Princesses as protagonists- Disney's Frozen

[Mamma2bambini]

Finally, finally Disney has got it almost right. Not passive, sighing, cleaning, sleeping princesses. These princesses are active, powerful and critically are the protagonists. I have read so many comments and threads about this film commenting on the songs, the scenary, the Barbi- like figures of the princesses etc etc. it seems to me that everyone has missed the most amazing point of this film- the girls are ' doing'. I know that Tangled was OK but the princess didn't rescue herself! I know that Brave was good but it was almost too much of a rejection of the princess format ( I will NOT marry) . The central relationship of the two women and the way in which the story resolves is very new for Disney but made me a very happy mum of two girls. Don't get me wrong- it is not perfect- the slit in the dress, the huge eyes small waists but let's not split hairs here- in a world where my daughter is expected to buy pink Lego to make her very own cafe while the boys get to make a whole city, I for one am very, very happy to see Disney produce two powerful, resourceful female cartoon figures. Who knows we might even get a female superhero some day soon.

I agree with everything you've said..except that I think we split hairs about the way the princesses look.

Why oh why do they have to be so skinny? Their waist size beggars belief!

Went to watch the film with son and daughters and DH...we all enjoyed it.

I loved it but then I also loved Tangled and Brave. I do think the princesses are always ALWAYS far too bloody skinny and show off their boobs in dresses that are far too tight and they just all seem a bit 'too' perfect. In a way it kind of has to be taken with a pinch of salt, after all it is a fairy tale, fantasy, magic and all that but it's not really the best body image to be putting out there as 'beautiful'. Women are beautiful in all shapes and sizes, we don't all have perfectly glossy hair and tiny waists. For what it's worth I have only boys and we all loved the film too but I was looking at their bodies thinking 'Too skinny!!!' . Great story line though.

You might enjoy this article, and some of the links off it:
jezebel.com/frozen-finally-a-disney-price-whos-actually-a-dising-1481363508

Yes waists are too small and eyes too big.
I read the link to the article - was interesting and I really liked some of the posts. The comments about how the film was based on the snow queen story is strange. Frozen is really nothing like the Snow Queen at the level of a story, there are references, partic in the way that Elsa is depicted but that is about it.

As mentioned in the article, I have had a huge number of questions about Hans- why didn't he kiss Anna? Why did he want to kill Elsa? Why did Anna hit him on the nose? You shouldn't hit someone on the nose should you mum ? Etc etc

I loved this film,however, I found myself eye rolling at the figure of Elsa! Seriously, tiny waist, big boobs, big eyes etc.... And all this stuff normally passes me by... Why can't they be a normal size 14?

Coz we don't aspire to be a size 14....?

I also love hate Disney. Times have moved and Disney struggles to show that in romantic light. Has romance died?

Just musing.... Light hearted.

I also loved this film and I have to say personally I have no problem with the figures of the princesses. My dh and I took our 2 dds to see it and they both liked it and thought it was funny that the princesses didn't look like "any real person ever"!
I would far rather they looked at these characters (and barbie dolls etc) as a made up type of person in the same way as they don't expect to see a walking snowman than Disney etc tried (and most likely failed) to make them look like a "proper" person.

My 11yr old dd said afterwards that it was nice and different that the true love was between the sisters rather than always being the man saving the day. We enjoyed it.

Agree Mad. V true

I'm not sure how merida's 'I will marry who I want to, when I'm ready' equates to rejecting marriage, or even if it did, why that would be a bad thing? Am I the only feminist who just thought BRAVE WAS AWESOME? I read some feminist reviews of it which just said, hmm, ok, but meh. Really? Ok, she's white and pretty but this is a film entirely about 1. A girl 2. About a relationship between a mother and a daughter 3. About what a mother must do to protect her daughter under a patriarchy. I mean AWESOME OR WHAT??! It even ends with the mother having learnt her own valuable lesson from her daughter and the both of them having laugh out loud fun together.

I saw it but couldn't get past the Barbie look of both of the princesses. I don't understand why they had to have Barbie figures and yet the men were normal looking/build.

The younger one's only ambition is to get married

Not all that wonderful, really...

I think they bottled it with the snog at the end.

It was totally unnecessary to the story - just because he's a boy and he's her friend doesn't mean he has to end up as her boyfriend. If anything - with his love of isolation and his appreciation of fine ice - he clearly had more in common with the older sister!

But actually I have no particular problem with how they looked. It's clearly stylized.

The important thing was the relationship between the sisters - which was powerfully shown - and was validated throughout the film.

Both the princesses were very brave - whereas the menfolk just bumbled about doing what they always do.

Dull, unimaginative and still sexist. The X Factor style songs made me cringe.

Disney women all look the same, like Bambi in drag. With unattainable waist sizes and western looks.

I'd like some variety and better plots.

It's yet another market, money driven shite. Two princesses means double the advertising/merchandise.

There are alternatives but the point is- this is Disney- market- driven, x-factor, barbi figures are all part of the fixture - is easy to dismiss it out of hand but much harder to avoid. If this is the context I want to see more like Frozen and less like Cinderella or the Barbi and the pop- star ( is this Disney? ). My point at the very beginning of this thread was that mainstream female characters are so often depicted as passive ( we are not taking just Disney here) and for one of the very first times I felt that there was a shift. It is not a wholesale change it is a shift.

Sod Disney, watch Ghibli.

I agree it was lovely that the the story revolves around the two sisters. I do hate the figures though. DH said its for the dads - but maybe he;s just some sort of cartoon fetishing pervert

I took DS to see it (partly because there were female protagonists) and it was even better than expected. Not perfect. of course, but a huge improvement on shit like the Smurfs.

Another one who hates the figures of Disney women. And what is with Elsa? She looks demure at her coronation, but suddenly becomes a vamp after she builds the ice palace. I get it that she is free, is herself,mblah blah.... But the wiggle in her walk? Her sashayying catwalk? Just why?

Besides, i liked Tangled better. Way more funny and Maximus is my absolute favourite.

Yes. Just Why?

Would suddenly dismiss Disney altogether if it wasn't there? I don't think so. They like pretty, sure, but there's a difference between pretty and sexualised. So I wonder what the rationale is.

I've not seen Frozen yet so can't really comment about that film in particular but Disney do seem to be responding to the increasing feminist criticism of their princesses so I suppose we have to give them credit for that. If you compare Belle (the first of the Disney renaissance films) to Snow White she's much less passive, and Rapunzel and Merida are a step on again from Belle. I still think the non-princess Disney films are better and more interesting though.

I also think America is more image obsessed than we are, actors have to be more attractive there than they are here, so whereas we still see some reasonably normal looking people on TV here who, shock horror, don't even wear makeup, all the American TV imports we see contain wall to wall 'beautiful' people. So with that backdrop Disney's cartoon characters are going to represent extremes of beauty.

I just checked what Nani in Lilo and Stitch looked like and actually her body shape is very attractive but not far from realistic, at least in comparison to the current princesses. I do wonder if the more powerful the female characters become the more sexualised their shape becomes as well? And what does that say?

I do wish someone would do a faithful adaptation of The Snow Queen though.