Ryan McNeil
When I was younger, Disney films continually amazed me. They were bright, they were catchy, and they were loving. They were like my bedtime stories had been brought to life and were playing on my TV screen. As I got a little older, Disney films again amazed me. Suddenly with a little bit of maturity, I could appreciate them not just with the childlike wonder I once did, but also with an appreciation for their artistry and craft.
Now I’m an adult, but every now and again, a Disney film can still come along and amaze me.
Loosely adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen faery tale, FROZEN is the tale of two sisters; Elsa and Anna, the princesses of Arendelle. As children, the two are tight, helped in no small part by Elsa’s ability to create snow and ice through magic. One morning as the two sisters are playing, Elsa accidentally directs her powers straight at Anna, coming very close to causing irreparable damage. As Anna is tended to, the girls’ parents – the king and queen – decide on some stern measures to prevent a repeat occurrence:
The castle gates will be locked to visitors, the girls will indefinitely be kept separate, and Anna’s memory will be wiped of the incident.
A few years later, the king and queen die at sea, leaving Anna and Elsa only with each other, and caretakers of Arendelle when they come of age.
The story then jumps to the day Anna does indeed some of age. As the castle gates are opened for the first time in a generation, the girls couldn’t be more at odds. Anna (voiced by Kristin Bell) is looking forward to the big party. She has grown weary of being her own best friend, and wants nothing more than to meet people and interact. Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) is terrified. Her isolation has done precious little to help her control her powers, in fact it has only frazzled her nerves and made her more susceptible. She is terrified of what she might do, and what her subjects might think.
As the party goes on, Anna meets Prince Hans, and becomes quickly infatuated. When she and Hans approach Elsa to discuss plans to quickly marry, an argument ensues that reveals Elsa’s powers. As her powers are revealed, she panics – and flees to the mountains, ready to live in isolation. As she runs, her magic covers all of Arendelle in snow and ice
Sensing the gravity of the situation, and worrying deeply about her sister, Anna strikes out after her. Once outside of the kingdom, she meets a few accomplices for her quest; a strapping out-of-work ice harvester named Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff) and a magically living snowman named Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad). They both are ready to help Anna talk Elsa down off the mountaintop…but will she listen?
In the late eighties, Disney’s then-studio-head Jeffrey Katzenberg rallied the creatively stalled animation team by declaring “We need to wake up Sleeping Beauty”. The result was a run of films that included THE LITTLE MERMAID, THE LION KING, ALADDIN, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. However, just a few years after that, Disney’s animation department would once again stall. Where once they weren’t thinking grand enough, they had now begun to think too grand. Flashy CG tricks and star-powered soundtracks were eclipsing craft, story, and heart. By the middle of the last decade, it appeared as though The Mouse House had become an afterthought on the cinematic landscape they built and dominated. While they weren’t looking, Sleeping Beauty had nodded off again.
With FROZEN, it would appear as though Sleeping Beauty has been roused once again, and this time she’s out of bed and taking the fight to the dragon.
The film’s power rests on the shoulders of Elsa and Anna. In Elsa, it has mined the source material to create one of its most complicated characters. She is neither damsel in distress, nor wicked step-sister. Instead she is a multi-faceted mix of both; at once needing someone to save her from great fear and danger, but all of it stemming from inside of herself. She poses a great threat to anyone who dares cross her, but likewise a threat to those she holds most dear – which threatens her every waking decision. All of this leads to the film’s first emotional high; when Elsa embraces what she’s capable of while singing that she’s turning her back and slamming the door. Where Belle and Ariel once crooned about wanting more of the world, Elsa is saying “forget all of it” – in a very empowering way.
Meanwhile, with Anna we are given a character not quite as complicated, but every bit as strong. She has been shaped by her isolation – again though, not in a way that has her waiting for her prince to come. Her isolation has only tempered her deep love for her sister, and her willingness to do anything for her…distant as she Elsa may be. Her isolation has also spiked her sense of self-reliance; so even when she is surrounded with friendly and capable people, she often takes it upon herself to meet a challenge.
With two such strong characters at its forefront, FROZEN is already sitting pretty in its mission to spark the audience’s imagination. Solidifying their effort is the top-notch production that evokes memories of those modern classics I mentioned earlier. The film knows what it takes to wow us with beauty, when to make us laugh, and how to make us cry. It dangles a familiar trope making us believe that we are smarter than the story, and then turns that trope on its head while winking and saying “Not so smart now, are ya?”.
All of these flourishes are backed by some of the best music Disney has featured in a long time, thanks to the songwriting team behind Broadway hits like Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon. Their music brings on a flood of emotions including feelings of independence, defiance, love, desire, humour, and cheek.
Sleeping Beauty has indeed been awakened. She has grown quite a bit during her sleep and understands that the world around her has changed. The new world is one she no longer needs to be rescued from, nor one where she wants to be rescued. FROZEN works well with these ideas to deliver something forceful, stunning, intricate, and loving.
Great review! Totally agree with everything here. It was such a heart-warming movie with great characters and messages and humour and beauty. I admit, I was a little saddened by Hans’s true intentions (totes a hot Disney prince), but it all worked for the better and the film was about Elsa and Anna and that was wonderful. It made me feel happy 😀
The more I’ve thought back on this film, the more I love it. It’s so intricate a film from a storytelling perspective. If you have some time to kill, check out The Q&A Podcast with Jeff Goldsmith. He did an episode with the directing/screenwriting team behind the film, and it’s a fascinating listen.