An Honest Reaction to "Frozen"

I have seen Frozen so many times that "Frozen fever" has died, momentarily come back to life, and then flatlined into apathetic disinterest.  At one point in time, I would have said Frozen was one of my favorite Disney movies.  Not anymore.

Why?  It's probably a combination of the fact that I've seen it over a dozen times, that it's too saturated commercially, and that people won't stop singing "Let it Go" no matter where I go.  I'd agree that the movie is catchy, sweet, and probably one of Disney's better pieces, but it's not for me.

So when it came time for me to watch this movie for this class, I procrastinated as long as I could.  Then I put in my earbuds and prepared myself to re-watch a movie that I'd already practically memorized.  And the results were surprising.

In the big scheme of things, Frozen is overdone to me.  The songs, the quotable moments, the characters—I hear about them enough in my daily life, so I don't exactly need to watch the movie to experience Frozen culture.  But there's so many small moments in the film that I forgot about: the intricate detail in the animation, the pure beauty of "Let it Go," the sisterly bond between Anna and Elsa, etc. In fact, since I have a sister, this bond is one of my favorite parts of the film (I always guilt her into hanging out with me by singing "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?")

The film's most redeeming quality, which I acknowledged even in my anti-Frozen phase, is this sisterly bond.  It's a progressive Disney film: the "true love" that's discussed the entire movie isn't the love between Anna and Hans (or even Anna and Kristoff).  Instead, it's the love between Anna and Elsa.  And while Anna and Kristoff do end up together at the end of the movie, at least it doesn't end with some rushed fairytale wedding between two people who just met.

Other parts of the movie were still overdone when I watched it for the umpteenth (wow, I used to be obsessed) time.  For example, Oaken's scene used to make me crack up, but it isn't nearly as funny now that I know exactly what's going to happen.  There's a certain purity to leaving a movie relatively unwatched—that way, when you do go back to it, it's like your first time seeing it (minus the part that you now know any plot spoilers).

Of course, since we're talking about villains in this class, I can't watch Frozen without mentioning Hans.  People still express despair that Hans didn't turn out "good."  Why?  Finally, Disney actually manages to include a believable plot twist.  Finally, the "love at first sight" doesn't turn out to be real. There are plenty of movies with perfect happily-ever-afters—this was much needed.  Plus, it breaks free of Disney's typical villainous stereotypes.  Hans doesn't look ugly or too skinny or overly feminine like most male villains.  In fact, he looks completely normal, implying that maybe, just maybe, evil can sneak up out of nowhere.

Looking back at this post, my opinion of the movie seems pretty pessimistic.  I've basically expressed that I'm sick of it, and its only redeeming qualities include that Anna had her heart broken and the film didn't revolve around a romance.  But if it weren't for these two things, I don't think there would be anything to set the film apart—so they're actually positives.  And after this viewing, I realize my anti-Frozen phase may (just may) have run its course.  Maybe I'm ready to accept belting out songs and quoting Olaf once more.  And I already know I'll be rushing to the theater to see the sequel.