mocking their own tropes, traits, and marketability. Alright, Disney, well done. Now, come up with something else.
Some people have been throwing some real interesting "Disney Princess" film ideas around online. One involved a princess who can’t sing, but instead raps. That’s cool. Another suggested that the princess shouldn’t even be a princess at all, but be aiming for another kind of greatness in sports by becoming a boxing champion. Rocky with a Disney princess. Sign me up! If Disney wishes to evolve beyond their now dated and deconstructed formula, then they’re gonna have to think outside the box. Yes, it is always fun to watch their classic fairy tale movies, including Frozen, but some variety is always welcome.
Speaking of the princess franchise, Anna, Elsa, and Moana have yet to officially be indoctrinated into the Disney Princess label, despite now being the most popular of all at the moment. Maybe it is because Elsa isn’t a princess? But, if Pocahontas and Mulan can get in there, why can’t they?
Over in the theme parks, the popularity of Frozen was a two-sided coin. At first, the film’s presence was small. But, overtime, it pretty much conquered much of the parks. Disney California Adventure saw Muppet*Vision temporarily turned into a home for Frozen sing-along show, and then as a preview theatre for Disney’s future releases. The really popular Aladdin musical was replaced by a Frozen musical, which is pretty spectacular. Epcot’s Maelstrom boat ride became an extinct attraction, telling a mythical and impressive tale of Norwegian mythology, only to be replaced with Frozen Ever After, a decent attraction with great animatronics. Hong Kong Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, at some point, will gain their own land based around the film.
While Frozen Fever felt rather forced and didn’t really have much of an interesting story to it, the most recent installment of the franchise, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, manages to capture the heart of the original. Elsa and Anna plan to celebrate Christmas with their people, but are left stunted when the people leave to follow their own seasonal customs - and the sisters have none of their own due to Elsa shutting herself away for years. And in reaction, Elsa shuts herself in her room again. Ugh. Still falling on old habits, Elsa. It's to be expected. Olaf sets out to find out how the villagers celebrate Christmas, hoping to share them with Elsa and Anna, with the hilarious antics you’d expect.
Anna eventually finds old possessions in the castle’s attic, and we learn that she actually sent presents to Elsa under her door every year, in contrast to the film implying that she gave up. This inspires the girls to go out into the village and meet their people rather than the other way around. The short has some hilarous moments with Olaf (that eagle taking the food was both predictable and brilliant) and maintains the beautiful animation and music. Admittedly, the songs come thick and fast. The short is twenty minutes long and at times tries to stuff too much in that space, but the characterization works and remains strong.
A lot of people didn’t like or didn’t want the short at the start of the Pixar film Coco, either because they’re fed up with Frozen, it is too long, or doesn’t quite fit with the movie. However, when released on TV and DVD, the reception appears to have been more positive. Disney should learn to take a step back for a little while and stop shoving Frozen in people’s faces. Leave it for a little while and focus on developing the sequel, and then kick off the second avalanche.
Before we wrap this review up, we should discuss Anna and Elsa themselves. Both are fantastic characters. I can relate to both to an extent. I’m a bit like Elsa, being a bit of an introvert, have a hard time expressing myself, and if I could make a giant ice palace to hide in, I’d probably build it. Anna serves as a deconstruction, realistic approach to a Disney princess. Her exciteable, slightly ditzy nature is supported by her daring, friendly, and heartwarming nature. She ventures off into the unknown to find Elsa and bring her home without any guards or support. Anna immediately drops any potential grudge against her sister and just want to reconnect with her.
Her more traditional princess-y aspects comes from her upbringing. She’s spent much of her life living in isolation, with her parents dying and her sister locking herself away for years, and is consequently desperate for love and affection. So much so that she is just about willing to throw herself at the first handsome man she comes across. Anna is hopelessly naive, but not really of her own fault. She doesn’t know much about the outside world thanks to her parents. Why on earth they didn’t teach her about the adult world as she grew up is beyond me. So when Hans proposes, Anna is immediately lovestruck and says yes, hoping her fairy tale view of the world can come true.
She believes in the power of true love and happy ever afters, so when Elsa chucks a cold glass of water over her dreams. Elsa does attempt to speak with Anna in privacy, but Anna is having none of it, having spent years being ignored by her big sister and is willing to give her view of love a chance. Elsa understandably freaks out about it, finally leading to the dam bursting for both girls. The sisters do love each other, but this is the only real scene of argumentative conflict they have in the movie. Anna does remain optimistic and cheery throughout the film, and even after Hans’ betrayal, Anna still is clinging to whatever love she can get, immediately racing off to find Kristoff when it turns out he has fallen in love with her. But, it is ultimately Anna’s own love for Elsa that saves the day, and opens her sister’s eyes that love comes in many forms.
Elsa is a very troubled soul, but with good reason. She was young, impressionable, and afraid when Anna is hurt, having only seen her own magic as a fun thing, never once considering it could hurt others. Unfortunately, this ends up consuming her. Elsa becomes so afraid of bad things happening that the only option, in her view, is to isolate herself. Conceal, don’t feel. Her parents may have misinterpreted the words of Grand Pabbie with the wrong type of control. If Elsa had learnt to harness and master her ice magic rather than just letting it fester and grow, becoming more and more anxious as she grew older, things might have been different. She is portrayed in a sympathetic, favourable light, and you just want to bash her door down and give her a hug, a reassuring speech, and possibly hire a psychiatrist.
Of course, when Elsa is destined to become a queen and live the most public life possible, you just know that this depressed, introverted, magical shut-in is going to end up in trouble. By the time we get to the present, everything about Elsa is just rigid. Frozen, if you will. This is cleverly showned through her clothes and appearance. Her hair is securely tightened and her clothes are smooth. But, though reunited with her sister and starting to act a little relaxed, Elsa immediately buttons herself up internally when Anna tries to open her door so to speak. Elsa has been doing her best to protect Anna by staying away from her, but in doing so, that ended up hurting her even more. Anna’s lack of experience with the world was caused by Elsa and their parents. As we see in Anna’s memories, the two spent a lot of time out in public, but their isolation in the castle ended that.
Elsa’s well-intentioned cold shoulder comes back to bite her in the ass when Anna and Hans announce their engagement, and she is knocked pretty badly by it. Elsa’s view of the world is a lot more realistic than Anna’s, but it is also quite cold and bitter, having closed herself off from the world and love. Things eventually go to hell when Anna finally chews out Elsa for her actions, and Elsa finally lets the cat out of the bag. The gloves are off. As she feared, Elsa is quickly branded a monster and does what she wanted to do for so long, and runs away, but also from her problems. “Let It Go” allows her to spread her wings and vent years of frustration, embracing her magic for the first time in years and creating the ice palace.
During the song, she discards her gloves, cloak, and even her crown, lets her hair down and redesigns her dress in spectacular fashion. But, while the moment is amazing, Elsa is still hiding behind a door and hiding herself away. The song could also be connected with being trapped in puberty, and Elsa’s explosion of magical spectacle can be associated with, well, a “snow-gasm”. Elsa starts to loosen up a bit and explore her potential, but still remains terrorised when Anna and co. come calling. She tells Anna to go home, open the gates, and live a life she wants, perhaps as an apology for cutting ties with her.
But, when Anna reveals that Elsa’s dramatic exit led to Arendelle being plunged into a permanent winter, Elsa immediately flips out. Dreading that she’s simply screwed things over again in her first act of freedom, Elsa ends up zapping Anna’s heart and hurts her all over. Goddamnit, someone give this girl a hug! Her powers appear to be based on her mood. Olaf was created when she happy to be free, and may symbolise Elsa’s childhood and innocence, explaining his eternally optimistic and wonderous look at the world. He wants to experience summer, perhaps a happier time for Elsa. A change in her life if you will.
On the other hand, Marshmallow symbolises her rage and other negative emotions that have been building up over time. It would explain why he is so big and can take on a scarier appearance. The slightest thing can set him off, and mirrors what Elsa has been concealing for so long. He also serves as Elsa’s bodyguard in her castle. Her eventual reunion with Anna means she no longer needs his protection. And while Elsa does repeatedly run from her problems rather than dealing with them, Anna’s sacrifice at the end of the film makes her drop all her baggage and just embrace her sister. Straight after, Elsa realises that it was love that powered her magic, not fear, and she is set on the right path to making amends. I love that she hasn’t fully grown up right away and got over her issues. It isn’t that simple.
The sequel is coming out within the next few years, and certain questions need to be answered like why does Elsa have magic, will Hans get redemption, what is going on with the trolls. Once Upon A Time’s fourth season served as a sequel to the movie, introducing more story elements from The Snow Queen. The titular queen was revealed to be Elsa and Anna’s long lost aunt Ingrid, who has ice magic too, but accidentally killed her other sister with them, and was sealed away by the late queen. Ingrid escapes and wants to basically punish the world using a magic miror that’ll turn everyone into their worst selves. Good stuff.
I’d like to see the sequel incorporate more elements of the book it is loosely based on. Introduce the Snow Queen as a villain, since Elsa was originally going to be one before the story changed. Interestingly, the servants are called Kai and Gerda, named after the heroes in the book. Perhaps they are hiding their own secrets. Elsa also needs to undergo some more development, while Anna’s relationship with Kristoff needs some major attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment