'Frozen 2': How the Disney movie closed doors on damsels-in-distress with Elsa and Anna's powerful sisterly love
Do princesses always need a prince charming to save them? Back in 2013, 'Frozen' was one of the first Disney movies to put up a fight against that notion by introducing the two sisters — Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel) and Princess Anna (Kristen Bell) — in the lead. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen's 'Snow Queen', the tale moves forward as Elsa accepts her powers to control and create ice as a gift rather than a curse and is crowned as the queen of Arendelle.
Often apologizing for her power and fearing she might endanger people around her, Elsa always hid and stayed aloof. It is only when her loved ones venture into an enchanted forest that she discovers that having those powers are a blessing for her. Moreover, the movie also highlighted Anna's co-dependency by putting her in situations that made her highly uncomfortable but also brought her courage and self-reliance into focus.
Even when Anna falls in love with mountain man Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), it doesn't come across as a relationship dependent on the need for one to be saved. In fact, both the characters are equally equipped with wit and strength to deal with tough consequences.
Like every fairy tale, it does offer the same takeaway: love triumphs fear but unlike most fairy tales, it doesn't present a romantic love or a male to save princesses-in-jeopardy. Remember how Anna shuns her "true" love as a sacrifice for her sister? The message is clear: it is all about sisterly love, as a gesture of deep bond and meta-communication for viewers across the globe.
Thanks to its novel idea of women for women, 'Frozen' became the first Disney movie to uproot the generic idea of how girls and boys were viewed. The film championed the cause of feminism and closed the door on damsels-in-distress, making all previous fairy tale representations seem old-fashioned. When 'Frozen 2' was announced, onlookers put the burden of taking the feminist wave ahead by showing Elsa as gay with the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend.
But, is it really necessary? What credentials would a film have if it turns the lead character into an LGBTQ representative, merely to earn some brownie points from social commentators? Even if Elsa is just a single woman not interested in love, she is as strong as one can be and that should be enough. As the movie hits the screen on Friday, November 21, there's hope that it carries forward the legacy of women's liberation, open-mindedness, independence and inclusivity without forced characterizations.