What Do You See Disney's Frozen As a Metaphor For?

[Sir Quaffler]

I remember this conversation came up in a ShoutBox conversation a few nights ago, and I thought I'd make a thread out of it.

Personally, when I watched the movie, I picked up that the movie was a metaphor for depression and how people who are depressed tend to shut the doors on those that care about them and try not to hurt or bother them with their problems. I saw it this way because... well, that's exactly what happened to me this last semester. I didn't tell anyone what was going on and just shut the door on everyone. But when I was away from everyone I let loose and expressed myself exactly how I felt, but still I wasn't free from my burden. It was only when I truly saw how much they cared about me that I finally broke down and told them everything and all that had been happening to me those past few months. Some time later and with me associating with my friends & family openly I finally got my head cleared and am now ready to take on the world again.

The other metaphors in the movie, what with the constant references to doors & the shutting of said doors, the frozen landscape being an obvious reference to the depression (in contrast to summer heat being a metaphor for gaiety) and the frozen heart being very hard to treat, with only an act of true love from those that care about you being able to thaw said heart. Very fitting stuff indeed.

Anyways, do you agree with me, or did you see the movie as a metaphor for something else entirely?

 

[Ganondork]

I think it goes a bit beyond just depression. See, Anna and Elsa are actually one in the same. They are so identical physically, yet their personalities are so radically different. That's because Elsa is the side of depression, taught to hide her emotions, seclude herself from the world, and wallow in self-pity. Anna, on the other hand, is Elsa's - depression - desire to lead a normal life. This is why both of them are locked within the confines of the castle, metaphorically. I will refer to the duo, for the most part, as a single entity from now on. Despite her desires to lead a normal life, she is shackled down by this crippling depression.

When she finally has reached a point of the depression not being as dehabilitating, she adventures out of the castle, which is symbolic of her mind. Much like Siddhartha in Herman Hesse's, "Siddhartha," she overindulges, and is instead cast further into despair. This is the pivotal point when Elsa runs and creates her winter castle. But the Anna inside still lives. Deep down, she tries to recover, but it's a difficult journey. But during her overindulgence, she found companionship. Anna - symbolizing hope - realized that you can't take on depression alone, and her friends were there to help her.

While Olaf is seen as a bad character by some, he is a very important symbol to the movie. He is the memories of a better time. Like Belle Reve to Blanche in Tennessee Williams', "A Streetcar Named Desire," he is a reminder of what once was. Unlike Blanche, Anna wasn't running from this past that seems so long ago, but rather embracing it. She remembers the days of childhood innocence, but there is still some fogginess, because she has become so used to the depression that her times of happiness are almost alien to her. This is because Anna's loss of memory is symbolic for the loss of any form of happiness. Like happiness though, her memories eventually return.

And what of something as insignificant as Elsa's ice-based guardian, Marshmallow? He is a manifestation of dark thoughts within Elsa/Anna's mind that prevent happiness from liberating her from the depression. While he isn't good company for Elsa - the depression - he is the only thing she can truly trust. She dwells on them not because she wants to, but because it's the only way she feels safe. These dark thoughts are both her jailor, and her guardian. They keep her from sinking further into depression, but also hold her down to prevent happiness from finding its way to her.

Hans is a tough egg to crack. It took awhile for me to figure out his significance in this extended metaphor, but I now understand. He is the attractive solution that doesn't help - the anti depressants, the beta blockers, you name it. He is the pharmaceutical remedy that only helps you for so long. He brought Anna happiness for a small moment, and nearly ended up being the final stake in the heart of happiness. He is the metaphorical false prophet that brings release for mere moments, before casting you to the depths of depression.

Even Kristoff is a symbol that isn't quite good. He and Sven are the external forces that bring happiness to this empty vessel, but that isn't enough. His act of true love wasn't going to be what saved happiness. It was depression. This paradox is created at the climax of the movie; when Anna, still symbolizing happiness, is frozen. Depression (Elsa) finally threw aside her problems and felt true love for herself. This melted Anna, as well as the layers of depression that crippled the duo. The reason for Kristoff not being the one to deliver the act of true love is that you can't defeat depression by loving another - you have to love yourself.

When Elsa brought summer, she liberated herself of the depression. She finally found happiness.

The theme of Disney's, "Frozen," goes beyond depression, but also learning to love yourself. The love of others is still good, but if you do not love yourself, you are fragmented. It's about being comfortable in your own skin, accepting your quirks, and understanding that there is a little bit of magic in all of us.

 

[Link12]

A headache

 

[Vanessa28]

A headache

Care to explain yourself and why you think this instead of posting such a short reply like this?

 

[Isaac]

I think the movie Frozen is metaphor for being one of the best disney pixar movies of all time.

 

[Trio the Punch]

I think it's probably a metaphor for Disney's intellectual bankruptcy and overall non-caring attitude toward making a quality product, since apparently everyone gets on board with whatever half-***, hideous, hackneyed piece of garbage they put out. Seriously, Frozen is an awful movie. It's not deep. It's not a well planned execution of any sort of agenda. Except maybe the ongoing assassination of 2D animation, which sucks because 2D animation might've made Frozen at least a little easier to look at. I mean, if any of the design team had any actual ideas, anyway.

 

[Blue Canary]

Where am I, english class? Its not a metaphor for anything. Its just a fun movie for people to enjoy. There might be metaphors in the movie that apply to the story, but I mean seriously, not everything has to be a metaphor.

 

[Wolf Sage]

I think it's probably a metaphor for Disney's intellectual bankruptcy and overall non-caring attitude toward making a quality product, since apparently everyone gets on board with whatever half-***, hideous, hackneyed piece of garbage they put out. Seriously, Frozen is an awful movie. It's not deep. It's not a well planned execution of any sort of agenda. Except maybe the ongoing assassination of 2D animation, which sucks because 2D animation might've made Frozen at least a little easier to look at. I mean, if any of the design team had any actual ideas, anyway.

Well, I haven't even seen the movie yet. Wasn't even a fan of it; hated the freaking "Let It Go" craze. But upon doing some research about it, if there's one thing I can say about it is that it's not some half-arsed film. There's a reason it won Best Animated Film of All Time and 5th Best Film of All Time. Frozen actually started out as an adaptation of another one of Hans Christian Andersen's works. Aptly titled "The Snow Queen," production of the film started in the 1940s. Disney and other collaborators began work on it, but ultimately had to quit after having run into multiple problems with adapting the titular Snow Queen character and plot to modern audiences. It wasn't until the 1990s that production of The Snow Queen would pick up steam again. Disney decided to take on their own project sans collaborators, hoping to continue the success of several prior Disney films during the Disney Renaissance era. But after multiple attempts and several ideas being pitched, the project was again shelved completely in 2002.

The next attempt came in 2008. An idea was pitched to the then Chief Creative Officer of Disney, who just so happened to have been interested in The Snow Queen for a long time. Finally, development for the film Anna and the Snow Queen began. And while it once again faced the threat of being scrapped, due to the difficulty in making the Snow Queen character and the story work, it was announced that a new film called Frozen would be released in 2013.

From that time on, the film underwent extensive development. Several changes were made based on the problems the development team(s) were facing concerning developing the Snow Queen character (Elsa in Frozen), who actually started out as a villain. Lots of time, effort, resources, and emotion went into developing the characters and plot. Lots. Several locales around the world were visited for inspiration for the film's settings, and many people (mainly sisters) were interviewed to help develop the relationship between Elsa and Anna. Anna, who is based on the original protagonist, 'Gerda', was actually rewritten as Elsa's younger sister. One iteration showed that Elsa was originally going to deliberately puncture Anna's heart with her ice powers, setting off a reaction that would eventually freeze her solid. Anna would then set off on a journey to dispel the curse and prevent her from becoming eternally frozen, while Elsa would try to stop her. The story would have been a lot more complicated than the final product, but a lot of stuff was cut to save time.

I'm honestly not too keen on the 3D animation myself, since it looks a lot like Tangled's animation, which I hated at first. Although, the film was originally going to be drawn in 2D. Elements of both 3D and 2D wound up being in the film, though. I'm okay with what became of it.

I'm not going to challenge your opinion or whatever; just thought I'd attempt to reassure everyone that Frozen is ANYTHING but a half-arsed film or Disney running out of ideas.

(Stuff)

Where am I, english class? Its not a metaphor for anything. Its just a fun movie for people to enjoy. There might be metaphors in the movie that apply to the story, but I mean seriously, not everything has to be a metaphor.

Oh no. Trust me. There's a deep message to be found in Frozen. I was moved by what went on behind the scenes in production of this film. It's ****ing amazing what you'll find once you peel back the layers. I haven't even seen the actual film, but I was completely blown away by just reading the history and background story of the film itself. I'm going to start delving into the background of other forms of media from now on.

[N]ot everything has to be a metaphor.

Just so you know, almost all stories have, or actually are, some kind of metaphor. That's kind of the point. Whether or not it's good a metaphor or whatever is subject to interpretation...

 

[Ganondork]

Where am I, english class? Its not a metaphor for anything. Its just a fun movie for people to enjoy. There might be metaphors in the movie that apply to the story, but I mean seriously, not everything has to be a metaphor.

I really hate this attitude. This may be the case if you are reading strictly fiction targetted at 13 year olds, and watching movies with Kevin Hart in them, but literature and many other forms of media use metaphors and symbolism to aid the writing. The idea isn't to bother you, but it's meant to actually give you insight on character details, and even add to an underlying theme within the piece. Disney isn't a stranger to using metaphors and various other literary devices, so it's a bit ignorant to just flat out say, "It's not a metaphor for anything."

One of the things that I was taught in English was that a lot of the times, some of our analysis is made without those concepts being in the writer's head. And you know what? That's a great writer. They've left so many ideas open for interpretation, allowing people to view their piece in so many different ways, which is one of the most amazing things about literature, and even movies.

Whether you think Frozen is a metaphor for anything, there are always underlying themes. I also suggest that you look at metaphors as something more than just that annoying thing your teacher drills into your head. Rhetorical devices like metaphors are what make literature as beautiful of an art form as it is.

 

[Turo602]

Kurt Cobain once said "why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second-rate Freudian evaluation of my lyrics, when 90 percent of the time they've transcribed them incorrectly?" And this pretty much sums up my thoughts. Why bother wasting time trying to decipher work that isn't yours when your interpretation of it is going to be different than the next one? It says more about you than the actual meaning of the story.

Anyway, Frozen is actually a metaphor for The Lion King. Fact.

 

[Mask-Salesman]

A headache

Can't help but laugh xD

I think it's about overcoming your inner demons and taking pride in who you are. Don't care about what other people think or say, but believe in your own strengths. But to be honest, I didn't even like the movie. Really overhyped in my opinion. Disney movies from Pixar are much better.