Disney Princess Review: Frozen

Frozen

      When I saw the teaser for this movie and some of the earlier trailers, I really thought this film was going to be awesome. It looked like it was going to show the relationship of sisters in a new light, give us a real tragic character and just an epic level story. So when I saw the film at first I thought it was pretty fun but as the minutes went on I realized something: It wasn't that good. It only got worse as the responses grew for the movie. Frozen is possibly the most overrated film in the Disney lineup, with people claiming it  a return to form for Disney and being the best Disney film of all time, some saying better than the Lion King and that is laughable. The film is decent but in my opinion Princess and the Frog was a return to form for Disney and Mulan and Lilo and Stich made the big changes that people credit Frozen for. That hype I feel is the biggest downfall of the movie and it mostly comes from the superficial changes the movie makes. Nothing about it is that unique, even though the movie acts like it subverts popular Disney trends and tropes when it hits a lot of them. It never seems to commit to any one theme. Anna and Elsa are so removed from each other that any theme of sisterhood is out the window nor does the film talk about it in any real way. True love as a theme probably comes the closest but again the film spends more time talking about how absurd the idea is without going into it. Letting go and being yourself isn’t the theme either as Elsa’s fears are quite legitimate and are highly underused, no one is denying Elsa's nature but she is out of fear of hurting people. Elsa, who was originally going to be the villain actually becomes a damsel in distress from herself while Hans becomes the worst villain in the franchise’s history. He only does one thing as the villain and of interest until near the end. The best thing about villains like Jafar and Frollo (villains who would be suited for this film) is that we as the audience know what’s going and the protagonists are left in the dark until the reveal. Him as the villain just come out of nowhere and he really contributes nothing intentionally to the story.

      That is not to say that there is nothing to like about this movie, at least for me. There are people who like/love this movie and that is fine, my opinion doesn’t invalidate yours. There are a lot of subtle cues to the film in the characters designs like Elsa constantly keeping her hands up when around Anna as if trying to protect her from herself. The changing colors of Elsa’s castle to reflect her mood, and the use of gloves to hide intentions as seen in Hans and Elsa. The implications that Olaf may have been subconsciously created by Elsa to find and protect Anna and that Hans and Kristoff serve as parallels in romance are interesting points. These are clever but the story never matches this. I enjoyed the short musical number “Frozen Heart” a lot as it not only sets a tone but also hints at the movies message of a frozen heart. The animation for Elsa’s magic is beautiful and “Love is an Open Door” is fun when pretty much anyone else sings it because in the movie it does lack subtlety, seeming to parody the idea of true love over anything else and it does it again with “Fixer Upper”. The problem with the music is that it never feels unique to the characters and story, “For the First Time in Forever” feels like it could be switched with “When Will My Life Begin” from Tangled and you won’t be missing anything. Kristoff I felt was an amazing character and did show how grown up the film could be as he tries to convince himself that he doesn’t love Anna because he feels he can’t be with her. Anna also did an amazing job as the protagonist, people say Elsa stole the show, but it should be noted that Elsa is pretty much removed from being a part of the story to really just being in it.

    It’s tricky figuring out which one of them is the Disney princess in this because while Elsa is queen (a title that really does nothing since Anna makes more decisions for the kingdom than Elsa in this film), she was a princess and we’ve already established that you don’t have to be a princess to be a Disney Princess. I was hoping for their coronation at Disney World but that hasn’t happened yet though even at the parks only Anna is labeled “princess” so I guess we can just make it her. The problem is Elsa and Anna both do what Disney Princesses do. I mean Elsa hits all the beats of Disney Princesses

´ Ran away – Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, Merida, Rapunzel

´ Locked up in a castle/building – Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Rapunzel

´ Gets rescued – A LOT (I don’t know how it is more empowering to be rescued by a female as opposed to a male)

´ Sings- Everyone but Merida

      I always thought Anna was rather fun as a character. Her design was handled to make her very cute like Rapunzel, delicate and soft with the big eyes but Anna I think puts more expression in her face than just her eyes. Like Rapunzel and Jasmine she wants to go out and start to live her life after waiting so long in a closed off castle. The difference is that Anna seems rather energetic and goofy, clumsy, over eager, even unrefined and it makes her rather lovable. She has that innocent sort of naïveté in the world that comes from the best of intentions, like her leaving Hans in charge while she went looking for Elsa, and wanting to marry him after one conversation which seemed mostly about him. Anna's biggest relationships in the movie are Hans, Kristoff, and Elsa. Hans is what Anna perceives as what she thinks love is, the handsome prince who seems to like everything she likes while Kristoff represents the more realistic idea of love. With Elsa, Anna sees Elsa as someone she wants to understand and get closer to. It always felt like more time should have put into the decline of their relationship. It also doesn't help that Anna has noe one else she seems to be close to in the castle

      Anna wants to start a new big chapter of her life with her sister and when Elsa leaves after revealing her powers, Anna wastes no time in trying to find and talk to her, not even wondering about her powers. I think it would have been better overall if Anna did remember the incident when she saw Elsa's powers again, it would have added to the drama, and remembering forces Anna to accept that she never slows down, that she was partially responsible for what happened both times. Her big flaw would be how she likes to jump headfirst without thinking which is shown a bit at the end when she seems to be slowing down a bit with Kristoff. Despite Elsa being more popular, it is Anna who saves Elsa, sacrificing her life and a chance at love with Kristoff so keep her sister safe. Anna strikes me as a public relations kind of person. I like Anna, she isn't some big change for a Disney Princess but she is comprised of small interesting changes that makes her enjoyable. I give her an honest A.