A very special thanks to my friend Alice for doing commission art for this video's thumbnail. Be sure to check out their Twitter: twitter.com/Licethelouse
15:49 I'm confused as to why so many people believe that Hans' betrayal isn't foreshadowed when both Elsa and Kristoff tell Anna "You shouldn't marry someone you just met!"
The over saturation definitely isn’t something that’s exclusive to this movie. Disney doesn’t know when to let things go and even if there’s a story that does warrant a continuation, they always seem more interested in the capital. It’s there with Pixar, Star Wars, The MCU. They only feel the need to make one successful thing and then capitalize off it till the end of time.
Frozen was WDAS' first $1 billion film, with Zootopia and Frozen 2 following. It's unsurprising Disney wants to pursue sequels for them--though I AM glad that it doesn't seem like we'll get a bunch of animated shorts in between Frozen 2 and Frozen 3.
I agree with a lot of your points. I really love this film, and it's a shame that this was the last Disney fairy tale. Thinking back on it, when "Gigantic" got cancelled, I'm shocked that the Anderson-Lopez team wasn't brought on to do the music for "Wish."
As much as I love Frozen, its attempts to be subversive really hold it down from being a timeless masterpiece. Worst, it just ends up reaffirming the tropes its desperately trying to subvert. Like Anna being told she can't marry a man she just met, only to make out with a different one three days later. Hans being both the subversion of the traditional Disney prince and the traditional Disney villain, only for him to act exactly like a generic villain during his reveal, smirking and mocking and revealing his entire plan to the heroine before she's even dead. Subversions don't stand the test of time, and that's important if you want to have a long-lasting franchise.
I really love the way you've been upping the game on your productions here, bringing in and addressing sources! I actually hadn't occurred to me before that Anna and Kristoff falling in love is basically exactly the thing the movie applauds itself for 'subverting'. I do agree that it ultimately still is a good movie, but the overexposure got wild.
Me and my best friend rewatched “Frozen” back in December, and honestly, avoiding rewatching the film for so many years might’ve actually been a strong benefit for revisiting this film. Some elements shockingly hold up very well, but you can tell where Disney took all of the wrong lessons with this film.
As much as I love Frozen, its attempts to be subversive really hold it down from being a timeless masterpiece. Worst, it just ends up reaffirming the tropes its desperately trying to subvert. Like Anna being told she can't marry a man she just met, only to make out with a different one three days later. Hans being both the subversion of the traditional Disney prince and the traditional Disney villain, only for him to act exactly like a generic villain during his reveal, smirking and mocking and revealing his entire plan to the heroine before she's even dead. Subversions don't stand the test of time, and that's important if you want to have a long-lasting franchise.
@@Nopeasaurus I didn’t say I liked the subversions though. Some of those are the worst part of the movie (that and “Fixer Upper”), but the lesson about ‘love thawing a Frozen heart’ and how it could be from anyone is still a valid lesson to teach.
ngl I feel like Frozen has been around for longer than 10 years- also that small clip of Fixer Uper filled me w/ rage I forgot existed w/in me 💀 kinda sad the lesson disney learned from frozen's success is to capitalize the "twist villain" and make "more frozen" 😭 unlike what Little Mermaid did for the Renaissance or what Cinderella did for the silver age, but I think Tangled did that for the revival era more than Frozen
I disagree with what you said about Anna and Kristoph's relationship being basically the same as her relationship with Hans. Anna and Hans haven't even known each other for a whole day and Hans proposes to her. However Kristoph doesn't propose to her even by the end of the first movie. We never get to see if kissing Kristoph would dethaw her. In my headcanon, it wouldn't because while they are falling in love by that point. They are not true-love just yet. Only by the end of the SECOND movie, that is I believe at least two years after the first, does he propose. Meaning they date each other for a little while before they tie the knot. A much healthier and more realistic approach to relationships if you ask me.
It is annoying Disney just took the superficial elements of the film to adapt in their later products, tho. "Independent strong woman, no romance, anti-Disney humor, twist villains"- all the most superficial elements of the film were applied similarly to Moana, Wish, Zootopia, Ralph 2, the Disney remakes...And coindientally some of these cliches in those films are just bad.
Great video as always. My whole stance on Frozen as times when on as become a little more positive, but at the same time I can't say I'm too attached to it. You made a great point about how repetition is never truly a indicator of a product's quality, but at the same time it was a massive deterrent for me and I got really sick of it, especially 10 years ago when I was much younger because I just couldn't escape it. To this day, I still don't think it deserved all the hype it got compared to, say, Wreck-it-Ralph or Tangled. There's still good elements, but then there's the whole meta thing. Just like you said in your Letterboxd review, it's so dated and it makes it worse by how blatant the movie is with trying to "subvert" the prince aspects of their older films. Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty are obviously products of their time with their romances not feeling completely natural or realistic even during the 40s and 50s because it just serves as "well, we need a climax, make 'em love". I don't think it would've been bad in wanting to stray away from that old formula and calling out old tropes, but the movie is so obsessed with broadcasting it's "accomplishments" to be meta instead of making subtle subversions with artistic intent that doesn't directly call out what was popular before. And like you said, it's not like the movie does anything with it's "subversion" since all it does is blatantly make jokes about and yet still have those very same elements in the movie with no real deviations in what their calling out. I really don't like it when a movie calls out a trope and then the movie does that exact trope without trying to subvert it in any creative ways, which makes the entire point the movie was trying to make feel incredibly hypocritical and muddled. And finally I want to talk about adaptational changes. I don't mind that this is a loose adaptation of a story, I just feel like it's drowning out the original, but that's just Disney in general, but specifically something wrong with this movie. Something I've learned over the years of critiquing media is that if you want to properly critique an adaptation, it's important to know what it's adapting in the first place to compare how elements from the original source material are carried over into a medium. This is why when I want to make serious critiques of anime, I vastly prefer watching the subbed versions since I won't really have to worry about creative liberties being taken in the English Dub that might cloud my judgement and make me unintentionally criticize something that was never in the original product, but I'll still watch English Dubs, just in a more casual setting. Then there's reading books before a movie. There's not a lot I specifically to this with since I don't feel too passionate to read every single book-to-movie adaptation ever made, but things like the Jurassic Park Duology, Ready Player One, Lupin III, and (eventually) Dragon Ball are things I want to do this with so I can properly take in everything the adaptations do. But yeah, Frozen is okay
Good video! I actually have intentions of making a Frozen video myself. I think my views might but way more positive than yours even though I do share some of the same criticism of the film. Either way, I like seeing another person’s take on the film for its 10th anniversary and I’m glad I’m not the only one who has Elsa as a favorite Disney heroine.
The whole "we're smarter than old disney movies" narrative is not even a Frozen problem i'd wager. media in the late 2000s / early 2010s was super cynical and hipstery and had this vibe of "hyuck hyuck, we're smarter than older media." All that deconstruction / subversive shit started popping up here and there. Game of Thrones, the MCU...It was really hip for your piece of media to be self-aware of the conventions of the genre and try to subvert it in any way posssible. Frozen was just following a pattern.
Truth be told, my opinion on this movie has always been the same. I think it’s fine. I don’t love it or hate it. It’s got a lot of good elements and bad elements. The animation is gorgeous and holds up really well for being 10 years old, half of the songs are pretty catchy, the voice acting for the most part is impressive, there’s some funny lines, jokes, and moments, the climax is very tense and suspenseful, Kristoff and Sven are one of my favourite friendship duos, and of course, Olaf is so cute, charming, hilarious, loveable, and Josh Gad was the perfect casting choice! However, as for the bad elements, I think Elsa is really unlikeable because while I understand she’s insecure about her ice powers after being traumatised by her parents and that idiot, Grand Pabbie, she’s still rude, insensitive, ungrateful, edgy, and irresponsible, as she constantly shuts out Anna who tries to help her, runs away from her kingdom, and refuses to even try to make things right for most of the movie. Anna, while being better than her sister, isn’t really one of my favourite Disney protagonists because while she is cute, funny, spunky, adventurous, helpful, and supportive, she is also very naive, whiny, stubborn, ignorant, and oblivious, as she believes she can marry a man she just met and tries forcing Elsa to come back to Arendelle to unfreeze the kingdom when Elsa doesn’t even know how to control her ice powers. King Agnarr and Queen Iduna some of the worst parents in any Disney film, as they traumatise their eldest daughter into believing she’s a monster. Grand Pabbie is the one who made Elsa behave so irrationally in the first place and I hate him for that. The Rock Trolls are annoying and their song, Fixer Upper is just grating. The Duke of Weselton, while being voiced hilariously by Alan Tudyk, is a rude, snobbish, pompous, arrogant, and conceited zealot who could be cut from the film without anything changing and really only serves a red herring. And of course, I’ve saved the best for last, Hans is a terrible twist villain and ruined what used to be a clever trope. In conclusion, while I can totally understand why people love this movie, I’ve never really been a big fan of it due to how poor the writing is and believing that other modern Disney Princess movies are so much better, i.e. The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Moana, and even Raya and the Last Dragon.
A very special thanks to my friend Alice for doing commission art for this video's thumbnail. Be sure to check out their Twitter: twitter.com/Licethelouse
It took 8 minutes before the Adventure Time reference... Impressive.
15:49 I'm confused as to why so many people believe that Hans' betrayal isn't foreshadowed when both Elsa and Kristoff tell Anna "You shouldn't marry someone you just met!"
Was hoping by someone would post a video like this. Frozen is a good movie - just over saturated after the first five years
You're really stepping up your game in terms of both writing and editing. Keep up the great work!
The over saturation definitely isn’t something that’s exclusive to this movie. Disney doesn’t know when to let things go and even if there’s a story that does warrant a continuation, they always seem more interested in the capital. It’s there with Pixar, Star Wars, The MCU. They only feel the need to make one successful thing and then capitalize off it till the end of time.
Yup yup yup.
Frozen was WDAS' first $1 billion film, with Zootopia and Frozen 2 following. It's unsurprising Disney wants to pursue sequels for them--though I AM glad that it doesn't seem like we'll get a bunch of animated shorts in between Frozen 2 and Frozen 3.
awesome video!
Glad you enjoyed it. And thanks again for drawing the thumbnail for me.
I agree with a lot of your points. I really love this film, and it's a shame that this was the last Disney fairy tale. Thinking back on it, when "Gigantic" got cancelled, I'm shocked that the Anderson-Lopez team wasn't brought on to do the music for "Wish."
Happy 10th Anniversary Frozen (2013-2023) 👸🏼👩🏻🦳❄️
As much as I love Frozen, its attempts to be subversive really hold it down from being a timeless masterpiece. Worst, it just ends up reaffirming the tropes its desperately trying to subvert. Like Anna being told she can't marry a man she just met, only to make out with a different one three days later. Hans being both the subversion of the traditional Disney prince and the traditional Disney villain, only for him to act exactly like a generic villain during his reveal, smirking and mocking and revealing his entire plan to the heroine before she's even dead.
Subversions don't stand the test of time, and that's important if you want to have a long-lasting franchise.
I really love the way you've been upping the game on your productions here, bringing in and addressing sources! I actually hadn't occurred to me before that Anna and Kristoff falling in love is basically exactly the thing the movie applauds itself for 'subverting'. I do agree that it ultimately still is a good movie, but the overexposure got wild.
Elsa: You can't marry a man you just met.
Anna: **proceeds to make out with a guy she just met**
Elsa: You've learned nothing.
Me and my best friend rewatched “Frozen” back in December, and honestly, avoiding rewatching the film for so many years might’ve actually been a strong benefit for revisiting this film.
Some elements shockingly hold up very well, but you can tell where Disney took all of the wrong lessons with this film.
As much as I love Frozen, its attempts to be subversive really hold it down from being a timeless masterpiece. Worst, it just ends up reaffirming the tropes its desperately trying to subvert. Like Anna being told she can't marry a man she just met, only to make out with a different one three days later. Hans being both the subversion of the traditional Disney prince and the traditional Disney villain, only for him to act exactly like a generic villain during his reveal, smirking and mocking and revealing his entire plan to the heroine before she's even dead.
Subversions don't stand the test of time, and that's important if you want to have a long-lasting franchise.
@@Nopeasaurus I didn’t say I liked the subversions though. Some of those are the worst part of the movie (that and “Fixer Upper”), but the lesson about ‘love thawing a Frozen heart’ and how it could be from anyone is still a valid lesson to teach.
a pretty well made analysis. deserves way more subs than 1k.
ngl I feel like Frozen has been around for longer than 10 years- also that small clip of Fixer Uper filled me w/ rage I forgot existed w/in me 💀
kinda sad the lesson disney learned from frozen's success is to capitalize the "twist villain" and make "more frozen" 😭 unlike what Little Mermaid did for the Renaissance or what Cinderella did for the silver age, but I think Tangled did that for the revival era more than Frozen
this is a very polished and well done video! i'm glad youtube reccomended you to me!
Really well done! thank you 😊
I disagree with what you said about Anna and Kristoph's relationship being basically the same as her relationship with Hans. Anna and Hans haven't even known each other for a whole day and Hans proposes to her. However Kristoph doesn't propose to her even by the end of the first movie. We never get to see if kissing Kristoph would dethaw her. In my headcanon, it wouldn't because while they are falling in love by that point. They are not true-love just yet. Only by the end of the SECOND movie, that is I believe at least two years after the first, does he propose. Meaning they date each other for a little while before they tie the knot. A much healthier and more realistic approach to relationships if you ask me.
It is annoying Disney just took the superficial elements of the film to adapt in their later products, tho. "Independent strong woman, no romance, anti-Disney humor, twist villains"- all the most superficial elements of the film were applied similarly to Moana, Wish, Zootopia, Ralph 2, the Disney remakes...And coindientally some of these cliches in those films are just bad.
Definitely my favorite movie of all time. I don't care what the haters think, I see this movie as a masterpiece.
Great video as always. My whole stance on Frozen as times when on as become a little more positive, but at the same time I can't say I'm too attached to it. You made a great point about how repetition is never truly a indicator of a product's quality, but at the same time it was a massive deterrent for me and I got really sick of it, especially 10 years ago when I was much younger because I just couldn't escape it. To this day, I still don't think it deserved all the hype it got compared to, say, Wreck-it-Ralph or Tangled. There's still good elements, but then there's the whole meta thing. Just like you said in your Letterboxd review, it's so dated and it makes it worse by how blatant the movie is with trying to "subvert" the prince aspects of their older films. Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty are obviously products of their time with their romances not feeling completely natural or realistic even during the 40s and 50s because it just serves as "well, we need a climax, make 'em love". I don't think it would've been bad in wanting to stray away from that old formula and calling out old tropes, but the movie is so obsessed with broadcasting it's "accomplishments" to be meta instead of making subtle subversions with artistic intent that doesn't directly call out what was popular before. And like you said, it's not like the movie does anything with it's "subversion" since all it does is blatantly make jokes about and yet still have those very same elements in the movie with no real deviations in what their calling out. I really don't like it when a movie calls out a trope and then the movie does that exact trope without trying to subvert it in any creative ways, which makes the entire point the movie was trying to make feel incredibly hypocritical and muddled. And finally I want to talk about adaptational changes. I don't mind that this is a loose adaptation of a story, I just feel like it's drowning out the original, but that's just Disney in general, but specifically something wrong with this movie. Something I've learned over the years of critiquing media is that if you want to properly critique an adaptation, it's important to know what it's adapting in the first place to compare how elements from the original source material are carried over into a medium. This is why when I want to make serious critiques of anime, I vastly prefer watching the subbed versions since I won't really have to worry about creative liberties being taken in the English Dub that might cloud my judgement and make me unintentionally criticize something that was never in the original product, but I'll still watch English Dubs, just in a more casual setting. Then there's reading books before a movie. There's not a lot I specifically to this with since I don't feel too passionate to read every single book-to-movie adaptation ever made, but things like the Jurassic Park Duology, Ready Player One, Lupin III, and (eventually) Dragon Ball are things I want to do this with so I can properly take in everything the adaptations do.
But yeah, Frozen is okay
Good video! I actually have intentions of making a Frozen video myself. I think my views might but way more positive than yours even though I do share some of the same criticism of the film. Either way, I like seeing another person’s take on the film for its 10th anniversary and I’m glad I’m not the only one who has Elsa as a favorite Disney heroine.
The whole "we're smarter than old disney movies" narrative is not even a Frozen problem i'd wager. media in the late 2000s / early 2010s was super cynical and hipstery and had this vibe of "hyuck hyuck, we're smarter than older media." All that deconstruction / subversive shit started popping up here and there. Game of Thrones, the MCU...It was really hip for your piece of media to be self-aware of the conventions of the genre and try to subvert it in any way posssible. Frozen was just following a pattern.
Truth be told, my opinion on this movie has always been the same. I think it’s fine. I don’t love it or hate it. It’s got a lot of good elements and bad elements. The animation is gorgeous and holds up really well for being 10 years old, half of the songs are pretty catchy, the voice acting for the most part is impressive, there’s some funny lines, jokes, and moments, the climax is very tense and suspenseful, Kristoff and Sven are one of my favourite friendship duos, and of course, Olaf is so cute, charming, hilarious, loveable, and Josh Gad was the perfect casting choice!
However, as for the bad elements, I think Elsa is really unlikeable because while I understand she’s insecure about her ice powers after being traumatised by her parents and that idiot, Grand Pabbie, she’s still rude, insensitive, ungrateful, edgy, and irresponsible, as she constantly shuts out Anna who tries to help her, runs away from her kingdom, and refuses to even try to make things right for most of the movie. Anna, while being better than her sister, isn’t really one of my favourite Disney protagonists because while she is cute, funny, spunky, adventurous, helpful, and supportive, she is also very naive, whiny, stubborn, ignorant, and oblivious, as she believes she can marry a man she just met and tries forcing Elsa to come back to Arendelle to unfreeze the kingdom when Elsa doesn’t even know how to control her ice powers. King Agnarr and Queen Iduna some of the worst parents in any Disney film, as they traumatise their eldest daughter into believing she’s a monster. Grand Pabbie is the one who made Elsa behave so irrationally in the first place and I hate him for that. The Rock Trolls are annoying and their song, Fixer Upper is just grating. The Duke of Weselton, while being voiced hilariously by Alan Tudyk, is a rude, snobbish, pompous, arrogant, and conceited zealot who could be cut from the film without anything changing and really only serves a red herring. And of course, I’ve saved the best for last, Hans is a terrible twist villain and ruined what used to be a clever trope.
In conclusion, while I can totally understand why people love this movie, I’ve never really been a big fan of it due to how poor the writing is and believing that other modern Disney Princess movies are so much better, i.e. The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Moana, and even Raya and the Last Dragon.
Hot take, but I think this movie is just as depressing as Chicken Little is.
You calling Hans the same name as one of the Tangled characters was the best part of the video! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
It's an okay film but I'm just not much a fan of that one as I am with moana
great video!