When the film was released, Disney’s Frozen (2010) was widely lauded as being refreshingly “feminist”.
Today I'm going to explore whether Elsa and Anna depict feminist portrayals:
Yes: Disney emphasizes the need to embrace one’s individuality
Elsa initially is ashamed of her magical superpower; she sees it as a threat to the safety of those around her, especially Anna. As a result, she isolates herself and suppresses her magical superpower by wearing gloves. However, Disney in some ways portrays Elsa as an empowering feminist role model as she eventually frees herself from her inhibitions and embraces her magical superpower.
Disney portrays Elsa in a somewhat similar manner to Belle from Beauty and the Beast, who embraces her bookish personality despite being judged and labelled as odd by all the villagers.
Yes: Or...is Disney also emphasizing the need to embrace one’s sexuality?
Disney could also suggesting that Elsa, freeing herself from her duties as a queen, may have escaped and created her own ice palace in order to freely express her sexuality.
Many critics have suggested that Elsa’s song, “Let it Go”, is a coming out metaphor. There’s been a social media movement to make Elsa explicitly gay in Frozen 2, the sequel to the first movie, and to #GiveElsaAGirlfriend, as Disney has, for decades, faced increasing pressure to create more diverse characters.
Side note: Josh Gad, who plays Gatson in Beauty and the Beast (2017), recently confirmed that his character is gay in the movie.
Yes: Disney reiterates that true love is more than just romance
Disney seems to be redefining “true love”; from making Maleficent deliver Aurora’s “true love’s kiss” instead of Prince Charming, Disney makes Elsa Anna’s true love as her hug thaws Anna.
Through this transition, Disney shifts away from constructing plots to revolve around romance, and instead depicts familial, specifically sisterly, love.
No: Unlike Maleficent, Elsa is not really a redeemable villain
Objectively speaking, Elsa is actually a villain in the film; she engulfs Arendelle in an eternal winter, freezes Anna’s heart (albeit accidentally).
It could be inferred that like Maleficent in Disney’s Maleficent (2014), Disney portrays Elsa as a redeemable villain by highlighting her remorse (after being led to believe that she killed Anna) as well as her saving Anna. However, it’s noteworthy that unlike Maleficent, Elsa unintentionally saves Anna. Further, while Maleficent actively rescues Aurora from danger, Elsa does not even bother with Anna’s safety.
No: Anna is still the typical, foolish Disney Princess
After falling head-over-heels with Prince Hans, Anna so easily and hastily accepts Prince Hans’ proposal.
I thought it was throwback to Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Snow White (who fortunately, in the film, were not shown in their respective films as having been duped by their love interests).
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