The latest Dis.ney Prin.cesses are anything but diverse, hardly surprising given the company's track record. That aside, we finally watched the movie Fro.zen, mostly because I've been struck by how X has picked up on so many pop cultural references and since he knew about a big snow monster and a snow man and the names of the princesses (?) without us ever uttering a word about it, I thought it would be fun to watch.
The snowman saves the whole movie. Without the comic relief it's overwrought melodrama squarely targeted at little girls. Complete with a transforming princess into a bonafide Bar.bie doll. She's the one everyone wants to be, and I saw plenty of the El.sa costumes on Halloween night, that's for sure. What struck me though, is that she was the most boring character in the whole movie. Her sister is far more engaging and full of personality. So why don't little girls want to dress up like An.na?
Because El.sa is blond. And skinny. And has big boobs.
Thanks a lot Disn.ey for perpetuating stereotypes.
Did I miss something? Educate me if I have it wrong, but I remember Bel.le and Ar.iel as interesting characters. El.sa was just...there to drive An.na's story, but because she's the tragic heroine every little girl wants to be her?
I'm only happy that for once, a prince did not save the day. That at least, was a positive message.
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Elsa proceeds to rule without a man by her side. That is for me the big change in these princesses. She doesn't need a man to rule her kingdom. She decides. Pretty big in my eyes!
ReplyDeleteGood point. I wish they had done more with the character development so that I cared about her a little.
DeleteHa I was anti disney princess as a kid, so don't know a thing about any disney princesses and probably couldn't even identify most if I tried. Elliot recently saw Frozen and really loved the music. What I saw of it I was kind of meh about. I was the weird kid that hated cartoons entirely as a kid. I wouldn't mind if my own kids felt the same way. Lol!
ReplyDeleteThat is funny. And of course I'm remembering my pre-teen/teen years of the movies. Chances are I'd have a different take if I watched them again.
DeleteI really liked that the movie stepped (slightly) away from its predecessors in turning the love at first sight thing on its head etc, but yes, Anna is by far the better character (and I personally like her songs better too).
ReplyDeleteElsa is the one with the ice power though. Even my son wants to go as her next year as he thought her show of power was quite impressive. She conveyed the message to me to not be the girl everyone wants you to be but be herself. I also liked the true love message was about the sisters love for one another.
ReplyDeleteIn my house at least, Stella loves Elsa because "SHE BUILT A CASTLE ALL BY HERSELF!" Which really is pretty cool if you think about it. Stella also loves the whole sisters thing (and keeps asking me for a sister *ahem*). We're fans in our house...
ReplyDeleteMy daughter loves Elsa because she has magic powers, and learns how to build beautiful things. And actually, Anna is a little naive ... Elsa does end up loving herself for who she is, which is also pretty big for Disney. I like Anna, too, but I'm feeling less like Elsa is objectionable than, say, my daughter's love of Cinderella/Rapunzel,etc. .. I wish Elsa's waistline were a little more realistic, though!
ReplyDeleteWhen she went through her transformation I'm pretty sure I yelled, "Oh come on!" at the TV much to S's amusement.
DeleteI ASKED THE SAME QUESTION TODAY! To a bunch of little girls that I was driving. I asked why everyone dressed as El.sa even though An.na was more interesting. I was told that El.sa was the lead despite the fact that most of the action was done by An.na. I told them we'd have to agree to disagree, and then muttered that I'm 40 and totally right and they're totally wrong.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha
DeleteAgreed! I'm boycotting this and other princess movies in my house for now... My go-to Dis.neu film right now is to.ystory... Makes me smile, good messages and no princess at all. That said I put on fro.zen the other day just to see how moonbeam would react and she was honestly glued to the tv for longer than I've ever seen..... Hence the banning.....
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that Disney has released two movies in a year where the "true love" element has not been romantic. (Malificent is the other) In fact the male characters were portrayed as less trustworthy.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it is Elsa's ability to create? She is also the big sister, the position of authority, that may also be part of the appeal
We've not watched Fro.zen in our house. Our boy just wouldn't sit through it, plus he likes planes and forklifts (Pla.nes movie). Although, if there is a snowman, he might be interested.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying expand beyond our 80th viewing of Cars. X was enthralled as always is when tv on but he hasn't asked to watch it again!
DeleteI did not like this movie and I'm a Disn.ey lover. I felt that Els.a was extremely selfish with how she ran away and wanted to prove that she didn't need anyone and could just live in her cold world and just let it go, as the song said. Anna was a great character and yes, the snowman saved the movie. They did not make me feel sorry for Els.a at all. Anna was a bit sad at first but then she just got over everything and went about her business. I did like how independent she was and how she was ready to do anything to save their village...even seek out her selfish sister. They could have really made a movie about these 2 sisters coming together and forming a bond but to me it was all very forced. I did not "feel" the love between them at all. When Arie.l cried after her dad yelled at her, it stung. When Cinder.ella ran up the stairs crying after her step-sisters destroyed her dress, it stung. When Els.a ran away to the mountains I was wishing that she'd just stay there because no one would miss her anyway. Maybe I'm being too harsh but I think they really missed the boat on this opportunity. It made so much money and is so influential...I think that had more to do with the beauty of the film and the soundtrack than the actual story. Like I said, I love Disne.y but this was not their best, not even close.
ReplyDeleteThe kids love Elsa because of the magic powers, building cool stuff, the magic powers and the power song 'let it go'. I love Anna because she discovers the power was in her all the time. BTW - we saw Maleficent this weekend and WOW.
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