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Ward MillerIntroduction to Literature I - 013Mr. Rhett DavellSeptember 4, 2014

Where Are All The Anna Shirts?Why Elsa is Truly the Main Character of Disney’s Frozen

When the latest Disney movie Frozen came out, you couldn’t go two days without

hearing someone singing Elsa’s song “Let it Go.”  But most of the movie is about her sister

Anna’s quest to end the winter spell. Why is this? The reason the movie is really Elsa’s story is

because the movie supports what she believes more than what Anna thinks. The first way that the

movie makes the audience side with Elsa more is by making Anna seem foolish. In her

Coronation Day song, where she sings about being excited about that evening’s party, she

confesses that she cannot tell the difference between being “elated or gassy,” she accidentally

hits herself in the face while trying to be attractive, dreams about “stuff[ing] some chocolate

in[her] face,” and finishes the song by walking into a horse and falling into a boat. This song

about becoming a free young woman, which has been a high point in almost every Disney movie

in the past thirty years, now looks ridiculous. That’s because Anna only wants to find a man.

Anna’s desire to get married is questioned through the whole movie, which is another way the

movie ends up being not about her. When Anna quickly becomes engaged to Hans on the night

of the first party, both Elsa and Kristoff immediately tell her how bad an idea it is. In the end, we

learn that they were right. Anna’s best moments are ones where she takes charge, like when she

saves Kristoff’s life during the wolf attack, or saves Elsa’s life when she is getting attacked, or

how she manages to get the equipment from the Trading Post after Kristoff fails. Her most

ridiculous moments are usually when she is looking for a romantic relationship, including the

foolish marriage clothing that she has to wear when the trolls try setting her up with Kristoff.

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Anna’s quest for her one true love is put down over and over in the movie. This pattern suggests

that the audience should not be sympathizing with Anna when she cannot find her true love in

Hans.. A final point that shows how the story truly belongs to Elsa is in her only solo song.

Elsa’s most significant moment in the movie is without a doubt her song, “Let it Go.” In this

song, Elsa rejects her past life, like being a princess (she throws away her crown) and having to

please others (she rejects her parents’ advice to “conceal, don’t feel”) while creating a new

palace of her own. After this transformation, Elsa becomes the main focus of the movie, while

the love story mostly disappears. In her next duet with her sister for example, at the end of the

song, Elsa’s voice is drowning out her sister, who wants her to return things back to being

normal. The scene ends with Elsa seriously injuring her sister by mistake. Elsa is soon afterward

captured and brought back to her home. Her castle, which Kristoff describes as “perfect,” is a

safe place, while her original home ends up getting everyone hurt. This proves that Elsa is

correct in wanting to “let it go,” and be “free” and is once again the voice of reason in the movie.

Because Anna is set up to be a laughable character when she acts like a standard Disney princess,

and is more heroic when she takes control of her own life, and because of how much better

Elsa’s life is when she is on her own, the movie supports Elsa’s message of standing on your

own.

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