SPOILERS

Don’t worry, I haven’t just watched Frozen. I watched it a while ago, close to the time it came out although I was reluctant to watch it as it was so popular it was annoying (I’ve already talked about that in my Zootopia post). However when I finally watched it I actually quite liked it but I didn’t write about it as I did not have a blog then. I do now and I’ve just re watched it so let’s get to it!

Plot

The plot is pretty straight forward. A young girl has ice powers for some reason that isn’t explained and she’s had them since birth. Her name is Elsa and she has a little sister called Anna. Anna bugs her to play with her and then they do and Elsa injures Anna by accident, the parents take them to the trolls. Side note: the dad had a lot of books; I’m thinking he must have been researching Elsa’s powers trying to come up with a solution. The trolls heal Anna and give advice. Side note: I have beef with the trolls. Why did he take Anna’s memories? Was that the only way to heal her? I really don’t understand how he healed her exactly. Was it the memory that was the injury? And then by taking the memory away he made it seem like Elsa’s powers were a bad thing. I’ve seen people get mad at the parents for the whole “Conceal, don’t feel” thing but I’m also mad at the trolls low key. Then time skip and Elsa and Anna haven’t been hanging out but living in isolation in their palace.

Now we get to the meaty part of the plot. The coronation and Anna’s hasty engagement to Hans. Now, can we blame Anna for falling for Hans? No we can’t. Think about it, she lived in isolation after the accident. She didn’t remember the source of the conflict and so it was very strange for her to all of a sudden not be talking to Elsa. She had no other kid friends and she talked to pictures. She never had a childhood crush! So how exactly was she supposed to know about love and romance? Of course all she knew was what she’d read in books. Plus let’s not forget they live in a time of no TV so it’s not like she could observe human behaviour that way either. In fact, I’m not even sure she read that much. It was surprising that she was such a well-rounded human being. I guess that was thanks to her parents and the palace staff. Anyway I have beef with Elsa and viewers who watch it and criticise Anna for not knowing love when she had absolutely no experience.

As for Elsa’s journey it was pretty straight forward. She had to accept herself and love was the key, as always. Only this time it was sisterly love. Once she accepted herself things got easier, at the Let it Go scene, but she was still running away. She needed to face her demons and to figure out that emotional mine field and she figured that out with Anna as it was love.

There’s also Kristoff’s part in plot and he was there for most of the beginning. He saw the trolls heal Anna. I wonder why he didn’t explain that fully to her. He alludes to it but he doesn’t tell her outright. I feel like that information could have helped her out.

The conflict resolution was satisfactory, the film brought something new to the Disney universe and the love story was fresh and interesting. Is Elsa the first independent Disney Princess? Definitely not. The Princess and the Frog and Mulan were before Frozen and they did the same thing in the sense that Tiana was certainly not looking for a man. She was working hard to open her own business and she happened to fall in love. Mulan was trying to honour her family and save her father from going to war and so she went instead. Did she go looking for a Prince? No! She went to fight and to train and she happened to stumble upon the mighty fine Shang. Yes they fell in love but that didn’t make them any less independent. I think that was what annoyed me most about Frozen and why I delayed to watch it. It was like Tiana and Mulan didn’t even exist. Plus I don’t think there’s anything wrong with falling in love. You can be an independent woman and fall in love and have a healthy relationship with an equally strong man *ahem* Mulan and Shang right there *ahem*.

I digress…

Characters

Kristoff

I loved him! Did you know he was meant to be Sami? I found out from a SuperCarlinBrothers video. Apparently there was controversy because he was light skinned but then it died down because there are light Sami. I would have liked it if he was dark, I don’t think we’ve had many dark indigenous characters from the North in Disney. And if they hadn’t had said anything I really wouldn’t have known, I mean could you tell he was Sami?

The Sami are the indigenous people of Scandinavia.

Moving along, yes I loved him. He was cute and sassy and strong. He was a rough ice harvester with a reindeer for a friend. How did they become friends anyway? Is Sven an orphan too?

Speaking of Sven why did he act like a dog? I like dogs but not every animal has to be like a dog! The only time Sven acts like a reindeer is when he was telling Kristoff to go back for Anna. I thought they made him doglike so he’d be likeable but the horse (name is escaping me) from Tangled was horse like and he was loveable! Anyway, minor pet peeve.

Anna

She had her annoying moments. She was a bit full on. At times I thought it would have been better if she had left Elsa alone and given her her space. Or she could have approached her in a calmer manner, like how you approach wild bunnies so you don’t startle them (yes I’ve seen wild bunnies).

On the other hand I understood her frustration, it had been many years and she was sick of being trapped in the castle. It also hurt her when Elsa told her to leave. Then the winter came and Anna and the villagers just wanted summer back, so it was understandable they were impatient.

Apart from that I liked her. She was wild and carefree. She wanted to live life to the fullest and was just so adorkable. I loved Anna more than Elsa honestly. I related more to her. Plus the movie spends a lot of time with her.

Given her personality I think the accident was over hyped. Anna was a reckless kid and a reckless adult, it was bound to happen that she’d hurt herself. If it hadn’t been Elsa my girl would have probably walked into a door or fallen out of a tree. So I feel like the parents overreacted with the whole memory wipe and conceal don’t feel.

Elsa

She’s independent and despite being isolated for a long time she’s got a good head on her shoulders. She has common sense and isn’t so easily tricked. Although she has her insecurities due to her powers and she has volatile emotions.

She was an interesting character and her journey was interesting to watch. As you know by now the film was based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson. I loved the 2002 movie of the same name and that’s the adaptation that I know best. So when they decided to not make Elsa evil it did not surprise me as in the 2002 film the Snow Queen isn’t completely evil and her sisters aren’t completely good. Although the original story is more black and white and the focus is more on the little kids Gerda and Kai. The original story is actually really biblical with the end message being Matthew 18:3. The original story made more sense than the 2002 version… or maybe I just prefer that they are children in the original, the moral carries better.

Anyway, knowing the inspiration helps to understand Elsa and I feel she’s like the 2002 film version Snow Queen.

Also why does Elsa’s powers include clothe making? She even makes ice skates for Anna.

Olaf

I love his laugh. I don’t know it’s so quirky.

He’s also a witty character and his love for summer was a fun twist. I liked how he was spotted at multiple parts of the film. He’s there in the beginning. You see him when Elsa first has her Let it Go moment, like you literally see him being made. I liked the consistency of that.

He’s merchandised a lot but I’m not mad at his character, I like him.

Hans

Man was a chameleon. SuperCarlinBrothers have an interesting theory on him that you should check out. As for me I just thought he was a sociopath or at the very least coldly ambitious. I guess that’s a con of having too many kids when you’re royalty. He’s lucky he’s not in the Stardust universe… or would he thrive there?

He ran a good con and almost got away with it. You’ve got to give him props for that. But don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he was caught in the end.

Cameo

Did y’all spot Rapunzel? I finally spotted her! Finally Gift saw an Easter Egg.

Relationships

Anna and Elsa

I’m an only child so those with siblings correct me if I’m wrong but it made no sense how Anna and Elsa were so close after so many years.

Think about it, Elsa cuts her off when she’s really little. They don’t talk, play or interact in any way in those years. Anna has to play by herself and hangs with her parents and the house staff. Elsa doesn’t even come to the funeral of her parents. Then the next time they see each other is at the coronation.

Granted it is a bit awkward at first between them but then they warm up but Elsa still keeps Anna at arm’s length and hurt she ends up with Hans.

Then there’s the fiasco and cut to the ending Anna sacrifices herself for Elsa and their sisterly love is what frees Anna. I can see how that happened. What I can’t see is them being the best of friends straight away after that. I get it, they’re family and so they love each other but how are they close? How are they acting like the best of friends so quickly? It just doesn’t seem very realistic to me.

I wish they would have had an in-depth talk or showed them have an in-depth talk because otherwise it felt rushed. For me that’s what their relationship lacked, depth.

Kristoff and Anna

I like that he’s very grounded and has no relation to royalty and that Anna is the opposite, so flighty and free spirited. She’s also optimistic where he’s realistic (or as some people say pessimistic). They balance each other out and their relationship has a nice progression.

They don’t fall in love right away and in fact he doesn’t even tell her that he loves her nor her him. Olaf thinks it for a while but then drops the idea and he isn’t the one to save her with true love. So their relationship is realistic in the sense that they meet, connect, fall for each other and then start to date after a near death experience. Ok the near death experience isn’t normal but you know what I mean.

Songs

My favourite songs are the ice harvesting song: Beware the Frozen Heart (It’s so fun and little Kristoff and Sven are so cute!), Love is an Open Door (I mean Hans is evil but he can sing) and Let it Go (Idina Menzel killed it).

Also that beginning song is in fact Sami and that’s why they included it. It also appears again in the movie when Elsa undoes her magic and brings back summer.

Alright, I’m done. Phew I wrote a lot.

What do you think of Frozen? Let me know but until next time,

Ciao!