Frozen has quite the dedicated fan base. I’ve never seen more college girls talk about how many times they’ve seen a Disney princess movie in theatres or about how often they jam to “Let It Go” covers on YouTube. There are so many reasons why Frozen is worth fangirl-ing over, but I literally could not contain my tears (can I ever?) after witnessing such a crazy beautiful expression of girl power. Here’s a list of reasons why Frozen is quite unlike any other Disney princess movie I’ve seen before (spoilers ahead):
Sisterhood Disney movies have had some struggle in the past portraying meaningful relationships between women. Not only does this movie pass the Bechdel Test with flying colors (it includes two women who talk to each other about something other than men), but it also portrays a complex relationship between strong female characters! Both Elsa and Anna are trying to reconcile their differences as sisters while simultaneously trying to overcome their own struggles as individuals. They both experience completely different journeys in finding themselves, and at no point in the movie do they reinforce harmful stereotypes of girl-on-girl hate or competition.
Challenges “Love at First Sight” In the context of other Disney princess movies, this twist was certainly unexpected. Within the first 20 minutes of the movie, Anna believes she’s fallen in love with a complete stranger, and surprisingly enough, her sister reacts in a totally rational way and is not cool with it! Instead of focusing on some overdone trope of the love-stricken couple trying to overcome all odds, the movie focuses on the love between two sisters. Anna and Kristoff’s relationship is almost an afterthought; it’s not until the end of the movie after all conflicts are resolved that they even come together. And the movie doesn’t even end with a wedding!
The “Villain” Guess what! The villain in this movie isn’t an evil hag nor obsessed with the goal of maintaining his or her youth! In fact, the character you initially thought would be the villain isn’t a villain at all. At the beginning of the movie, you probably thought the objective of Frozen was to save Arandelle from an ice queen. Fooled you! This movie is actually about women trying to overcome internal struggle and find the ability to embrace themselves. Which brings us to…
The Princesses Save Themselves Elsa and Anna are no damsels in distress, and in the end, they don’t need a man to solve their conflicts; they solve them on their own. The kind of true love needed to bring Anna back to life isn’t the stereotypical true love’s kiss between the typical heteronormative movie couple — it’s the true love between sisters. Anna’s willingness to sacrifice her life for her sister ultimately serves as the act of love that saves her own life. When does that ever happen?
I may have a little bit of a bias, considering I’m a total sucker for movies about sisterly love (shout out to my lil’ sis, Sandra), but this movie has certainly exceeded so many expectations of Disney movies. Hope y’all appreciate Frozen that much more now! I’m going to go back to listening to the soundtrack on repeat.