Now, don't get me wrong. It's not like I wasn't beyond excited to see the movie. I was. (Like, a lot.) But when there's a lot of hype about pop culture phenomena, I tend to get a little wary. (See Also: Harry Potter.) Because just because a lot of people like a thing doesn't mean it's awesome. (*coughFiftyShadesofGreycough*) And to compare Frozen to the films of the Disney Animated Renaissance is skepticism-inducing high praise.
So I will admit that I was totally, unnecessarily, needlessly skeptical.
Frozen was amazing. I loved it. I unabashedly, wholeheartedly, giggled-like-a-little-kid loved it.
And the great part is? I loved it on so many levels.
(Here thar be spoilerrrrrs.)
1. I loved it on a visual level. We caved and saw it in 3D, and it was well worth the few extra bucks. (I'm not a fan of 3D movies in general, but I do find that animated movies in 3D are less headache-inducing.) But I thought Frozen was visually stunning not only because of the 3D magic, but just because I felt like the scenery behind everything was just so lush and beautiful and authentic. (Granted, I've never been to Norway, but still. It looked quite Scandinavian and I believe the lead animators traveled to Norway to capture the essence of it.) One review I read said Arendelle was "part Norway, part Narnia" and I like that. A Disney setting should be reality, part fantasy.
2. I loved it on a "little kid" level. I loved how all the little kids in the audience laughed unrestrainedly at Olaf's silliness. (Like when he says, "Watch out for my butt!" That was a real crowd pleaser.) And, "It's like a little baby unicorn" is probably my favorite line of the whole movie. Olaf is a such a greatkick -- like, Donkey in Shrek status -- and I really like that the reason he can talk is because he's magically animated. (I love my talking animal Disney sidekicks, but sometimes, like in Cinderella, I never really understood why some animals can talk and some can't.)
3. I love Sven. (But then, I've always been a sucker for a Disney prince and the relationship he has with his animal friend. Prince Philip and Samson are probably my favorite, but Eric & Max and Flynn & Maximus run a close second.) I love Sven so much that when my friend Katie goes to Disney World in a few weeks, I am totally asking her to look for a stuffed Sven for me. I love that the animators brought a live reindeer into the studio to get his movements right. (Like they did with the deer in Bambi in Walt's time!) But, perhaps most importantly, I love the relationship between Sven and Kristoff. Sven can't talk, of course, but Kristoff does that thing that all crazy pet parents do: he basically voices Sven's inner monologue. And that is AWESOME.
Truth moment: the Husband and I do this with our dog, Elphie, all the time. Most of the time, I voice her "thoughts" for my husband, who is generally amused by this.
4. I love Anna. I mean, obviously, because Kristen Bell. But Anna is spunky and awkward and clumsy and so much more real than many of the Disney princesses before her. (Trivia Point: Both Kristen Bell AND Idina Menzel auditioned for the role of Rapunzel for Tangled. Yes, the role ultimately went to Mandy Moore, but I think that was spot-on casting. Mandy Moore and her (celebrity) persona are perfect for Rapunzel's sweet vulnerability & naivete and Kristen Bell and her spunkiness are perfect for Anna. (I'll get to Idina and Elsa in a moment.))
There's been some debate about whether or not this a "Disney Princess movie." The producers, I think, emphasize that it's a movie about sisters who happen to be princesses, rather than a princess movie, which is all very well and good. But Anna and Elsa ARE princesses, and will be marketed as such, so for our intents and purposes, it is a princess movie. But Anna is not Cinderella or Aurora, and I think that that's a significant evolution in Disney princess films. Kristen Bell said this about Anna:
"I'm really excited to show it to people. I became a part of the kind of movie I wanted to see as a kid," she said. "I always loved Disney animation, but there was something about the females that was unattainable to me. Their posture was too good and they were too well-spoken, and I feel like I really made this girl [Princess Anna] much more relatable and weirder and scrappier and more excitable and awkward. I'm really proud of that."5. I love Elsa. Perhaps more so than Anna. Perhaps even more than Rapunzel.
6. I love the meta-aspect of the film. The beginning sequence between Anna and Hans is basically a conflict-free version of every Disney Princess movie before it. Girl meets Boy, Girl and Boy sing a charming duet and dance together, Girl and Boy fall in "true" love, Girl and Boy decide to get married and live happily ever after. But Hans is certainly no Prince Charming, and their "True Love" plays on the criticisms launched against the earlier films. We don't know much about Cinderella's Prince or even Eric; after all, just because they're a prince doesn't make them a good person. What if it's all an act? Singing and dancing in the woods doesn't constitute "getting to know" someone. And that's what great about Frozen; it sets up that relationship, only to undercut it two-thirds of the way through. There are some other aspects, I believe, but I'd have to see the film again to note them.)
7. Lastly, I love the plot -- specifically, the focus on familial over romantic love. Is it perfect? In other words, will the critics find something to dislike? Of course. Haters gonna hate. I would imagine that people might find fault with the fact that, once again, parents do not fare well in Disney films. The King and Queen of Arendelle are die relatively early on in the film, leaving the two sisters orphaned. And, while they are on-screen, the mother speaks very little -- she has maybe one line, and that is in reference to her unconscious daughter's condition.
But parents don't fare well in children's literature as a whole, so it's not really too surprising. Also, if they were alive, Elsa wouldn't be able to be queen, so, you know, there's that.
And, yes. Anna is a little dewy-eyed and lovestruck at the beginning of the movie. She does long for romance and marriage. (She is, after all, a teenage girl -- and a lonely one at that.) It is not romance that drives the plot of the movie. It is the fight/tension between the sisters which sets the story in motion; it is Anna's desire to reunite with her sister that causes her to leave home; and the film ends, not with Anna and Kristoff's wedding, but with Anna and Elsa together, sharing a moment of sisterly affection.
But, Disney's greatest departure from its earlier princess fare -- and perhaps the most important aspect of the entire film -- is that the act of true love which thaws the frozen heart is Anna and Hans' kiss. It's not Anna and Kristoff's kiss. It's not True Love's Kiss at all. There's the moment when Anna is standing on the ice -- she sees Kristoff in one direction, Elsa in the other -- and she has a choice to make. Her "boyfriend" or her sister. Love or Family. And she chooses Elsa. She chooses to save her sister. And the "true love" is not the same love that wakes Snow White from her apple-induced coma or that rouses Aurora from Maleficent's curse or that breaks the enchantress' curse on Beast and the castle servants. It's not romantic love, it's familial love.
It is, in fact, very similar to the portrayal of True Love on Once Upon A Time. There, young Henry falls victim to a sleeping curse and the True Love's Kiss that wakes him is from his mother, evidencing the power of maternal love. And, yes. There's a lot of True Romantic Love going on in that show -- particularly with regards to Snow and Charming -- but the love between parent and child is just as, if not more, important.
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