Tuskan Times April 2014 | Page 9

Frozen and Female Protagonists

By Sophie Culpepper

Frozen is the latest Disney movie to captivate multi-generational audiences with its beautiful characters, infectious songs and heartwarmingly familiar happily ever after. It has been widely praised by critics as well as general viewers, and won the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Song for Let it Go, along with the vast majority of other awards in the Best Animated Feature category, including the Golden Globe. In terms of salary, the chilly masterpiece is the highest grossing animated film of all time (not accounting for inflation). Moreover, it has been favorably compared to Disney’s renaissance-era (90s) films—in particular The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty & the Beast.

The film, loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, is set in the fantastical kingdom Arendelle, and tells the story of two simultaneous journeys. The literal journey of Princess Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) who searches for her elder sister Queen Elsa (Broadway actress/singer Idina Menzel) who has accidentally frozen the world with her birth-begotten, unwieldy powers…and the psychological journey of this reluctant enchantress to liberate herself from deep-rooted fear and insecurity. The movie feautres emotional and comical character encounters, along with a fulfilling sisterly reconciliation.

The stellar animation and witty dialogue contribute to the sparkle of Frozen, but this feature’s success is above all thanks to its spot-on blend of traditional fairy tale and modern ideology. The protagonists are royal, but the plot is refreshingly more focused on their relationship than on a quest for “Prince Charming”. Anna still stumbles upon love, but not where she’s looking for it, and not the conventional love at first sight. Plus, Elsa more than holds her own as a single lady! Also, because the movie revolves around a family relationship, we actually get to see the heiresses as kids; they don’t suddenly spring up out of the ground as attractive, eligible bachelorettes. This renders them more human, more relatable, and ultimately more lovable. What’s more, the “evil sorceress” is a heroine, the “handsome prince” is a slimeball, and Olaf the snowman (Josh Gad) keeps everyone laughing through these plot twists with his innocence and enthusiasm for life.

Another excellent element of the film is Elsa’s solo escape. Disney princess don’t usually go gallivanting off on their own, but Queen Elsa runs away by herself, braving the elements without male accompaniment. The raging success of the aforementioned song Let it Go is another testament to the public’s open-armed welcoming of the film’s underlying encouragement of independence and individuality, for girls in particular. Disney’s Tangled (a modern adaption of Rapunzel) was a step in the right direction; we can hope that Frozen marks the beginning of a trend towards empowering female protagonists.

Strong female characters have become trendy: The Hunger Games, Blue Jasmine, Gravity, and Divergent are proof that well-written female characters help create box-office hits. Audiences understand that their prominence and dominance last in the real world, so they applaud and recognize reflections of such in the movies. The game has changed; it seems Hollywood has finally realized that independent female characters not only supply fans with empowerment and inspiration, but they're big-time moneymakers to boot!

“Let it go, let it go, you’ll never see me cry; here I stand, and here I stay! Let the storm rage on…the cold never bothered me anyway…” So much for damsels in distress!

Queen Elsa (left)

Princess Anna (right)