Ten Reasons You Should See ‘Frozen’

Another ten list, mainly because I don’t have the time to write a blog post about Wonder Woman today. But that is coming, and it will be here with a vengeance.

So here we are. Ten reasons to see ‘Frozen’!

1. Sister/sister dynamic:
   At the centre of the story, we have two sisters; Elsa and Anna. It’s their story we follow, and it’s their relationship we care most about. They have different personalities, priorities and outlooks on life, but they still love each other. Much like in Brave, it captures genuine sort of relationship that sisters have. They fight, sometimes ignore each other, but ultimately everything they do is with the others best interest at heart. Elsa is the strict older sister, and Anna is the whimsical younger sister. I related to Elsa like that.
2. The snowman:
   There’s a really annoying tendency in children’s movies post-Despicable Me to have annoying sidekicks in abundance. It’s lost its charm for me, and I was certain Olaf the Snowman was going to be another in that infuriating vein.
   And I was so wrong. Olaf was great. He was funny, entertaining, surprisingly touching, and just brilliant to watch. He wasn’t obnoxious, and he actually had a lot to do with the plot. He was more than comic relief. He was a symbol, and weirdly Shakespearean in a way. He’s a snowman in love with summer. Touché, Disney. Touché.
3. The romance:
   As the Disney Princess formula goes, there must be a love interest. Unless, of course, you’re being forced in to marriage. So it goes without saying that ‘Frozen’ does have that romantic element to it. But what I love most about it is that it presents two strong women, both ultimately happy with their happily ever after, but with only one of them with a love interest. It juxtaposes the traditional idea of the Disney ending with the new one of an independent woman, and it doesn’t place more importance on either of them. The love interests are good characters, and I love how they subvert the love at first sight trope and poke fun at it.
4. The plot:
   I feel like I can talk about this here, since the plot is common knowledge at this point. But if you’re wanting to avoid spoilers, skip to number six.
   I’ll wait.
   We good?
   Okay! So the plot is based around Elsa, the princess of Arendelle. Since birth, she has had power over ice, but had no control over it. After she injures Anna, nearly killing her, she starts to distance herself, though Anna has no idea why. They drift apart, and Elsa’s secret is safe until her coronation day, when her panic causes her to out herself. Afraid, she flees to the mountains, accidentally causing an eternal winter throughout the land. Anna goes to find her sister, and tries to convince her to come back.
   There is nothing to not love about this plot. It’s not those surreal fairy tale elements that we all love. It’s not mermaid and beasts; it’s powers we never truly understand.
5. The moral
   The moral is that love doesn’t have to be about marriage and romance. The love between sisters is something that hasn’t been explored since Lilo and Stitch, and I’m glad Disney is back to it. Elsa’s isolation comes from her wanting to protect Anna from the powers Elsa can’t control. Anna chooses Elsa repeatedly throughout the movie, risking her safety over and over. Family is important, and I’m glad Disney is promoting that again.
6. The soundtrack:
   Oh, the soundtrack. It starts with a gorgeous traditional folk piece, very much in the same vein as the opening of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. It gives a sense of location, before going on to tug at heart-strings with fully quotable songs, and possibly one of the best villain songs as far as surprises go. Points to Disney. I did not see that coming. Obviously we have to talk about Idina Menzel’s gorgeous voice and Let It Go. Let It Go is the part of the movie which I can not get enough of. The animation, the design, the song itself! I bought the soundtrack. I’m not sorry. It was that good!
7. It’s visually stunning
   The ice is so pretty! The scenes of a happy bustling Arendelle are juxtaposed perfectly with the barren ice palace. The way the ice is created and shifts, the character designs… I think this is the first time I’ve really liked CGI animation over the hand-drawn work.
8. It’s funny
   I take you back to the snowman. He’s the comic relief, and he’s damn good at his job. But the humour doesn’t just come from quips. There’s Hans and his deadpan responses to Anna’s childishness. Anna’s awkwardness provides plenty of funny situations. She’s adorkable. There’s something to make everyone laugh.
9. It’s heartwarming
   “Do you wanna build a snowman?” will forever make you teary after this. I know I keep mentioning it’s about sisters, but that’s what makes the movie so incredible. It’s teaching that family is important, more important than anything. And the lengths these women go to protect each other really gets to me. Seeing how all the characters learn and cope with what happens to them makes them seem real. You genuinely care for them, and their happily ever afters make everything better.
10. Fun for all the family
    Here’s a fun story. Being in university, I’m surrounded by people who are much older, and from different family circumstances. I have friends with young children, grown children and no children at all, and the consensus is that this is a movie worth seeing. And please don’t buy in to the hype that it’s a girl’s movie, because how can you gender a movie? It’s a family film, and last time I checked, families could have men in them. My uncle loved it, my male friends, my male teachers… and the same goes for the females in my life. Whether you like epic adventures, love stories, or just a good old-fashioned fairytale, Frozen is worth seeing.

And so dear readers, we reach the end of another blog post. So, let me know your thoughts! Have you seen it yet? What did you think? Who was your favourite character? I always love to hear from you.