Frozen has snowballed its way to become the highest grossing Disney animated film of all times, and it's not hard to see the appeal.
Loosely based on the Hans Anderson's fairy tale The Snow Queen, Frozen tells the story of the intrepid princess Anna who set out on a journey up the snowy mountain to find and bring back her estranged sister Queen Elsa in order to put an end to the eternal winter that her sister, who had not yet learnt to control her power of turning everything she touches to ice and snow, had inadvertently put her city under.
like, literally
The last time I cried within the first minutes of an animated film is during Pixar's movie Up. In Frozen, Disney matched and surpassed its rival studio in clever storytelling, loveable characters, catchy tunes and succeeded in spinning a riveting, heartwarming tale of self discovery, sacrifice and love.
Down with the Tropes
Elsa is cautious and reserved, Anna quirky and bubbly. Despite their polarising personalities, the two girls got along well and cared for each other deeply.
In a culture where mean girls rule and women are often portrayed as being catty to each other or constantly crawling one another over men in the media, it's refreshing to see such camaraderie and niceness.
It was also satisfying to see how it cleverly subverted the standard Disney trope of a princess waiting to be rescued by a knight in shining armors and refined the meaning of 'true love'.
Frozen and Wicked
Idia Mes's Let It Go is a powerful anthem that resonates with every one who is afraid to reveal their true self to the world, and is likely to achieve the same cult status as Wicked's Defying Gravity.
With voice actor Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening) and songwriter Robert Lopez (Book of Mormon, Avenue Q) already involved, the upcoming broadway adaption felt most natural. Just how delightfully jazzy was Olaf the Snowman's In Summer number?
Elder Olaf is born to be a Broadway star
There is a strong parallel between Elphaba of Wicked and Elsa the Snow Queen. They're both magic users who felt burdened by their gifts and have to overcome major obstacles and pay a huge price to test the limit of their ability. Their eventual success is to a large extend made possible by the enduring friendship of their less gifted sibling or friend.
I'm through accepting limits 'cause someone else says they're so
I think there's an important lesson here that it's often the giftless or mediocre who stayed around and saved the day. Courage and dignity are in themselves every bit as valuable and admirable as any other attributes, magical or not.
Elsa's Sailormoon Seqeunce
In a sailormoon like transformation sequence in 'Let It Go', Elsa ditched her dull, stifling Arendall gown along with her crippling self-inhibition and self-doubt, and emerged brand new in a resplendent, shimmery blue dress, all glittery and silky smooth with a stylish thigh high cut and a pair of crystal heels.
Fabulous with capital F
Male gaze or not, major props to Elsa for looking so god damn fabulous, you go guuurrrlll !
You're a true queen and a gifted fashion designer. But man, those shoes do not look comfy.
If I were alone on the top of a snowy mountain where no one is likely to see me, my attire of choice would be hoodie, sweatpants, and a pair of hot pink fluffy slippers.
maybe that's why I'm no ice queen
Mega-Watt Anime Eyes
Unfortunately, a lot of past criticisms surrounding the unrealistic body types of Disney Princesses still apply here. Throughout the movie, I was distracted by how how unbelivable massive Anna's eyes are.
Anna's eyes are literally a third of her face
The Guardian had this to say about the characters' incredible proportion:
The snag is, both Elsa and Anna have the kind of proportions that would make Barbie look chunky: tiny nipped-in waists, no hips, long legs, skinny arms, pert breasts, small feet and eyes three times the size of the male characters'. We all know that big eyes are cute – just look at Puss in Boots. But in human females, they're also an animator's shorthand for attractiveness – and a major feature of adult anime, hentai. To use these big doe eyes as standard in supposedly realistic human females reduces the characters' individuality and sends out a message: to be a princess, you must not only be brave but have a specific, unattainable brand of beauty. No deviation from the formula is permitted. From Sleeping Beauty's Aurora to Aladdin's Jasmine, you'll see a similar look in Disney princesses past.
In the meantime, we wonder why women are undergoing surgeries to look more and more alien-like ...
Braving the element
When I was a little girl, no matter how much I begged and begged, my grandmother would not buy me any teddy bears.
She felt it gave me an unrealistic and potential dangerous impression of bears that if I get into the habit of hugging a teddy bear to sleep every night, I would not react appropriately if I encounter real bears in the wild.
Yea I could totally see how this could be confused with a real bear in the wild
When I was watching the scene where Anna readily jumped onto a horse and dashed into a snowy mountain by herself without grabbing as much a coat, I can't help but wonder what kind of message this might be unwittingly sending to young children.
I was reminded of Alexander Supertramp who had also ventured into the cold Alaskan wilderness alone and underprepared. We all know how that turned out...
the cold never bothered me anyway
So remember kids, you're not a Disney princess. And unless you're one of those special humans who are immune to extreme temperature, it's better listen to your parents and put on a coat.
Verdict: Go watch it already!
Although I had a picked quite a few bones with Frozen, its delights easily outweigh its flaws.
It's easily one of the best animated films I've watched in a long while (I rated it a solid 8 on imdb) and I urge everyone who has yet to see it to catch it before it leaves the cinema.
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