7 reasons why Frozen isn't as annoying as I anticipated

Ah, Frozen. The movie all of us want to hate, but can't help love. 
I first became annoyed with the idea of this movie when the YouTube lip-syncing videos on my Facebook feed went from adorkable to OH MY GOD NOT ANOTHER ONE. From there I refused to watch it purely out of spite. Irritated by the endless stream of "Leg it Go" remixes, I quickly dismissed all raving reviews from friends and family members. Until that fateful day when Elsa and Ana finally broke me. Curiosity got the best of me and I just decided to give it a shot.
Unfortunately, everyone was right about pretty much everything. The catchy tunes, Pixar genius, and deeply feminist undertones swept me away into the Frozen phenomena. 
So, as it stands, I am a Frozen fanatic [in the weirdest of ways]. I'm even trying to get my 7-month old daughter to like it. [She's not as intrigued as her mother, unfortunately]

And here are the 7 reasons why Frozen isn't as annoying as I anticipated:

7. Women as main characters that actually accomplish something
Try it, mofo. I will break that sword in half with my badass turning-to-ice abilities.
Usually the women in Disney/Pixar films are either supporting characters, girlfriends, lippy wives, or damsels in distress. All of which are incredibly annoying attributes. But not Ana and Elsa. These two are taking girl power to the next level. 
How refreshing it is to see two lead characters be smart, attractive, and useful! Oh, and they're women. What a novel idea. 

6. The outfits aren't super-skanky

The whole "conceal, don't feel" trend runs deeper than Elsa's freezing abilities. I mean, yeah, Ana's dress is shoulderless, but this isn't the 1800's. If kids can't handle seeing shoulders, we've got bigger problems. 

Unlike some of Disney's past characters - 
get your shit together, Ariel.
they kept the story in line with the "these girls are kickin' butt and taking names, not distracting audiences with their stupid seashell bra" mantra, and I like it. 

In fact, these outfits, apart from Elsa's blue dress seen later [can we say awesome?], are - dare I say it - rather forgettable. Which is kind of the point, right? 

5. Hilarious sidekicks
There are some seriously hilarious sidekicks in this movie. And just when you think you've found the funniest one, the next dude comes along and makes you LOL. ROFL even. 

 First we have Sven [the reindeer], who can't talk, but still manages to make us all giggle. 
"But you won't get your new sled if she's dead!"
Then there's this guy, who, and I don't even know his name, is almost funnier than Olaf. And he's only in the movie for like two minutes.
"Big Summer Blowout!"

And the aforementioned Olaf. My favorite. Voiced by the brilliant Josh Gad, he really brings this wildly hilarious snowman to life.
"Do me a favor and grab my butt!"
4. Calling attention to the fact that marrying someone you just met is totally ludicrous
Oh, Hans. You're such a jackass.
Ah the handsome price. Every dumb Disney girl's kryptonite. But Ana's not dumb; she's just had a lapse in judgement. Lucky for her, Elsa tells her that she's a nutjob [in so little words] and she can't marry someone she just met. And for good measure, Kristoff tells her a little bit later, too. 
I really like that Disney brings this up because in any other movie before Frozen, it wouldn't be such an absurd idea; more like romantic. Therefore leading girls to believe it's not only okay to marry a complete stranger [or someone you've only known for a short time], but that it's completely plausible! Way to set the bar WAY too high, Disney. Insert a life of disappointment for women everywhere. Maybe that's why Ana's so surprised when she gets called on it.
Plus, to throw a little bit of fuel into the fire, they reveal this prince as a [spoiler alert] huge douche and the hardworking ice-man gets the girl. 

3. The super catchy tunes
LET IT GOOOOOOOO
Get out of my head, Elsa you CRAZY ICE QUEEN!
I don't even know the lyrics to these songs and I'm constantly singing them. I make up my own lyrics 'cuz that's how I roll. Addi isn't a fan of my version of the songs, but what does she know. 

2. The fact that the act of true love was between sisters
Just...come on. It's like they made this movie for me. 

Maybe it's because my sister and I are joined at the hip or because we, too, are weird [just not in the whole ice-magic way, but to each her own]. Either way, this was my absofrigginlutely favorite part of the film. Because at first they were all, "You need an act of true love to melt your frozen heart so go kiss that doucecopter, Hans." Ugh, hurl. But then said douchecopter tries to off her sister and Ana was all like, "oh no you didn't!" and breaks his pansy-ass sword into a thousand douchey pieces. 
"HI-YAH!"
And then she turns to ice, but eventually de-ices because of her pure badassery [a.k.a. sister-saving tactics]. 

1. Voila! A movie that isn't about the girl getting the guy
It's about family being the most important thing in life. And recognizing that love isn't just about kissey-kissey. AND that girls/women can be lead characters and not make you want to vomit all over everyone in the theater because they're such idiots and only concerned with finding the perfect mate. Not that that isn't important, but it is not what I want my daughter focusing on, just like you probably don't want your son focusing on...well, the things that men typically focus on. 

So let's all just agree that Frozen has a lot of deeper lessons in it that can teach our kids what life is really about. 
Bravo Disney & Pixar. I am proud to say that you did not annoy me with this film. I'll do you one better and say that I will be elated when my daughter wants to be like Ana and Elsa! Until then, keep on singin' them tunes, ya'll. 

[Warm] hugs not drugs.

Comments

  1. Love this movie! Did you know one of the writers, Chris Buck, is from Wichita?

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