As if the frosty weather weren’t enough chill for me, I finally saw Frozen, Disney’s latest animated film, over the weekend.
And, full disclosure: I loved it.
If you’ve seen it, you know it’s a different sort of “princess” movie, and even if you haven’t seen it yet (read: Drop this newspaper and go see it now), you’ve probably at least heard it’s less of a damsel-in-distress tale than we might be used to.
It’s a movie about sisterly bonds, not falling for love at first sight, and being who you really are. Which — for those of us used to the tales of princesses needing saving while only dreaming of true love — is a breath of fresh, frosty air.
As we are all wont to do, I then spent the evening after I saw the movie thinking about the evolution of princesses in pop culture and, well, my life.
I was a tomboy growing up and always actively resisted princess movies. I hated Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and the like. Somewhere in my childish brain, I recognized that I wasn’t a fan of passive princesses waiting for their prince to save them; Snow White even literally sings a song about how all she wants is a prince to come take her away, and it always sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. Aladdin, The Lion King — those were my Disney faves, and I scathingly criticized any and all princess movies that came about.
I carried that revulsion for princess movies with me up into semi-adulthood. Recently, I’ve cringed every time I heard that my 1-year-old niece loved Sofia The First and silently told myself I would do my best to make sure that if I ever had a daughter, she wouldn’t be into princesses.
Yet Frozen forced me to look back on princesses over the past few years. In Disney terms, there have been Tangled and Brave, both much more focused on independence and strong-willed girls rather than passive damsels.
In Hollywood in general, we have films such as Snow White and the Huntsman, which completely reimagined the Snow White tale and turned Snow White, originally the picture of perfect domesticity, into an ironclad warrior.
Yes, there are still love stories in most of these and yes, these characters are all still quite slender and beautiful, but the silver screen does seem to be making an effort to bring us a more dynamic princess who can serve as a role model for a 21st century gal. I’m not saying we’ve completely taken back the princess yet — the new model for a princess seems to have become a charmingly clumsy, headstrong girl, always with an emphasis on the clumsiness — but it’s a step up from the Snow Whites and Princess Auroras of old.
So if you’re someone who, like me, has been vehemently boycotting princess movies for years, I recommend giving Frozen a shot. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the women you see portrayed.
Not to mention, who wouldn’t want to hear Idina Menzel (voice of Elsa in Frozen) belt out empowering tunes?
Nicolien Buholzer is a senior studying journalism and the managing editor of The Post. Send a video of yourself singing “Let It Go” to her at
nb360409@ohiou.edu.
