Truly Revolutionary

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2014)

OK, I'll be honest, I really hated the movie right after I finished watching it. After thinking about it, though, I found a lot of things I liked about Frozen, and now it's one of my favorite Disney films.
To start off, it really does sound like a musical, and I think Frozen would be hard to understand, let alone like, if you don't think about it in terms of a musical. The voices of Bell and Menzel are outstanding and comparable to the singing found on Broadway musicals. The structure of the songs is also to be lauded as well, especially the parts where Anna and Elsa have singing roles together (it has that conversational feel found in many musicals like Les Miseables that is unfortunately lacking in many older Disney films).
The movie is revolutionary because not only does it feature two heroes (or rather heroines), but also introduced one of the few anti-heroines in the history of film. Anna is a true heroine in the sense that she's got to save the kingdom from an eternal winter and win over her sister. Elsa, on the other hand, thrives as the anti-heroine in the story. OK, so she freezes the kingdom and seems a little cold (no pun intended), but we can forgive her for that (after all, she's been locked up for God knows how long). There are many things to like about her, such as her desire to protect Anna. And, in the end, it is Elsa that saves the kingdom from the eternal winter through learning how to truly love again from Anna.
Another revolutionary factor of the movie is women power. OK, this topic has been highly debated, but overall I think the evidence really leans towards the positive:
1. Elsa is the queen (not princess), and she acts solo. Have you ever seen a queen that ended up single in a Disney movie before? 2. Anna forgoes Kristoff to save her sister Elsa instead from a sly Hans. She's a pretty independent thinker throughout the film. Remind me who made Hans come along with her to find Elsa... 3. The movie isn't about finding true love, it's about rekindling the bonds of brother/sisterhood. Truly unique for Disney.
Call me out, but I claim that no other Disney film has ever given women so much power. Oh yeah, and what's up with the "slutty dress" argument?
Speaking about controversy, Frozen seemed to attract the most of any Disney movie. Homosexuality, feminism (or not feminism), racism, etc. Ironically, that's good, not bad. When a movie stirs people to address their own personal beliefs, I think that's good for a society. The worst movies are the ones that don't inspire you to do anything. Mormons, feminists and anti-feminists, and Samis may not concur with me, but I don't care. The controversy surrounding Frozen also makes it revolutionary, and in a good way.
From the reviews I have read, you either love Frozen or you hate it. I encourage those of you who hate it, try to think about the movie a little differently than you have been for previous Disney movies. Try not to view the movie from your own biased perspective (which was what caused me to hate the movie at the outset), and I think at least you'll respect it a little more.