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kerravonsenI just went to see Frozen with my niece V. It was more enjoyable than I expected. I am certainly going to be tracking down the soundtrack; some of the music was just awesome.
While it was "inspired by" the story "The Snow Queen", it was more like someone said "let's write a story from the point of view of the Snow Queen" and then started from that point, ignoring everything else in the original fairy tale. Which I think actually made it a better story, because it was it's own story. That was a relief to me, because I was afraid that it would be a pale and fractured imitation of the original, and it wasn't. That also meant that, while there were certain tropes (if you are a Royal Couple, DO NOT TRAVEL BY SHIP) which were predictable, other things were not so predictable.
The only things that were retained from the original were:
* there was a Snow Queen
* it was set in a country which resembled somewhere in Northern Europe
* there was a friendly reindeer
* someone's heart was frozen and true love thawed it
One of my favourite things was that the strongest love in the movie, the one that saved everything, was NOT romantic love at all. It was the love between the sisters. YES!
I admit, I was totally surprised that Prince Hans turned out to be... not what he appeared to be. I think part of the reason why I wasn't expecting it was because there was already an obvious villain, the Duke of Weselton. And also because Hans did things one would expect of a hero - he was compassionate towards the populace, he went off to rescue Anna, he stopped the bad guys from killing Elsa... I really was not expecting his volte-face.
Mind you he DID pay attention to some of the Evil Overlord rules, while ignoring others.
He almost succeeded with:
#8 After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.
#29 I will dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw my enemies into confusion.
He failed with:
#6 I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.
#13 All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.
Another thing which was nicely subtle was Elsa, her powers, her reaction to them, and other people's reaction to them. Her parents' reaction was understandable, but counterproductive; while not overtly fearful, their reactions still had fear underneath; to hide herself, to be afraid of herself. Fear, which was the very thing the troll Elder had warned them of. For how could she learn to control her powers if she never used them?
Then we have the Duke of Weselton being so very quick in calling Elsa a monster. And being attacked made Elsa attack back. How many monsters are made so by others' expectations? Yet Elsa was still good at heart, still not quite setting foot on the dark path; not ruthless enough to value her own survival above all others. But it was interesting to see the potential for that; I could see her going evil if, say, someone else had killed her sister Anna, and she went down the path of revenge. Instead, she nearly killed her sister herself, and it was pain and despair which wracked her. It was on a knife-edge at the end; for it could have happened differently: Anna dead, Elsa executed, Hans king... would he have made a good king? I mean, obviously he was despicable, but we also saw that if it lay in his self-interest to appear to be a good king, he would do so. Mind you, since he prematurely declared Anna dead, he'd still be in a bit of a sticky situation...
And as I kept saying to V, "You can't execute the rightful monarch for treason!"
While it was "inspired by" the story "The Snow Queen", it was more like someone said "let's write a story from the point of view of the Snow Queen" and then started from that point, ignoring everything else in the original fairy tale. Which I think actually made it a better story, because it was it's own story. That was a relief to me, because I was afraid that it would be a pale and fractured imitation of the original, and it wasn't. That also meant that, while there were certain tropes (if you are a Royal Couple, DO NOT TRAVEL BY SHIP) which were predictable, other things were not so predictable.
The only things that were retained from the original were:
* there was a Snow Queen
* it was set in a country which resembled somewhere in Northern Europe
* there was a friendly reindeer
* someone's heart was frozen and true love thawed it
One of my favourite things was that the strongest love in the movie, the one that saved everything, was NOT romantic love at all. It was the love between the sisters. YES!
I admit, I was totally surprised that Prince Hans turned out to be... not what he appeared to be. I think part of the reason why I wasn't expecting it was because there was already an obvious villain, the Duke of Weselton. And also because Hans did things one would expect of a hero - he was compassionate towards the populace, he went off to rescue Anna, he stopped the bad guys from killing Elsa... I really was not expecting his volte-face.
Mind you he DID pay attention to some of the Evil Overlord rules, while ignoring others.
He almost succeeded with:
#8 After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.
#29 I will dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw my enemies into confusion.
He failed with:
#6 I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.
#13 All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.
Another thing which was nicely subtle was Elsa, her powers, her reaction to them, and other people's reaction to them. Her parents' reaction was understandable, but counterproductive; while not overtly fearful, their reactions still had fear underneath; to hide herself, to be afraid of herself. Fear, which was the very thing the troll Elder had warned them of. For how could she learn to control her powers if she never used them?
Then we have the Duke of Weselton being so very quick in calling Elsa a monster. And being attacked made Elsa attack back. How many monsters are made so by others' expectations? Yet Elsa was still good at heart, still not quite setting foot on the dark path; not ruthless enough to value her own survival above all others. But it was interesting to see the potential for that; I could see her going evil if, say, someone else had killed her sister Anna, and she went down the path of revenge. Instead, she nearly killed her sister herself, and it was pain and despair which wracked her. It was on a knife-edge at the end; for it could have happened differently: Anna dead, Elsa executed, Hans king... would he have made a good king? I mean, obviously he was despicable, but we also saw that if it lay in his self-interest to appear to be a good king, he would do so. Mind you, since he prematurely declared Anna dead, he'd still be in a bit of a sticky situation...
And as I kept saying to V, "You can't execute the rightful monarch for treason!"
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Date: 2014-01-22 03:53 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2014-01-22 11:40 pm (UTC)Hans was definitely the surprise villain of the movie. I had just expected it not to work because they weren't truly in love.
I did like the act of true love that worked.
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Date: 2014-01-23 12:41 pm (UTC)I love Kristen Bell (want more Veronica Mars!) Coes anyone know if she sang her own songs?
I thought at first that Olaf would be the usual annoying Disney comic relief, but the audience roared laughing when he sang about Summer.
Hans would probably have made a good king. Elsa might want to look up his older brothers.
"You can't execute the rightful monarch for treason!" I'll let King Charles know...
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Date: 2014-01-23 12:52 pm (UTC)When my copy of the soundtrack arrives, I'll know.
I thought at first that Olaf would be the usual annoying Disney comic relief, but the audience roared laughing when he sang about Summer.
Agreed - I was expecting him to be "annoying comic relief", but somehow he managed to be sweet without being saccharine; possibly because he had that tinge of bittersweetness because everyone else around him expected that he would melt when the Eternal Winter ended, and couldn't bear to tell him.
"You can't execute the rightful monarch for treason!" I'll let King Charles know...
IMHO, you still can't - you have to declare a republic first, and at that point, there's no monarchy for said monarch to be monarch of, and hence, s/he is no longer the rightful monarch.
Let's just say... the almost-execution of Elsa lacked due process.
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Date: 2014-01-24 12:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-24 02:46 am (UTC)I've had "Let It Go" stuck in my head since I saw the film two weeks ago. :)
(And yes, I did buy the Deluxe Soundtrack right after coming out of the theater, which I don't think I've ever done before!)
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Date: 2014-01-24 06:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-25 09:43 am (UTC)