My Problems With Frozen (Five Months Old Spoilers)

[Caxkj 481]

I love Frozen, best Disney film I have ever watched. The atmosphere and design of the world is beautiful, the story is decent, the songs are well-developed... most of them anyway. However, even I acknowledge many of the, I feel, flaws it has. Mainly the characters and the ending. Constructive criticism welcome, I respect all opinions. 

 

• Anna being more of the focus than Elsa... oh, I need to explain why that's a bad thing? Anna is... bland. There is nothing of value about her, she's a boring person, she contributes nothing; I think the only useful thing she did was save her sister from death. That's it. Why couldn't Elsa be more of the main focus? She is a complex character with dilemmas, she's very interesting and I actually felt sorry and wanted to connect with her. And the film is called Frozen; I expected more on Elsa than her bland little sister, guys. Anna is someone I would rather ignore; she has about as much character as a wooden board (no offense to said boards everywhere). 

 

• Olaf. Jesus Chocolaty Christ, this guy annoys the hell out of me. I understand if Elsa created him to test out her powers while letting herself free from the restraints of fear, and if Disney just wanted a comedic sidekick in the film. But why this? Yes, he has some funny lines, but that doesn't stop that irritating voice of his, and that song sequence... ugh. Couldn't the reindeer be the funny sidekick? That animal had more potential than... that. 

 

• The Parents. I can understand they feared for their daughter, but the way I see it: the lengths and ways they go to to conceal her powers is despicable. Isolating her from contact with the outside world and her own sister? What a pair of *BEEP*. Their methods are cruel and idiotic. The only useful thing they conjured up was is the gloves. Surely they knew Elsa's powers will be unleashed in full eventually? They were scared and didn't want her or their other daughter to get hurt, I know that. They never experienced anything like this before, I get that. But couldn't they just allow to her connect with the world a few times instead of isolating her completely? Elsa, after their passing, had that rule of never interacting with anyone but the servants and guards drilled in her head by then. Plus, I'll say it right now: Conceal don't feel? I'm glad that would bite them in their dead behinds later. 

 

• The Trolls. I hate these rockweiler-rejects. "There is beauty in it... but also great danger." Well thanks a lot (pardon my language) asshats. Not you just make her and her parents fear the powers even more. There would have been a more gentler way of explaining the extent of this gift of hers. The only satisfaction I would get is kicking and playing football with them. Wouldn't it make more sense if the parents left Elsa with them to help control her powers; and they would raise Anna to be the future queen? Plus their song sequence is also an "ew" to me. Did I also mention the fact they practically kidnapped a child and his reindeer to raise as their own?

 

• Hans. His transformation to villain seems so last-minute. It was like Disney decided "Oh, Kristoff and Anna will get together, what about Hans? Oh, I know, let's make him the villain all along." I like the idea of a deceptive being, and the message that appearances are deceiving. But this... I'll give them credit: he's the first villain I've ever wanted to hit with my bare fists. 

 

• The conclusion. As it turns out: it is LOVE that gives complete control over her powers... I'm sorry... what? Now, Disney... couldn't you have come up with something more original and satisfying, than probably the most cheesiest clichéd answer to a problem I've ever heard in my life? Love? LOVE?! Are you kidding me? Are you absolutely bullshitting me?! You could've gone for anything, and you choose THIS unsatisfying conclusion?! I felt slapped in the face when I saw this. This is stupid. I know what you're thinking, "Well this would be typical of Disney", but with the way this story was going; I was hoping for something more original and beautiful, something that no one would anticipate. And they gave me, no, us, THIS?! *Goes into a Nostalgia Critic rant.* THIS IS STUPID! THIS IS UNDENIABLY STUPID! 

 THIS IS FROZEN! 

 

 

Okay... I've calmed down now. 

 

Anyway: that is all. Thank you for taking your time to read this. 

[MyDixieRect 2,061]

 

• The conclusion. As it turns out: it is LOVE that gives complete control over her powers... I'm sorry... what? Now, Disney... couldn't you have come up with something more original and satisfying, than probably the most cheesiest clichéd answer to a problem I've ever heard in my life? Love? LOVE?! Are you kidding me? Are you absolutely bullshitting me?! You could've gone for anything, and you choose THIS unsatisfying conclusion?! I felt slapped in the face when I saw this. This is stupid. I know what you're thinking, "Well this would be typical of Disney", but with the way this story was going; I was hoping for something more original and beautiful, something that no one would anticipate. And they gave me, no, us, THIS?! *Goes into a Nostalgia Critic rant.* THIS IS STUPID! THIS IS UNDENIABLY STUPID! 

 

This is Disney we're talking about. If you expected anything but cheesiness and love then you've come to the wrong animation studio.

[Orchestrafanboy19 101]

You seem very nit-picky in this rant. Then again, it is a rant. However, a lot of your arguments aren't fair. The movie is great and you seem to be arguing that stuff that you and you alone didn't like.

Olaf is a great character, he's certainly more interesting than Sven, and at least he HAD character. He helped Anna when she was freezing to death and he was willing to melt for her. 

Anna is not a bland character. She was a neglected child and grew a fanciful personality because of it. Why is it that people can't accept that there really are people in the world that truly do believe in good? You're reading the writings of one right now.

The parents were bad parents. There was no saving grace for them. They were bad parents. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's a message on people who expect perfection of their children. No one can expect it, so Elsa suffers because of it.

The trolls. Seriously, you're sounding nitpicky. You didn't like them, okay, I get it. The thing with Elsa's power is basically, "With great power comes great responsibility." Plus, you can't tell parents how to raise their children, that's rude and horrible. It doesn't matter how bad they are, you can't do that to someone. It's not your job, your life, nor your responsibility.

Hans is the perfect example of someone who tries to save face and appear good, but there's no hiding a black heart. Last-minute? I wouldn't say that, he did break a cliché Disney has suffered from for years. Ask people about Cinderella and they'll tell you it wasn't true love. That's exactly the point of Hans. They spent the same amount of time talking as Cinderella and Prince Charming, yet you can't argue it's true love. You can't possibly know a person until you've spent time with them. Even the whole true love's kiss thing is great. Even after we know he's the villain, he still speaks eccentrically and tries to sound good. Yet, once you know someone's true colors, there's no hiding that.

The conclusion. Love. Yes, love. No, not true love's kiss. Not star-crossed lovers. True love. Family love. When have you ever seen a movie where love is the defining message and it's not some cheesy romance? You might think it's silly, but I think it's great. Sure, there is no fixing the years that Elsa spent alone, hardly talking to Anna, but Anna sacrificing herself for the sister she barely knew is true love. How many people would be willing to stand in front of a sword or gun for the person they love? Yeah, sure, tell me you would. I'd really like to see if it's true. That is hard, but Anna was willing to do it.

All in all, Frozen is a great movie and it's a breath of fresh air from the stuff Disney usually produces. It's hard going back to stuff like Cinderella after seeing this.

[Caxkj 481]

This is Disney we're talking about. If you expected anything but cheesiness and love then you've come to the wrong animation studio.

I learnt that the hard way.  

 

 

You seem very nit-picky in this rant. Then again, it is a rant. However, a lot of your arguments aren't fair. The movie is great and you seem to be arguing that stuff that you and you alone didn't like.

Olaf is a great character, he's certainly more interesting than Sven, and at least he HAD character. He helped Anna when she was freezing to death and he was willing to melt for her. 

Anna is not a bland character. She was a neglected child and grew a fanciful personality because of it. Why is it that people can't accept that there really are people in the world that truly do believe in good? You're reading the writings of one right now.

The parents were bad parents. There was no saving grace for them. They were bad parents. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's a message on people who expect perfection of their children. No one can expect it, so Elsa suffers because of it.

The trolls. Seriously, you're sounding nitpicky. You didn't like them, okay, I get it. The thing with Elsa's power is basically, "With great power comes great responsibility." Plus, you can't tell parents how to raise their children, that's rude and horrible. It doesn't matter how bad they are, you can't do that to someone. It's not your job, your life, nor your responsibility.

Hans is the perfect example of someone who tries to save face and appear good, but there's no hiding a black heart. Last-minute? I wouldn't say that, he did break a cliché Disney has suffered from for years. Ask people about Cinderella and they'll tell you it wasn't true love. That's exactly the point of Hans. They spent the same amount of time talking as Cinderella and Prince Charming, yet you can't argue it's true love. You can't possibly know a person until you've spent time with them. Even the whole true love's kiss thing is great. Even after we know he's the villain, he still speaks eccentrically and tries to sound good. Yet, once you know someone's true colors, there's no hiding that.

The conclusion. Love. Yes, love. No, not true love's kiss. Not star-crossed lovers. True love. Family love. When have you ever seen a movie where love is the defining message and it's not some cheesy romance? You might think it's silly, but I think it's great. Sure, there is no fixing the years that Elsa spent alone, hardly talking to Anna, but Anna sacrificing herself for the sister she barely knew is true love. How many people would be willing to stand in front of a sword or gun for the person they love? Yeah, sure, tell me you would. I'd really like to see if it's true. That is hard, but Anna was willing to do it.

All in all, Frozen is a great movie and it's a breath of fresh air from the stuff Disney usually produces. It's hard going back to stuff like Cinderella after seeing this.

I am in no way attempting to start an argument about it; I fully respect what anyone thinks or feels about the film. Like I said: it's the best Disney film I've ever watched. Thank you for your reply. 

[Geotrix 862]

You seem very nit-picky in this rant. Then again, it is a rant. However, a lot of your arguments aren't fair. The movie is great and you seem to be arguing that stuff that you and you alone didn't like.

Olaf is a great character, he's certainly more interesting than Sven, and at least he HAD character. He helped Anna when she was freezing to death and he was willing to melt for her. 

Anna is not a bland character. She was a neglected child and grew a fanciful personality because of it. Why is it that people can't accept that there really are people in the world that truly do believe in good? You're reading the writings of one right now.

The parents were bad parents. There was no saving grace for them. They were bad parents. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's a message on people who expect perfection of their children. No one can expect it, so Elsa suffers because of it.

The trolls. Seriously, you're sounding nitpicky. You didn't like them, okay, I get it. The thing with Elsa's power is basically, "With great power comes great responsibility." Plus, you can't tell parents how to raise their children, that's rude and horrible. It doesn't matter how bad they are, you can't do that to someone. It's not your job, your life, nor your responsibility.

Hans is the perfect example of someone who tries to save face and appear good, but there's no hiding a black heart. Last-minute? I wouldn't say that, he did break a cliché Disney has suffered from for years. Ask people about Cinderella and they'll tell you it wasn't true love. That's exactly the point of Hans. They spent the same amount of time talking as Cinderella and Prince Charming, yet you can't argue it's true love. You can't possibly know a person until you've spent time with them. Even the whole true love's kiss thing is great. Even after we know he's the villain, he still speaks eccentrically and tries to sound good. Yet, once you know someone's true colors, there's no hiding that.

The conclusion. Love. Yes, love. No, not true love's kiss. Not star-crossed lovers. True love. Family love. When have you ever seen a movie where love is the defining message and it's not some cheesy romance? You might think it's silly, but I think it's great. Sure, there is no fixing the years that Elsa spent alone, hardly talking to Anna, but Anna sacrificing herself for the sister she barely knew is true love. How many people would be willing to stand in front of a sword or gun for the person they love? Yeah, sure, tell me you would. I'd really like to see if it's true. That is hard, but Anna was willing to do it.

All in all, Frozen is a great movie and it's a breath of fresh air from the stuff Disney usually produces. It's hard going back to stuff like Cinderella after seeing this.

I do feel like Olaf was there just to feel the sidekick quota. He was more cute than funny. Some of his jokes made me roll my eyes though.

I also feel the focus was in the wrong place. Elsa did seem the more interesting character and whilst Anna was entertaining for a while she didn't really go past the eccentric shut in and I quickly grew bored of her.

 

And whilst I get the message is you can't fall in love/marry someone you just met which is refreshing that's where I feel the film contradicts itself. Anna sacrificing herself to save her sister was heart-warming and everything is happy in the end but can a broken family relationship be repaired that quickly? They hardly communicated and had family issues but everything seemed fine in the end. It just was weird to see a nice message of love takes time to be retconned with their family relationship being repaired in an instant. (But I understand it's a Disney film so it can't get to complex in its messaging)

 

I won't go into to much though since it's a Disney film. Overall I did enjoy Frozen for its animation and two of its songs (Snowman and Let it Go) whilst the rest were forgettable in my opinion It was also refreshing that there were little to no pop culture references or references to other films (Apart from the Tangled cameo) It just simply told its story and that was really refreshing from other Disney movies. It is a good film don't get me wrong, there are just a lot of Disney films which are better in my opinion (Even Tangled) and I still even think Dreamworks 'How to Train your Dragon' was superior to it. 

Edited April 14, 2014 by Geotrix

[Orchestrafanboy19 101]

I learnt that the hard way.

 

 

I am in no way attempting to start an argument about it; I fully respect what anyone thinks or feels about the film. Like I said: it's the best Disney film I've ever watched. Thank you for your reply. 

 

I do feel like Olaf was there just to feel the sidekick quota. He was more cute than funny. Some of his jokes made me roll my eyes though.

I also feel the focus was in the wrong place. Elsa did seem the more interesting character and whilst Anna was entertaining for a while she didn't really go past the eccentric shut in and I quickly grew bored of her.

 

And whilst I get the message is you can't fall in love/marry someone you just met which is refreshing that's where I feel the film contradicts itself. Anna sacrificing herself to save her sister was heart-warming and everything is happy in the end but can a broken family relationship be repaired that quickly? They hardly communicated and had family issues but everything seemed fine in the end. It just was weird to see a nice message of love takes time to be retconned with their family relationship being repaired in an instant. (But I understand it's a Disney film so it can't get to complex in its messaging)

 

I won't go into to much though since it's a Disney film. Overall I did enjoy Frozen for its animation and two of its songs (Snowman and Let it Go) whilst the rest were forgettable in my opinion. It is a good film don't get me wrong, there are just a lot of Disney films which are better in my opinion (Even Tangled) and I still even think Dreamworks 'How to Train your Dragon' was superior to it. 

Yes, I understand you have problems with it, and I don't want to sound like some crazy Tumblr fan. It's simply that this movie was a masterpiece in my opinion and I feel very strongly about it. If I sound upset, I apologize, but I truly do think that sometimes people get too caught up on things that aren't that big of a deal. Regardless, I do respect your opinions and apologize if you thought I was being aggressive.

[Caxkj 481]

Yes, I understand you have problems with it, and I don't want to sound like some crazy Tumblr fan. It's simply that this movie was a masterpiece in my opinion and I feel very strongly about it. If I sound upset, I apologize, but I truly do think that sometimes people get too caught up on things that aren't that big of a deal. Regardless, I do respect your opinions and apologize if you thought I was being aggressive.

It's fine, my friend, don't fret. Everyone usually sounds aggressive to me anyway. Frozen is my current number one film. This topic is more of my attempt to finally try and open up to embracing others opinions without cowering in the corner and bawling my eyes out. 

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

While there is things I agree and disagree about the lists above, I do feel compelled to voice a defense for the parents. Caxkj, you already stated several of my major arguments; they were scared, dealing with things they had no idea about and they were trying to protect their daughters. Elsa's isolation was to combat the fear the trolls warned them about. The part of the mantra that goes "don't feel" was put in because they saw Elsa had no control when she was upset. They weren't expecting perfection from Elsa, but high standards were expected of her, because if she wasn't careful, she could kill people.

Final bit is what they were trying to do wasn't complete. They died unexpectedly, believing they would be back. They knew Elsa would one day take their place, and I think they would have done their best to prepare her before then, but that wasn't in the cards.

Are they perfect parents? No, but who is? They might have been able to help gain Elsa control of her powers if they had done things differently, but they had to think of what was not only best for their children, but what was best for their country.

[VisitJoan 2,713]

And whilst I get the message is you can't fall in love/marry someone you just met which is refreshing that's where I feel the film contradicts itself. Anna sacrificing herself to save her sister was heart-warming and everything is happy in the end but can a broken family relationship be repaired that quickly? They hardly communicated and had family issues but everything seemed fine in the end. It just was weird to see a nice message of love takes time to be retconned with their family relationship being repaired in an instant. (But I understand it's a Disney film so it can't get to complex in its messaging)

The realtionship wasn't that broken.  Anna never gave up on her sister.  If I were her I would have stopped asking her to hang out and probably sunck out long before I was a teen.  It was pretty much one sided, but it was there.

[J. Severe 1,137]

I agree with most everything in the OP except for Olaf being terrible, he's the most adorable thing ever!

[Dracozombie 4,554]

I wouldn't say Anna and Elsa's relationship was that broken to begin with.  When they reunited in the coronation scene after being separated for so long, they hit it off great, so I think it was all a matter of reestablishing what was already there.  It's not like either one of them really wanted to be separated from the other; it was imposed by their parents.

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

I wouldn't say Anna and Elsa's relationship was that broken to begin with.  When they reunited in the coronation scene after being separated for so long, they hit it off great, so I think it was all a matter of reestablishing what was already there.  It's not like either one of them really wanted to be separated from the other; it was imposed by their parents.

And Elsa herself. She was afraid to let Anna in for fear of hurting her again. She didn't want to be separate from Anna, but that was the only way she knew how to protect her.

[Meow Wow 11]

 

• The Trolls. I hate these rockweiler-rejects. "There is beauty in it... but also great danger." Well thanks a lot (pardon my language) asshats. Not you just make her and her parents fear the powers even more. There would have been a more gentler way of explaining the extent of this gift of hers. The only satisfaction I would get is kicking and playing football with them. Wouldn't it make more sense if the parents left Elsa with them to help control her powers; and they would raise Anna to be the future queen? Plus their song sequence is also an "ew" to me. Did I also mention the fact they practically kidnapped a child and his reindeer to raise as their own?

I think the real problem with the trolls is that they are nothing more than deus ex machina. They are literally only there to tell people things that they had no possible way of knowing otherwise. I mean, not only this, but then they also had so little screen time, that they really become forgettable. You could have replaced them with a prophecy, or a voice in the sky, and had the exact same effect.

[Dave 5,715]

 

 

• Anna being more of the focus than Elsa... oh, I need to explain why that's a bad thing? Anna is... bland. There is nothing of value about her, she's a boring person, she contributes nothing; I think the only useful thing she did was save her sister from death. That's it. Why couldn't Elsa be more of the main focus? She is a complex character with dilemmas, she's very interesting and I actually felt sorry and wanted to connect with her. And the film is called Frozen; I expected more on Elsa than her bland little sister, guys. Anna is someone I would rather ignore; she has about as much character as a wooden board (no offense to said boards everywhere). 

 

•  

 

 

I'm not sure where you get the impression that Anna contributes nothing, considering she is the only one who actively attempts to solve any of the problems presented in the film. Elsa feels isolated, Anna tries to show her she's not alone. Kingdom freezes over, Anna tries to fix it. Elsa's going to get killed, and Anna does everything in her power to stop it. Everytime a problem is presented in the movie, Anna uses her own strength of will to try and courage to try and solve it. By contrast, Elsa does little to nothing to actually tackle any of the problems that are presented to her. Her strategy in any given situation is to run away from it, ignore it, or mope about it. If the film's plot is left in Elsa's hands, everyone in the kingdom dies.

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Trolls, yes, but the rest of the movie was damned decent for a new wave Disney flick. ( We're ignoring such crapfests as Country Bears )

the story is partially based on a fairy tale, so yeah: it's silly, that's the point. 

I actually hated Frozen Heart the most: In Summer is too cute and dumb to not like. 

Olaf is no more annoying than the Minions in the Despicable Me films, or Donkey in Shrek, so yeah..he's there for one liners. ( " Watch my butt!" )

And Anna became more of a focus because Elsa was busy spazzing in her ice palace, so the film had to have SOME sort of main character. 

As for the parents, a time honoured Disney tradition is the early on explaination of death, so why not? TARZAN'S parents are seen on screen dead, with blood too boot if you look close. 

And their method was the noly one they had: Elsa's powers were becoming dangerous, and they had to do something about it.

As for love " melting the frozen heart ", love is treated as an exterior force in a lot of Disney movies ( Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty E.T.C ) so why should Frozen be any different on this view? 

 

 

And both How to Train You Dragon AND Frozen rule.