297 replies to this topic

[Katia11]

I'm just full of it I guess. I get silly after a show. :-) 

[RocksmySocks]

The main reason I didn't suspect that he was just a power-hungry jerkface who wanted the crown was that his little run-in with Anna at the beginning seemed like a genuine accident. If he had made a more "planned" entrance and was introduced as a suitor for the queen, but then quickly tried to woo Anna, I would have pegged him as a stereotypical bad guy. Instead, he met the princess and then fell into the harbor - and you usually don't get card-carrying villain types with cute horses who cause wacky hijinks in boats.

 

One of the other things that led me to believe that he would be more nuanced was his song number with Anna. Obviously it was corny and showed exactly why you shouldn't give too much credence to infatuation, but the song gave him so much screentime that I figured his motivations would fall into a gray area rather than outright villainy.

 

Guess I was wrong 

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

 

Hahahaha. Yeah. Real villains don't usually get the love song duet. Another thing I loved about this movie!

 

The way I saw it, I think the run-in was an accident. I think his original goal was Elsa, but Anna was so obviously desperate that when he met her he switched tactics. I think he was super sweet and nice at the beginning to whoever the heck he ran into, since he was hoping to make a good impression on all the people of Arendelle. Then when it turned out to be the second-in-line Princess, he took the opportunity that was presented to him.

 

It was their duet that cemented his goals for me. It was so quirky and "off" that I knew he was just playing along. We finish each others....SANDWICHES.

Hahahaha. That killed me. Also... "You...and I!..." pffffffffffffffft.

 

I also liked what they did with him with Elsa near the end. He didn't know if Anna survived. He hadn't done those "marriage vows" yet so he had no legitimate claims to the throne. So they got Elsa back...and he was KIND to her. Sneaky little bastard was going to make moves on her if Anna never returned. But then Anna came back, and obviously everything worked out to his advantage.

 

UNTIL SISTER LOVES TRIUMPHS.

 

Gahhh I love it!

 

I also agree with above comments about how great it is that nothing really happened with Anna and Kristoff. They kissed, sure, but we never found out if their kiss was "true love's kiss". They're just two people who had an adventure together and grew to care about each other, possibly romantically. Love how much more realistic of a relationship start they have. And bless Kristoff and his hilarious shock at Anna getting engaged after one day of knowing a guy.

 

In the theater, we sat next to a family with kids. And when Elsa refused to let her sister marry a guy she just met, the little girl asked her mom why Elsa was being so MEAN and UNFAIR. I wanted to pat the girl on the shoulders and be like, "No dear. This is the same type of unfair as when your parents tell you that you can't eat a gallon of ice cream for dinner." Love that this message is out there!

[RocksmySocks]

Speaking of unfair, in other news, I've determined that I'm addicted to the Frozen soundtrack. And my apartment is a mess. So I've decided I can't listen to it anymore until this place is clean.

 

That means I can't have reindeer duets with my cats for several hours.

[RocksmySocks]

ONE MORE FROZEN THING. Then I go clean.

 

Can I just reiterate (or say for the first time, if I haven't mentioned it on this thread yet), how much I love that we now have a BADASS MAGIC-WIELDING DISNEY QUEEN who is NOT evil?

 

That makes me so unbelievably happy. An adult woman in power (seriously in power...that is some crazy powerful power) who isn't corrupt and evil? Yesssss.

[Mara=^.^=]

I also liked what they did with him with Elsa near the end. He didn't know if Anna survived. He hadn't done those "marriage vows" yet so he had no legitimate claims to the throne. So they got Elsa back...and he was KIND to her. Sneaky little bastard was going to make moves on her if Anna never returned. But then Anna came back, and obviously everything worked out to his advantage.

 

I was just talking to my friend Shaun, who saw this movie on Friday with his brother. Like Mary and me, he didn't expect Hans to suddenly go all 'bad guy' evil in the second half of the film. Apparently, he and his brother BOTH thought that Disney was going to pull out the "pair the spares" trope - that is, have Anna fall in love with Kristoff during their little field trip, then have Elsa come to love Hans after she saw how well he treated everyone in her absence. Shaun said he expected this outcome not only because hey, it's Disney, but because all the Frozen posters at the movie theater showed Anna, Kristoff, Elsa, and Hans (and Olaf) buried in the snow together, like they were all having fun. In most promotional material, villains are depicted standing apart from the heroes, looming ominously in the background or whatever. It's quite a departure from standard marketing procedure to have a bad guy posing convivially with the main cast.
 

Can I just reiterate (or say for the first time, if I haven't mentioned it on this thread yet), how much I love that we now have a BADASS MAGIC-WIELDING DISNEY QUEEN who is NOT evil? That makes me so unbelievably happy. An adult woman in power (seriously in power...that is some crazy powerful power) who isn't corrupt and evil? Yesssss.

 
OK, I reeeeeally want to talk about this too. What surprised me the most, actually, was Elsa's initial coronation. There was NO indication whatsoever that future rulers of Arendelle, be they male or female, were required to marry before assuming the throne. The only requirement was that they be old enough to handle the responsibility. This is HUGE to me. It is so unusual to find a medieval European styled fantasy where women wield power solo, and people treat it like it's no big deal. In a more "typical" big budget movie, Elsa would've been required to pick a husband before becoming queen. She would've been upset about being forced to marry some random prince, and this would've played into her decision to run away, more than her fear that she might hurt her sister.
 
I agree, it is interesting the way power was handled in Frozen - because Elsa is like, ridiculously powerful. She can build a castle from scratch, fight off armed bowmen, and create rampaging snow beasts to guard her gates. And yet, despite this, she really doesn't want to hurt anyone. She only runs off into the mountains because she's convinced that Arendelle and Anna would be better off without her, and because she's suffered for so long under the weight of her own secrets, fear, and sense of guilt. It's unusual to see a character in a children's movie who possesses destructive magic and yet is conflicted about their abilities. Most just go power-crazy and use their magic for malice or self-gain. It's too bad Elsa was made to fear and loathe her abilities from childhood, because I'm convinced she would've been perfectly capable of handling them if only they'd been allowed to develop in a supportive environment. It's part of the reason "Let it Go" is so breathtaking - because for the first time since the opening, we get to see this potentially dangerous power channeled into something constructive and beautiful. And I have to say, the idea that beauty and destruction can co-exist, and that being out of balance within oneself can tip the scale from one side to the other, is pretty nuanced for a children's film. I don't know why, but the whole setup makes me want to see this woman at the head of an army, fighting to save her kingdom from some dark and sinister threat despite her innate desire not to harm others. She's clearly someone who's going to have a fascinating life.
 
But anyway, back to feminist themes for a second - it was quite refreshing to see gender being incidental to a female character rather than being a defining trait. Sooooo many of the stories aimed at young women have to do with overcoming prejudice and convention and "making it in a man's world". And while it's valuable to show the experiences of girls who really have suffered at the hands of the patriarchy (and makes sense in say, works of historical ficiton), I CANNOT understand why it is continually perpetuated by fantasy writers who have the freedom to craft any society they want. I want to see more works where the heroine just... doesn't have to deal with sexism. Like, it's not even an issue in her world. It would be nice to have the sort of escapist adventure works that male readers have, instead of being constantly reminded "oh, right, I'm a girl, so it's gonna be extra tough for me". I know this is also a problem for non-white, non-heterosexual fiction lovers, since stories starring POC or LGBT characters so often focus on what it's like to be POC or LGBT, instead of having skin color/sexual orientation just be incidental to the main story.

 

I guess what I'm saying here is...variety is the spice of life, authors! Take advantage of it!

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[SweeneyxxTodd]

Apparently, he and his brother BOTH thought that Disney was going to pull out the "pair the spares" trope - that is, have Anna fall in love with Kristoff during their little field trip, then have Elsa come to love Hans after she saw how well he treated everyone in her absence.

 

That's what I thought was gonna happen.

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Jeez, you guys LOVE to monologue about this!!!

[Mara=^.^=]

Jeez, you guys LOVE to monologue about this!!!

says the queen of monologuing

 

But duh, discussing this crap is why we're here! I mean, we've collectively made over 264,000 posts on a fansite dedicated to an animated children's show. Blabbing for hours about Frozen kinda goes with the territory

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Well, of course! That's why I mentioned it!

[RocksmySocks]

Hidden for language, but I would've paid (even more) money to see this version sang.

 

Spoiler

[Mara=^.^=]

I saw that on tumblr. Had quite the chuckle

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[RocksmySocks]

The only reason I don't have "Let it Go" on an endless loop all the time, is that next up on the soundtrack is "Reindeers Are Better Than People", and you just can't click "back" when that song comes on.

 

That's once again true, for all except you!
 

You got me! Let's call it a niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

[Mara=^.^=]

The only reason I don't have "Let it Go" on an endless loop all the time, is that next up on the soundtrack is "Reindeers Are Better Than People", and you just can't click "back" when that song comes on.

 

That's once again true, for all except you!
 

You got me! Let's call it a niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

I love both songs. I've been dealing with my Let It Go obsession by listening to the song dubbed into as many different languages as possible.

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[RocksmySocks]

I love both songs. I've been dealing with my Let It Go obsession by listening to the song dubbed into as many different languages as possible.

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

 

Hah. Awesome.

 

I may or may not wake up every morning and watch the "Let it Go" clip on youtube on my phone before getting out of bed to do anything else.

[RocksmySocks]

Why am I not best friends with all of Team Starkid?

 

[Mara=^.^=]

Oh, that reminds me...have you watched Twisted yet?

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[RocksmySocks]

Oh, that reminds me...have you watched Twisted yet?

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

 

Of course I have!

[Mara=^.^=]

Mary and I were talking about dragging your butt up to VT so that we could all watch it together

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

I wish I lived a lot closer so I could do things like that with you all!!! *sigh*

[RocksmySocks]

Mary and I were talking about dragging your butt up to VT so that we could all watch it together

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

 

Hah.

 

Never fear. I will drag my own butt up there one of these days.