Frozen: Feminist and Fun

Ladies and gents, the newest Disney phenomenon has swept the nation; yes, you guessed it (by the title I hope?), this post is going to be all about how Disney’s Frozen can be considered a feminist film.

For those of you who haven’t yet seen the film, here’s a short synopsis. (For those who have, skip down to the astericks***.) Two sisters, Elsa and Anna, are princesses in a snowy setting (probably in some Nordic country). Elsa, the older sister, was born with the power of magically producing snow and ice forms through her hands. She and Anna love playing with the snow, until one day Anna gets hurt. From then on, their parents don’t allow Elsa to use her magic, but it’s difficult for her to keep it in. They also separate the two sisters, and refuse for them to leave the house. One day their parents are killed at sea, so 3 years later, Elsa will be crowned queen of the land.

On her coronation day, many people from distant lands arrive to celebrate the new queen. One of these foreigners is Hans, with whom Anna falls desperately in love with right away. He proposes to her, and she says yes immediately. After the coronation, Elsa loses control of her powers, and the entire town, including Anna, learns of her secret. Embarrassed and scared, she flees the castle, and Anna vows to go after her, putting Hans in charge while she’s away. On the way she comes across Kristoff, a mountain man of a guy with a cool moose companion, who at first refuses to help Anna, but later she changes his mind.

Who doesn’t love a Yeti companion?

Kristoff and Anna eventually make it to Elsa’s North Castle, a fortress she made out of ice, and they find Elsa perfectly happy being alone since she can be herself. But when Anna tells Elsa she has caused an eternal winter, Elsa grows scared again, and accidently strikes Anna in the heart with her snow powers. Kristoff takes her to some cool little trolls who say only an act of true love can break that ice. Kristoff rushes Anna back to Hans, but Hans laughs in her face and says he never loved her, he just wanted to take the kingdom from Anna. Meanwhile, Elsa is captured, brought to jail, and then escapes. Anna is left to die, before Olaf, her trusty snowman she met along the way, finds her and suggests they go find Kristoff. At the climax, Hans finds Elsa wandering the fjord in a blizzard, and gets ready to strike her with a dagger. Anna, nearly frozen to death, staggers toward them and steps in front Elsa. She turns completely to ice and shatters Hans’ blade. Elsa, consumed with grief, breaks down and starts hugging her frozen sister, when suddenly, Anna’s ice melts and she’s normal again! By saving her sister, an act of true love, Anna broke her own spell.

Elsa realizes love can break the eternal winter, so she warms the land and everything is back to normal.

The sisters’ kingdom (thawed)

Hans is taken back to his own land, Kristoff kisses Anna for replacing his broken sled for a new one and the sisters rule the kingdom happily together.

A pretty long summary, but I wanted to hit some of the more important parts that I’m going to analyze. In historical Disney films, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, and even Tangled, it’s the man who ends up saving the downtrodden princess. I like Frozen because it completely turns this idea upside-down. At first, you think that it’s going to be just another Disney film; Hans and Anna fall madly in love the very first day they meet each other, and you find yourself shaking your fist at Disney, no! not another one of these unrealistic themes! At the same time, Elsa is told by her parents to keep her powers to herself, to hide her true personality. This theme can be seen even in real life, when girls are criticized for too strongly showing a certain characteristic, such as their sexuality, and are encouraged to hide it. Once Elsa is alone and is able to LET IT GO (the starring musical number in the film), she feels freer and happier. I like that Disney wanted to show that it’s not healthy to keep emotions inside yourself, and that little girls and boys alike should express themselves because it feels better to do so.

Moreover, the ending message really hits home. Instead of Hans turning out to be some great prince who rescues Anna, he betrays her, and it’s Anna who saves herself in the end. The tight sisterly bond between Anna and Elsa causes Elsa to figure out how to fix the eternal winter. The two sisters are happy to be reunited again, and they find a balance between allowing Elsa to use her powers and keeping harmony in the palace. It’s the sisters who figure out the solution, not some prince who sweeps in and saves everyone. Can anybody say GIRL POWER? Plus, having an older sister myself, I can relate to the film. Sometimes you fight with your sister, and sometimes you save your parents’ kingdom with her. Go us.

All the while, the film is fun to watch. Girls and guys of all ages can enjoy the cute musical numbers with Olaf the snowman (who steals the show btw), not at the expense of women or some other “dumbly-casted” minority (see characters such as Lightning McQueen in Cars or the Seven Dwarves in Snow White).

As for the sisters’ appearances go, Disney could have further pushed the message that individuality is an okay thing by possibly creating a curvier Elsa or Anna. The girls are still tied up in this rigid, impossibly skinny, model, and I would’ve liked to see a change in that. Like in Tangled, the princesses still have enormous eyes, small noses, beautiful locks that frame their pointy faces. I hate how Elsa, Anna, and Tangled’s Rapunzel all look like twins whereas the men in the movies, Hans, Kristoff, and Tangled’s Eugene are all extremely varied. If the importance of individuality is Disney’s intended message, the creators should have varied the girls’ looks and sizes a bit more.

Demeaning portrait of the perfect woman, or just long lost sister?

All in all, however, Frozen gets the Miranda Holmes feminist seal of approval.