At home under quarantine watching loads of films? Then let Frozen II be one of them, and this is why: We know recreational viewing shapes our culture, so it is time we questioned and understood the content that we are subjected to, especially when it is targeted at our children.
The question of relevance pops up at times like this. Is a Disney film relevant since there are so many troubles in the world including pandemic and global upheaval? But then, what is relevant? I fear we have ignored so much that was deeply important while immersed in an agenda that has been dictated to us. We know recreational viewing shapes our culture, so it is high time we questioned and understood the content that we are subjected to, especially when it is targeted at our children.
Whether you’ve seen the film or not it’s worth exploring this story and storytelling in general as a device for impact and change. Please be aware that everything we see on the screen and in other forms of media including billboards are all vehicles for messages that go straight to our brains and manifest in our actions. If articles about animation films seem unnecessary, then I suggest you seek out expert views on this, I'm a novice yet I gleaned all this in one viewing. What you allow into you mind via your screen must be subject to your discern.
Even just the trailer of Frozen II was viewed 116.4 million times in the first 24 hours, we can’t imagine the effect this film has upon us, though film makers know. They and all those in the marketing world have been privy to the science behind what makes us tick for decades.
The responsibility they carry as cultural designers is immense, I guess that’s why this essay is so long, this really is an important and relevant subject. So, if you are at home under quarantine, watching a film a day these days, then let Frozen II be one of them.
I saw Frozen II at the cinema; I have a 6-year-old daughter, so it was compulsory. However, when I watch it again it will be to see if there was anything I missed! That film punched out some massively important themes in its 110 minutes. I wonder how much impact such films have on introducing new thinking in to the narrative that we live by, whether such films can scale up to become the trend and whether this will help us find our way to a realm of regenerative culture. This may seem like a lot to expect from a Disney film, but frankly I do, they have a lot to answer for and it’s about time they acted their age and catered to the world’s needs rather than just their box office ratings.
I’m not going to claim that this Disney film is a comprehensive guide or a deep and philosophical delve, but there were major themes firmly planted throughout, diversity and inclusivity has failed to tick a few boxes, but as some compensation, the subject of the rights and the righteousness of the Indigenous characters is the main reveal of the plot.
Plot spoiler warning: Disney tends to be predictable, but I doubt you’d anticipate such a valiant attempt at prompting consciousness via Elsa! I provide context, but I don’t tell the film’s story here. (This link gives more of the plot, and also mirrors my take on the film)
The Themes as I saw and remember them:
Our Irrevocable Connection to the Ecosphere.
Climate breakdown and ecological collapse manifest as the Disney invoked planet rages against the human injustices via the four Spirits of Wind, Earth, Water and Fire. The Spirits have been angered by the erection of a dam and by the war raged between the Indigenous forest folk (the Northuldra) and the towns people of Arendelle. We get to know the truth of the crime committed and who is at fault. (See Truth and Fall of the Patriarchy sections below.)
The Takeaway: Don’t piss nature off. We do best when working with the natural spirits of nature.
Connection with Nature
The character sisters Elsa and Anna make peace with the Spirits one by one, though not without harnessing each Spirit’s power. Using the Earth’s mighty strength, they smash the destructive folly of mankind which takes the shape of a dam in this film. The choice of a dam is an interesting one, dam busting is fine to use in terms of cinematic climax, and a straight up metaphor for the way we exploit the planet without consideration to the longer lasting effects. In the case of a dam we can cite specifics such as salination and toxicity to the earth, fish depletion and the ruination of migratory routes to breeding spawning grounds and other collateral damage to innumerous parts of the delicate ecology that is life on earth. Yet often dams are placed to control flooding and supply our cities with water. Rethinking the dam takes major upheaval in our lives and society. It means redesigning the fabric of our urban areas and our rural irrigation. It means major adaptation in our water and energy consumption and industrial practices.
The Takeaway: ‘Damn the dam’ Disney appears to say; quite radical for a cartoon don’t you think? We must adopt whole systems thinking and bioregional approach.
The Sentient and All Things of Intrinsic Life
In the first film the Trolls spring to life from boulders, in this film the Earth Spirit manifests in rock giants that stomp around destructively, the Fire Spirit is a dangerous and erratic lizard, the Wind is a mischievous and potentially malevolent wrecker and the Water Spirit is a thunderous, pounding, engulfing horse wave. All these signify the life force characteristics that they carry, and their tamed states show how, when we deeply respect, and are in tune with them, these spirits are our most powerful and beneficial allies. Also, reindeer are cool.
The Takeaway: Without the forces of our planet on our side, we die!
The Wisdom of the Indigenous
This film attempts to be respectful to the Sami people of Scandinavia, (apparently after the Sami suggested it!) The Sami are the Indigenous culture that inspires many aspects of the film (including the music) Disney states: "…the company is willing to acknowledge its legacy of racist stereotypes” and makes an effort to be “culturally sensitive in Frozen II” (see here for more)
It is revealed that Elsa and Anna’s mother is of the Northuldra people, so the girls are of direct Indigenous descent. The Spirit characters seem to represent the ecosystem nurturing beliefs of worldwide Indigenous cultures. Despite these inclusions into the story I find the characters and the overall portrayal to be very western centric and again Disney misses an opportunity to bring Indigenous culture fully front and centre stage, where it deserves to be. Though no film can make amends for the many atrociously racist, demeaning and culturally appropriative films that Disney has made so far, there is a sense of a step towards reparations.
The Takeaway (that I hope to see better addressed in future films): We must be diverse, inclusive and equal, and we finally need to learn from Indigenous wisdom, before it is curtains for the lot of us.
Rise of the Feminine and the Inner Voice
The sisters, Elsa and Anna, were left without parental guidance in the first film, but in Frozen II they spent the major part alone and able to move on without waiting for the advice or help of anyone. They aren’t inclined to lose their heads or hearts and Anna is simply too busy to notice that Kristoff is trying to propose to her throughout the film, this in itself throws the whole tale on its head as we have learned to expect the female characters to want nothing more than a ring on their finger.
Elsa believes the mysterious voice she hears is good, she trusts her instinct “it’s just that my magic can feel it. I can feel it” These words define her acknowledgement of the feminine skills of empathy and intuition and they are an invitation to us all to rise to that and listen to our inner magic.
This concept of listening to our inner voice is bashed out through the song “Into the Unknown” and in every repeat of the mysterious sound, which, as the plot reveals is both an inner voice and nature calling. (Plus, it turns out to be her mother, further empowering the female roles.)
The film gives the sense that there is something out there that beckons, something that keeps us awake at night, that tells us we have to shift, we have to step out of our comfort zones and away from the familiar, something that knows deep down we are not where we are meant to be, that there is work to be done.
The unknown is another way of naming complexity and uncertainty, two aspects of life today that we are actively struggling to deal with. When we listen, the voice that we hear in the film and in our real lives, is both internal and external, it is the call of nature and of our nature, and of Indigenous and feminine wisdom.
The Takeaway: Nurture, empower, trust your instincts and let the feminine rise in you (even if you are a dude).
Breaking Convention
The final part of the film shows Elsa alone and absolutely invigorated by her connect with nature and her own self. Though there was a hint at ambiguity in her relationship with Honeymaren, the film did not provide the awaited and what would have been groundbreaking nod to the LGBTQI+. At least she is not paired off in typical heterosexual happy ending style, the same cannot be said for Anna.
The Takeaway: Do you and rock it! (Especially if being you means stepping away from the trodden path that got us in to this mess)
Truth
As a thing! There are two kinds of truth, there is the one that is shaped by perception, this is the one that we are told or that we witness ourselves/ Our lenses tinted by angle, bias and life experience alter the way truth looks. The other Truth, the one we can give the capital T, refers to the world around us that exists whether we perceive it or not. It is the sacred geometricity of life, it is the space- time continuum and the atoms and energy fields that transcend our limited perception. It is the Truth that we mingle with when we are at our best and our worst. At our best we perceive it and we feel elated, we create art and music and define concepts such as spirituality and enlightenment around it, at our worst we conspire against it in an attempt to put ourselves above it, this happens every time we exploit our planet or life upon it in any way. Frozen II lets this all hang in the air around the characters. Finding the Truth is not just a matter of solving a mystery or satisfying our curiosity as to what happened. Alignment with Truth (and the resulting Truth prompted behaviour and action) is the only way for Arendelle, the people and for our characters to survive.
The Takeaway: Truth is life. Nature is Truth. We are Nature.
Blessings and Knowing our Power
Many of the characters have specific skills, Elsa is blessed with the power to create ice. In the first film she learns not to fear and how to control her power, in this the second film she learns to hone that power. What had seemed to be a curse, became the blessing and she learns the secret of it. Olaf, the snowman (despite being so irritating) has a notable power too; secrets and Truth are casually revealed in the words of his seemingly nonsense jabbering. The fact that Elsa created Olaf is a nod to the treasures hidden in what may seem to be trivial and childish parts of our creativity and play.
The Takeaway: Use your skills and hone them. Don’t ignore meandering thoughts!
Water has Memory (kinda)
Olaf comes out with some quirky things, one of which is that water has memory. One learns to take his weird statements a tad seriously through the plot. The varying degrees of fact behind them prompt curiosity on our part (who knew that wombats pooped cubes or that turtles can breathe from their butts?) And it is a fact, water does have memory, at least through studying water you can see where it has been and what it has been subjected to, just as through studying earth and rock we have window into the past. Elsa refines her ice blasting skills to allow the water to take its own shape and through that the truth of the past is revealed. The truth hurts sometimes, and this was no exception.
The Takeaway: Be curious, accept wisdom from whomever it comes and don’t tell lies, you will get found out!
Responsibility
The lack of responsibility exhibited by the leaders of Arendelle is put forward by Olaf when he asks “Tell me, you’re older, thus all knowing, do you ever worry about the notion that nothing is permanent?”, to Anna’s negative response he replies “…wow, I can’t wait until I’ve aged just like you, so I don’t worry about important things”. I admonish any adult in the cinema who did not squirm in their seats at that. Firm blame on us, the so called “all knowing” elders who shirk responsibility to even ponder “important things”. Anna tries to justify her stance with an explanation of her own emotional need for security and connection. You can’t blame Anna who was bought up in complete isolation, so her swift maturity is a credit to her.
But is there hope for our characters? Is there hope for us yet?
Anna and sense prevail and just when Elsa is about to get all emotionally incompetent about the revealed truth of the death of her parents Anna reminds her that their parents decided their destiny, and that the sisters can now decide their own. The past was their parent’s choice and not anyone else’s fault. Anna steps up to responsibility by helping her sister shift from helpless to proactive. If I recall correctly, this is where the theme of deciding to do the ‘next right thing’ is born.
The Takeaway: We all have the capability to take responsibility, to avoid blaming and being defeatist and to be proactive.
The End of the Patriarchy
The ugly face of the patriarchy is exposed in the scene where the Truth (yep, capital T) emerges regarding the utter betrayal and conniving behaviour of their own grandfather the late King of Arendelle. It turns out that after years of accusations, confusion and polarisation, that the original crime of building the dam was no less than a trick to damage the Indigenous peoples lands so as to get rid of them (sound familiar?) In fact, the grandfather King had killed the Northuldra chief to start the war between the two people and had thus plunged the whole forest into a Spirit invoked curse.
What a bummer. Gramps was a major tosser! If we are to put this in the context of historical accuracy it turns out that granddad, his Royal Highness, was a genocide and ecocide inducing, land grabbing, dishonest man of malicious intent. With some amateur psychological analysis, we could say that he was narcissistic and egocentric as well as both socio and psychopathic. (Killing and ensuring the annihilation of a nation of people and destroying their land and the ecology is sure sign of all these) So, not dissimilar, in fact just like the nation leaders (royal, presidential, ministerial or military) that we had all around the world for centuries and still have today and, come to think about it, just like the corporate leaders who dominate the world stage with their strategy.
To the dismay of Elsa, their seemingly benevolent king and his kingdom was built upon lies and hype, and the fear mongering about the forest and the forest people was manipulative utter tripe. Elsa took that in her stride, seeing as she’d really been through a lot by that point already, but that nugget of Truth, and the lengths to which she had to go to achieve it, froze her up, presumably to death seeing as the side effect was that Olaf melted. (Fussy fact correction from my daughter: “he didn’t ‘melt’, his flakes just blew away!”)
The Takeaway: The patriarchy, whether kings, corporations, politicians or military are often (always?) behind all the trouble! Seeing through the patriarchy isn’t enough, it’s going take huge, collaborative effort to instigate change.
Active Hope
It is at this point that Anna has had it, the increasingly dark and desperate times are truly upon her and with the demise of Olaf she can only assume the worst for her sister. She is alone and bereft. She both manages to grieve effectively and to avoid the depths of depression; a song is born. Somewhere in the lyric the reoccurring them of just doing the next right thing is lodged into our brains. Taking that next right step, up and over a mountain in this case.
The Takeaway: Action and gratitude (even for what little strength you have) keeps you going even in very dark times. What you need and the place you need to be does exist, even if you can’t quite see it or reach it yet.
The Next Right Thing
“When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing”
If you get nothing else from this film, from your education, from your parents, from life, from the culmination of every experience you have had, don’t worry, for this is a very solid piece of advice.
Anna doesn’t give up; she only has enough bravery and stamina for her next right step so that is what she does. Taking one next step leads her to the next, though her heart is utterly broken, and she knows it would take a miracle to overcome the obstacles ahead. She then goes on, step by step, to perform such miracles as dam busting by utilising the power of aggressive giants, reviving a dead looking sister, bringing a dissipated snowman back together, forging collaboration with opposing military men and activating peace between warring civilisations.
The Takeaway: No matter what, we must just take that next right step (however incremental and insignificant it seems). We must just keep on keeping on, even though we can’t see what the future will be. And of course, we can’t see the future, it is elusive precisely because it is the future. It pushes our imaginations to conceive beyond the known boundaries of possibility, to push our limitations and to have faith that the instinctive voice that tells us to keep going is the voice that, above all, we should hear.
Toxic Masculinity.
Just when we were wondering what men are good for, having seen the patriarchy and masculine roles decimated within the film, Kristoff pops up. He had maintained an ineffectual and almost pathetic position of missing what was going on around him, he’d got lost, failed to propose to Anna and had persistently fallen behind. We sense that by standing back (inadvertently all be it) he allows the women to make the necessary progress and the feminine to rise. During his personal journey he grapples with not being Anna’s sole interest, but he has forged healthy relationships with others and his role is rounded without being centre stage. The fact that Anna and Kristoff have different roles and paths does not drag them apart, quite to the contrary we see a healthy relationship emerge and it culminates with a very powerful scene. Kristoff swoops in on the back of Sven, his trusty reindeer, to save Anna from certain imminent death. This intervention does not undermine her and her mission, instead his timely intervention renders her plan all the more genius, as if, of course she can expect the heroics of her quietly collaborative man. Though Kristoff has taken back seat so far, Anna’s plan to save the day would have failed tragically if it were not for his skills, loyalty, love and nurturing passion. In doing so he utters these words: “I’m here, what do you need?”
Never have more relevant and powerful words been said by a man to a woman!
Out of the dust of the failing and false patriarchal leadership, Kristoff emerges as the single-handed manifestation of masculine rebirth. Not only is he not ashamed to be best pals with a reindeer but he becomes his best self; strong, determined, trusting, trustworthy and finally capable, now he figured himself out. He doesn't question Anna, he supports her leadership role without qualm.
The Takeaway: He is what this planet needs from the masculine side of us all, he is what everyone in a strong role (from family head, to corporate boss, to minister or schoolteacher) must be. Humble and sure enough of himself to allow someone else to lead when that someone else is better suited to leadership.
Multifaceted Advancement and Diversity
The screen play portrays advancement on various fronts, and we see that our protagonists were doomed had they not manifested a heightened level of collaboration between them.
The players each represent one or several archetypal roles.
Here are some of the archetypes:
· The Hero/Heroine
In this case the heroic role is shared between many! Elsa may win the hearts of the younger viewers, but they too can see that success is achieved through the participation and teamwork of all the players including the Spirits.
· The Villain or the Antagonist
Though the late grandfather King appears to be the villain, he is dead, so the villain of the film is his remaining legacy which is the exploitation of the ecosystem and of those that lived in harmony with it (the Indigenous Northuldra) This is the shadow side of the townspeople of Arendelle.
· The Collaborator
No one person, even a magical powered one can do it alone. The sisters, quick learners as they are, know they must restore the balance of nature and sibling balance is a part of that.
Anna lacks the powers, but she is bursting with loyalty, courage and common sense. She is also the one who rescues her sister, who is initially intent on doing everything alone. Anna insists that they are a team, she saves the day and keeps it together despite utter adversity. It is never about her; she is selfless yet determined and she believes in herself. Anna advances on the front of solidarity, collaboration and commitment.
· The Mobiliser
Anna’s voice is that of mass mobilisation of people who see the Truth (via the Truth Tellers) She moves the earth by mobilising the sense back into them, overthrowing their destructive and violent ways and into the paradigm shift that puts them back into harmony and alignment with their true nature. She and Elsa also mobilise the spirit forces of nature and ensure their willing or unwitting collaboration. Olaf is also a mobiliser in his own way throughout the film with his provocative remarks.
· The Bridge, the Forgiver, the Unifier
Elsa has the birth gift of her magical powers, it turns out they were granted to her because her mother (hitherto unbeknown to anyone) was of the Indigenous Northuldra and had, by saving their Arendellian father’s life, broken the pattern of hating and forged a bridge between the people. This gift turns out to have further depth as it also grants Elsa the position of being the 5th element or Spirit of the film along with Earth, Water, Fire and Wind. She, the Ice Queen is the bridge between the natural world of Spirits and of the humans. However, she is not supposed to carry this burden alone and we see the role of Anna in unity with Elsa's power and providing substance necessary. Forgiveness and not holding a grudge or seeking revenge are underlying throughout.
· The Truth Finder
Elsa advances on the front as Truth finder, myth buster. Today those who endeavour in this are often imprisoned, murdered and ostracised by mainstream media as being marginal freaks. Their superpowers of truth finding are often kept secret (just as Elsa kept her powers secret in the first film) yet we have seen that, without the Truth, we are all on the path of inevitable doom.
· The Truth Tellers (Wisdom)
The Trolls and the Indigenous Northurdra are without doubt the clear holders and the tellers of the truth. They are clarity and trust inducing, just like the solid rocks they seem to emerge from and the trees that they live in harmony with. Olaf also has the capability to utter sensical things, he is a manifestation of creative flow, which is another place Truth resides.
· The Skilled, Strong and Trustworthy
Kristof’s heroism is revealed (see the Toxic Masculinity paragraph), but the character of Mattias (who stands alone as an insufficient nod to people of colour) is strong, loyal and also wise enough to shift his allegiance to the worthy path. As army Lieutenant Mattias has power (see below) which had been ill used in his colonial allegiance until he is enlightened, proving his wisdom and trustworthiness. (Next time Disney please better represent racial diversity, as a white person I'm offended, I can't imagine how frustrating this must be for all the people of colour around the world! I know there aren't many black people in Scandinavia, but then there aren't many talking snowmen either!)
· The Ancestor.
The dead parents; (what is it with Disney and orphans?) The late king and queen's mistakes lead to their demise and they left the burden of historical wounds and wrongs to be rectified by their precious daughters. We are not doing something dissimilar; our generation and those that came before us, we are like the soon-to-be-dead but still walking, we will be leaving planetary scale decimation in our wake. But maybe we can activate a bit of the Elsa and Anna touch upon our actions today, maybe we will not be the frozen ghosts of tomorrow who left nothing but peril for our children to deal with.
When our children look to the memory in the water will they find pollution, nitrates, spilt oil, dead fish and algae explosions, will they find dead coral and rising temperatures, will they find the water up to their necks through rising levels, will they see the shadow of arctic species float by, extinct as the ice melts irrevocably away… or will they find some clear water and our endeavour to rectify the ills we have bought upon our planet?
Will our kids, like Anna, look at our final decisions and see our mistakes and misguided decisions, or will our kids see more than just ill directed best intentions. Will they see instead that we had taken our next right steps towards a healthy planet and towards inspiring our kids with hope and possibility?
· The Ecosystem defenders
The Indigenous people have been wronged and locked into the curse inflicted upon them, yet they maintain their spirit and nature connection as defenders of the ecosystem. Despite this they continue with integrity and do not seek revenge, just like our planet is not vengeful. With the demolition of the dam and consequent lift of the curse upon them all, they, like the river, can return to the natural flow.
· The Powerful
Anna in her monarchic role over Arendelle makes a radical choice to risk the destruction of her beloved town to rectify the damage done by her grandfather, she manipulates a power (that of the Earth Spirit) to destroy the dam, but this will most likely wipe out her seat of inherited power. She displays a version of power that embodies self-sacrifice and equity and is used for the good of the whole.
The military, through their leader Mattias, are convinced by Anna, and they voluntarily and whole heartedly desert their duty to the crown as personified by the dead, conniving king and decisively turn to the leadership of the Truth and the issue of ecological rectification. Thus, the strength of the army is used for inclusive civilian and natural defence, and rewilding.
“Frozen II is a Disney movie, and that magic ensures that Arendelle is spared from destruction in the end — with the wave of an ice-spewing hand, Elsa freezes the oncoming surge of water in the nick of time. Such miracles can’t be expected in real life, but we may find that once we overcome our fear of the potential cost of reparations, the healing and uplift they bring may in fact save us all.” (see here and below for full Washington Post article)
· The Grown Up
Maturity is a subject we see through out, the more adult sisters both face their own less mature pasts. Anna and her choice of murderous ex-boyfriend from the first film and Elsa in all kinds of ways such as how she actively winces when she remembers that song ‘Let it Go” All the characters and Walt Disney Animation Studios all exemplify a more grown up version of themselves.
· The Child and The Shadow (The Mischievous, the Volatile and the Brutal)
These characteristics manifest in the spirit characters and in the snowman Olaf.
These parts provide humour, drama and cinematic depth. Film has long held the duty of holding space for these facets of us humans, the balance of these within the story are the glimpses of our childhood manifestations of our shadow side. The Fire Spirit character reveals this quite clearly.
There are many other facets of archetypes, I’ve just touched upon some.
How Disney can do better next time.
Decolonisation
It all ends with a Queen on her throne. Hierarchic leadership and authority, though apparently just and fair, is still in place. Royalty lives on in the castle and the village people are joyful and grateful. Class privilege is never questioned.
The Indigenous people live in their forest, no notable interaction occurs between them and the townsfolk and no compensation or apology is made for the attempted genocide against them.
No real changes are apparent, and everything looks just as it was. I can imagine many ways this could be turned around in a film, I bet Disney can too!
Diversity
As I mentioned above regarding Mattias, let's please make films that represent the worldwide audience fairly. Disney is an amplifier and forms the dreams and imagination of children everywhere, let these dreams be radically inclusive.
Love and Peace!
When will aggression and violence no longer take up so much space in our recreational viewing? This film may not be violence heavy (it’s a kid’s film after all!), however it could go far lighter; why does war and fighting have to be a part of children’s viewing? Is this what we wish to project as the norm and inspire from the viewers?
Responsibility
Should I be grateful that Disney so valiantly integrated many important themes? No, I don’t think so, anyone with an audience of billions is morally responsible to portray human culture as one that is sustainable and equitable at least. It is not too much to expect Disney to portray regeneration, reparation, and cultural evolution.
Better Communication
On a personal note: I’ve had it with this inability to communicate thing, it cropped up in my life in our English Literature classes, Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D’Urbervilles were excruciating, but then, when Thomas Hardy strode the earth the British were at a particularly backward stage in their communication skills. We’ve had time to get over it.
I can appropriate blame on the act of ineffectual communication for just about anything that’s gone wrong ever! Certainly, on the micro scale, (think of how families work) and then also on the macro, (think about nations and the whole mess we are in right now!) I’m not saying we could have talked our way out of the Coronavirus pandemic or world hunger and poverty… but then again, I am. Whatever it is let’s talk about it, nothing should be ignored, and no truth or Truth should go unshared. Diversity and radical inclusivity in situation and data analysis, sense making, and the wisdom input would result in a lot better decision making and could translate to a unified expression of will. Only then, when we truly hold space for each other, and everything can we exist as a functioning and sustainable ecosystem.
The mind squeezingly agitating inability for the characters (in this case Elsa specifically) to share stuff with her sister and in general in all the Disney films is a narrative that I want smashed.
What would happen if we simply and effectively just talk stuff through?
Note: I researched who produced and wrote the screen play (to credit them here) after writing this, I didn’t want knowledge about the gender, bias, intention and the views of the screen writer/s to colour my interpretation of the film.
Producer - Peter Del Vecho
Screen Play & Director - Jennifer Lee (and others)
Lee is the first female director of a Disney film; however, it seems that there is very little diversity among the film makers. A decolonised Disney could decolonise the minds of the world’s children so diversity among the film makers crew is imperative.
Finally, I thank the film studio and specifically all the collaborators who gave me hope that regenerative practices really can become part of our popular culture through film and music. The global pandemic has halted us in our tracks, but given us pause for thought and a possibility to change, the potential is huge, and I await new narrative through films with anticipation.
More links:
This is great:
"Frozen II isn’t just a cartoon. It’s a brilliant critique of imperialism":
This one delves into the archetypes and more:
Oh yes, and the girls wear trousers, this article reminded me of that.
This guy really disliked the film, ok, so I agree, the plot is messy, the white saviour thing and retro Indigenous thing all very problematic and the songs are pretty dull, but this is a small price to pay for anti imperialism in a cartoon. And we don't need an antagonist; adversity exists in all the problems of the past! (But here's the link to this other opinion... because... yes... think about what we are exposing our kids to!)
Photo Credit: I lifted all the photos off the internet, some came from Disney Wiki and others from random sources. If anyone is offended that I used their photo please contact me and I'll remove or credit you.